There are many reasons September is my least favorite month. When I was a kid, it was the month summer vacation ended and we all had to go back to school. That was always fun. It’s the month when 9/11 happened. It’s the month when my Grandpa died. I already have many reasons to associate this month with complete sadness.
This year, I have another reason to hate this month. it’s the month when Norm MacDonald, my favorite comedian, died.
Norm MacDonald was secretly battling cancer for ten years. This week, the fight came to a draw.
This week, so many comedians have been sharing stories of Norm MacDonald. I’ve heard stories of comedians who met him, who worked with him, who only watched his stand up. And they all seem to agree on one thing: There was no one funnier than Norm.
I myself am an aspiring stand up comedian. I wish I could call myself a real Comedian. I’ve performed stand up at Open Mic Nights. But I’m not getting paid for it yet. But I did meet Norm MacDonald. And I would like to share it with all five people who are reading this blog.
It was February 2015. My family and I spent a week in New York City. My Dad knew someone who was in the Broadway production of Matilda, and was able to score tickets for us. New York City was ice cold. It was so cold you could feel how cold it was. Literally. It felt like the whole air was solid ice. That Sunday, February 16th, 2015, my Dad and I went to Lombardi’s Pizza at night. We had a combo pizza. It was some of the best pizza I ever had. But it was rich. We went back to our hotel room and watched TV with my Mom and my sister. That night was the 40th Anniversary Special of Saturday Night Live.
It was a three and a half hour prime time special featuring a cast that included every single cast member and host of SNL that was still alive. Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Jon Lovitz, Adam Sandler, David Spade, Will Ferrel, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis, Tina Fey, Amy Pohler, Kate McKinnon, Darell Hammond, Alec Baldwin, Keenan Thompson, Chris Rock, Garrett Morris, Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Sarah Pailin, Rachel Dratch, Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon, Kanye West, Miley Cyrus, Jack Nicholson, Robert DeNiro, Chris Rock, and even Eddie Murphy! And of course, Norm MacDonald. It was like the Avengers: Infinity War of comedy.
Just like Saturday Night Live itself, the special was a giant mixed bag of skits that were hilarious, skits that bombed, and skits that made no sense. The most memorable sketch of the night was Celebrity Jeopardy, which featured Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek, Kate McKinnon as Justin Bieber, Darrell Hammond as Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin as Tony Bennett, Jim Carrey as Matthew McConaughey, Keenan Thompson as Bill Cosby, and Norm MacDonald as Burt Reynolds. The most hyped celebrity appearance was Eddie Murphy, who had not appeared on SNL since the 80s, and had a strained relationship with the show due to a sick burn from David Spade on Weekend Update. Eddie's appearance that night was disappointing to say the least. It wasn't because he failed at being funny. But because he didn't even attempt to be funny. It was just a quick "Hey everyone! Long time, no see! Ok, thanks everybody!" His awkward appearance led the internet to wonder what the hell was going on with Eddie. And it wouldn't find out until later that week from an interesting source. More on that later.
The next morning, we took our flight back to California at LAX Airport. Because our plane was coming from New York, Garrett Morris was on our flight in First Class. We landed in LAX late that night. As we walked to get our luggage, I saw someone holding a sign that said "N. MacDonald". I asked if it was Norm MacDonald. He said "Not the one you're thinking of". I just shrugged it off and minded my business. I have a very short attention span. The airport is both the best and worst place for people like me. It's a lot of standing and waiting. Whenever I'm at an airport, I just zone out and look around. Then my parents told me to come over there. They were so excited. I was thinking "What could it be? Did they run into an old friend?" And I was kind of right. Well, it wasn't really their friend. But it was someone they recognized. And it was someone I only half recognized. It was Norm MacDonald.
I couldn't believe it! THE Norm MacDonald! In person! It was enough to make two generations jump up and down with joy. My parents recognized him from his time as the Weekend Update anchor on SNL, a job he was fired from for being, in the words of an NBC Executive, "Not funny". Or maybe because he made too many jokes about their friend, OJ Simpson. My sister and I recognized him as Norm the Genie on The Fairly OddParents. I told him we loved him on that show. My sister, being her typical filter-free self, told him "That show sucks now!" Norm MacDonald smiled, took his hat off, placed it on my sister, and said "Or maybe you just grew up!" Such a Norm thing to do.
I told Norm MacDonald I wanted to be a stand up comedian. My Dad told him that I was Lowell Renold III, and he was Lowell Renold II. I said "I'm the third movie in a trilogy. The one that everyone hates." And he laughed, waved his hat at me and told me I was funny. My Mom asked him if I could do an impression for him. Whenever I meet someone famous, my Mom encourages me to show off my impressions to them. I asked Norm to give me a suggestion. His suggestion was an interesting choice, as it was one that would be the #1 trending topic on Twitter that week thanks to Norm. Norm asked me to do Eddie Murphy. And thank God! Because that's one of my easiest impressions. Norm loved it. Before we left, I asked Norm for advice on being a stand up comedian. He told me to follow him on Twitter, and he would follow me back and give me advice.
That night, I followed him on Twitter. And he actually followed me back! It's rare when someone famous follows me. But even rarer when my heroes follow me.
The next day, I looked at Norm's Twitter. His tweets were full of jokes, long stories in long Twitter threads, and lots of sports talk. I'm not even much of a sports guy. But I loved reading his tweets! That week, Norm shared a long Twitter thread sharing an interesting anecdote about his night at the SNL 40th Anniversary Special. You can read all about it here.
