Norm MacDonald
What can be said about Norm that any true fan does not know about him? The man was born Norman Gene MacDonald on October 17, 1963, in Quebec City, Canada. Norm's two siblings, Neil and Leslie, are both Canadian newscasters. According to older brother Neil, ``My father thought he was nuts,'' Neil remembers Norm drifting from job to job, even playing chess for money on the streets of Philadelphia. ... more »
What can be said about Norm that any true fan does not know about him? The man was born Norman Gene MacDonald on October 17, 1963, in Quebec City, Canada. Norm's two siblings, Neil and Leslie, are both Canadian newscasters. According to older brother Neil, ``My father thought he was nuts,'' Neil remembers Norm drifting from job to job, even playing chess for money on the streets of Philadelphia. ``He lived in a kind of fantasy world. He was going to be a gambler for a while, although he'd never been inside a casino. He had showbiz in his head, but he never seemed to put it to use."
Macdonald eventually took his act to the States, where he wrote for ``Roseanne'' and ``The Dennis Miller Show'' before joining the ``Saturday Night Live'' writing staff in 1993. Soon after, Lorne Michaels gave him an on-air shot reading quirky Weekend Update editorials; within a year, he replaced Kevin Nealon in the anchor chair.
Fans loved him and everything seemed to be going fine and well, until Don Ohlmeyer, President of NBC on the West Coast, demanded that Norm be fired from the Weekend Update for 'not being funny'. Many insiders feel that the real reason he was fired was because he made constant jokes at OJ Simpson, a good friend of Ohlmeyer. Norm was fired from Weekend Update in December 1997, and then left the show in March 1998. A little later in 1998, Norm's first movie, "Dirty Work," came out to theatres, which didn't do quite well at the box office. Norm's fans loved it because the movie was all about Norm's great humor that they grew to know and love. To this day, the movie has become a cult classic. Not burning any bridges behind him, Norm went back to host SNL on October 23, 1999, with Eminem and Dr. Dre as musical guests.
On September 12, 2006, Norm launched his long-rumored comedy album, "Ridiculous". The sketch comedy album featured Will Farrell, Artie Lange, and Molly Shannon. It was well received by Norm fans. Norm continues his passion for poker. He has competed the last couple of years in the World Series of Poker.
Fans can't get enough of Norm and wishing for him to return on TV, where he belongs. « hide
