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Norm MacDonald, former Saturday Night Live update anchor, has died following a nine-year private battle with cancer. He was 61.
MacDonald’s death was first confirmed to Deadline by his management firm Brillstein Entertainment. According to his longtime friend and producing partner Lori Jo Hoekstra, MacDonald was determined to keep his longtime cancer diagnosis hidden from fans, friends, and family alike.
“He was most proud of his comedy. He never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him,” Hoekstra told Deadline. “Norm was a pure comic. He certainly never pandered. Norm will be missed terribly.”
MacDonald is best-remembered for being an SNL cast member from 1993 to 1998, particularly for his role as anchor of the “Weekend Update” segment for three seasons, where he became known for his sharp commentary.
The comedian began his Hollywood career as a contestant on Star Search in 1990. Macdonald then wrote on Roseanne Barr’s sitcom Roseanne from 1992 to 1993, before landing at SNL.
MacDonald left SNL in 1998, and has attributed his firing to his continued assertions that O.J. Simpson was a murderer, which displeased Don Ohlmeyer, president of NBC’s West Coast division (who was friends with Simpson).
Afterward, MacDonald headlined his own sitcom, The Norm Show, from 1999 to 2001. Years later, he hosted the one-season Netfix talk show Norm Macdonald Has a Show in 2018.
MacDonald has been a guest on numerous talk shows over the years, such as Conan, Late Night with David Letterman, and The Howard Stern Show. He’s worked as a voice actor, guesting on Mike Tyson Mysteries, and appeared in films like Dr. Dolittle, Grown Ups, and Klaus.
The actor is also known for writing and starring in the 1998 cult comedy classic Dirty Work, and for his 2017 Netflix stand-up special Hitler’s Dog Gossip and Trickery.
MacDonald was originally scheduled to perform at this year’s New York Comedy Festival lineup in November.