Long story short, Norm MacDonald said that Eddie Murphy was originally supposed to play Bill Cosby in the Celebrity Jeopardy skit with Will Ferrell. This was at the time when the allegation against Bill Cosby were starting to go public after decades of being kept secret in the industry, long before the #MeToo Movement. At this time, it was still debated whether or not these allegations were true. But either way, they provided a lot of material for comedians. Edgy material, sure. But material nonetheless. Especially for Saturday Night Live. And especially for Eddie Murphy. That is, if he chose to use it.
Eddie Murphy was no stranger to making Cosby jokes. In his stand up special, Raw, released in theaters at the height of his popularity as a stand up comedian in the 80s, Eddie Murphy told a funny story about the time Bill Cosby lectured him on saying dirty words on stage. Which, in hindsight, was incredibly hypocritical coming from Cosby.
But that night, at the SNL 40th Anniversary Special, Eddie Murphy decided not to mock the veteran comedian. In Norm's own words, "Eddie decided the laughs were not worth it. He would not kick a man while he's down." This story was a source of debate on the internet for a while. People were all split on whether or not it was the right call for Eddie to back out of mocking Cosby. (Murphy, of course, would make fun of Cosby later that year at the Mark Twain Awards.) But one thing was certain. It made for one hell of a Norm MacDonald story.
I began looking up Norm MacDonald all over YouTube. I watched his stand up, his monologues on Weekend Update, his late night show appearances, etc. I can't think of any other comedian who made me laugh as hard as he did. His delivery was always so dry. Even when his jokes were not funny, he still made you laugh just by staring at you. They say that no comedian ever continues with a joke when it bombs. They always immediately move on to the next joke. But not Norm. Norm would stick with a joke, no matter how unfunny it was, and keep telling it until you found it as funny as he did. No other comedian can do that. At least, no other comedian can get away with that.
They say comedy is all about timing. The quicker you tell a joke, the bigger laughs you get. But Norm liked to drag his jokes for a long period of time. Even if the joke was not funny. It was like you were on this road trip with a guy who had these bizarre thoughts. Part of you wants them to stop talking. But the other part wants to hear where they're going.
Perhaps Norm's greatest joke is his Moth joke on Conan. Watch it all the way until the very end.
There is a growing concern among comedians that comedy these days is harder to do, largely in part to how sensitive our culture has become. Norm's humor was a lot of things. Sensitive was not one of them. He always like to bring up a dark subject that would leave the audience in a state of shock, and would leave them laughing hard with the punchline. And then they would feel guilty at laughing at such a serious topic. With Norm, there was no such thing as boundaries when it came to jokes.
I think part of Norm MacDonald's genius is he was not afraid to share what was on his mind. No matter how offensive it was. And in a strange way, he was sharing what was on all of our minds. Whether we admitted it or not. I always felt like comedy wast the last place in the world where people can say what they truly think. That is, as long as it's funny. William Shakespeare once said "When you tell people the truth, you better make them laugh. Otherwise, they will kill you." I guess another reason Norm got away with it, besides being 100% hilarious, was that you got the sense that he was a sweet, genuine person with a kind heart. You felt that he cared about you and wanted to make you smile and enjoy life. Comedy can't exist without empathy. Empathy is the baseline of all great comedy. Norm was as empathetic and as genuine as they came.
I felt so honored to have Norm MacDonald follow me on Twitter. A year later, he unfollowed me. To this day, I still don't know why he unfollowed me. Maybe he got lost.
I saw Norm MacDonald perform stand up at the Irvine Improv in February 2019, five years since I met him. His set was a lot raunchier than I thought it would be. It was definetely too raunchy for my Mom, who left early. But I loved it. I feel like Norm had my exact sense of humor. Both Norm and I seem to have this sick, twisted sense of humor that no one else seems to get. I guess that's why he and I got along so well when we met.
I was really hoping I would get the chance to work with him someday. Maybe appear on a late night show together. Or be in a Movie or Netflix show together. But I guess life doesn't care about your dreams.
Norm MacDonald may no longer be here. But thanks to YouTube, and all other streaming services, his sick, twisted, bizzarre humor will always be with us. As well as his kind, genuine spirit.
Norm, thank you for all the laughs. Thank you for following me on Twitter for a brief time. Thank you for indulging me by listening to my Eddie Murphy impression, and for encouraging me to chase my dream of being a stand up comedian.
I can't think of a better way to end this tribute than with a joke that Norm MacDonald closed his show on at the Irvine Improv. Or, at least my own recollection of the joke. Norm told us we can tell it to our friends after the show. It's a joke that feels 100% Norm MacDonald. Try reading it in his voice if you can. Warning, it's really raunchy. Just like a lot of Norm's jokes.
This guy's wife is getting ready for a party. She puts on a dress and asks the guy "Does this dress make me look fat?" The guy says "Do you want me to be honest?" The guy's wife says "Yes. Please be honest." And the guy says, "Promise not to get mad?" His wife says "Of course!" He says "Are you sure you want me to be honest?" Guy's wife says "Yes. You're my husband. I want you to be honest with me." Guy says "Promise you won't get mad?" Guy's wife says "Promise!" Guy says "Ok. Here it is. I fucked your sister."
