Norm Macdonald Is Dead

Norm Macdonald was hilarious.

I loved the man. He was quirky and comfortable in his quirkiness. 

At one point he had kind of a talk show thing - called The Norm Show - that I could find on demand. I used to dial it up and sit back and marvel at his insanity.

He anchored the Weekend Update desk for 4 years on Saturday Night Live. He was loved and respected.

Straight faced. Deadpan. Except for the perennial smirk on his face. You gotta have balls, you gotta be confident, to perform deadpan. You are hanging your hat on your sense of humor and not trying to influence the audiences' reaction in any way.

So many of "today's" comics are not naturally funny - they are just loud. Audiences react because audiences are sheep. Audiences say to themselves "Gee, I would never say anything like that or in that way" and they define that as funny. It is not.

You gotta be smart to be funny.

Norm Macdonald was smart. He was funny.

He battled cancer for 10 years and few people knew about it. He kept it quiet. David Bowie did the same thing. When Bowie died I was floored. It is a noble thing to fight cancer on your own. I have enormous respect for the strength of people who handle it in that way.

Reactions: 

David Letterman - "In every important way, in the field of stand-up, Norm was the best. An opinion shared by me and all peers. Always up to something, never certain, until his matter-of-fact delivery leveled you. I was always delighted by his bizarre mind and earnest gaze. (I'm trying to avoid using the phrase twinkle in his eyes). He was a lifetime Cy Young winner in comedy. Gone, but impossible to forget."

Jim Carrey - "My dear friend Norm Macdonald passed after a brave 10 year battle. He was one of our most precious gems. An honest and courageous comedy genius. I love him."

Adam Sandler - "Every one of us loved Norm. Some of the hardest laughs of my life with this man. Most fearless, funny, original guy we knew. An incredible dad. A great friend. A legend. Love u pal."

Conan O'Brien - "I am absolutely devastated about Norm Macdonald. Norm had the most unique comedic voice I have ever encountered and he was so relentlessly and umcompromisingly funny. I will never laugh that hard again. I'm so sad for all of us today."

Sarah Silverman - "Norm was in a comedy genre of his own. No one like him on this planet. Please do yourself a favor and watch his stuff. He was one of a kind of all time."

Seth Macfarlane - "To so many people in comedy, me included, there was nobody funnier than Norm Macdonald. You always hoped he would hang around after the work was done, just so you could hear his stories and get a laugh. So hilarious and so generous with his personality. I'm gonna miss him."

Seth Rogen - "I would stay up specifically to watch him on talk shows. He was the funniest guest of all time. We lost a comedy giant today. One of the all time greats."

A comedian's comedian.

That is the highest compliment that can be paid in any profession.