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Norm MacDonald Filmography
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Norman Gene MacDonald (born October 17, 1962) is a Canadian actor and comedian.
Born in Quebec City, Quebec, MacDonald became a stand up comedian, performing in comedy clubs across Canada. MacDonald eventually moved to Los Angeles, California, and became a writer for the popular
Roseanne television series.
MacDonald joined the cast of NBC's popular Saturday Night Live program in 1993, where he occasionally did impressions of
Larry King,
Burt Reynolds,
David Letterman, Bob Dole and others. While on the show, he frequently used the catchphrase "note to self," which has since seen wider usage.
His most notable position on SNL, however was his three-year stint as anchor of Weekend Update, which is regarded by many fans as perhaps the best in the segment's history.
Chevy Chase himself has noted that MacDonald is the only anchor since Chevy's tenure to have "done it right." His deadpan style was suited to the segment, although he did rely heavily on running gags, stereotypes, and general outrageousness, including his repeated references to the Germans and their love of Baywatch star
David Hasselhoff, regular jokes about the poor job status of 'crack whores' and some audacious comedic attacks on public figures such as O.J. Simpson and
Michael Jackson. Throughout the infamous Simpson trial, MacDonald constantly pilloried the former football star and repeatedly suggested that Simpson was guilty of the brutal slaying of his wife Nicole. In the broadcast following Simpson's not guilty verdict, MacDonald opened Weekend Update saying: "Well, it's official: Murder is legal in the state of California."
In another particularly notorious item ca. 1995, MacDonald attacked
Michael Jackson (a favorite
SNL target) during a report about the singer's recent collapse and hospitalization. Referring to a report of how Jackson had decorated his hospital room with giant photographs of Shirley Temple, Norm stated, "In case viewers are confused, we'd like to remind you that Michael Jackson is in fact a homosexual pedophile." The outrageous joke elicited audible gasps of disbelief from some audience members.
MacDonald's time with
SNL ended controversially in 1997 when he was sacked from the show upon the insistence of NBC West Coast Executive Don Ohlmeyer, who pressured the producers to remove him, stating that MacDonald was "not funny" -- though an opinion shared by some, much of the
SNL live audience still greeted him with heavy applause. Although it is only speculation, some belive the Don Ohlmeyer's friendship with footballer-turned-suspected murderer O.J. Simpson - a celebrity which Norm often antagonized on the show - may have fueled Ohlmeyer's decision. However Ohlmeyer defends to this day that other late night comedians (i.e. Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and other SNL players) also constantly lampooned O.J. with little to no sanction, and that his decision was based soley on audience reaction through tapes he had personally reviewed. Despite the incident, MacDonald left the show the following year under decent terms with Ohlmeyer, who - to his credit - originally pushed for Lorne to give MacDonald a shot at the WU desk in 1994.
Soon after, MacDonald starred in his first movie entitled Dirty Work, which was released to theaters in 1998. The film featured performances from veteran actors and comedians like Jack Warden,
Don Rickles,
Chevy Chase,
Chris Farley, and
Adam Sandler. Later that year, MacDonald would also lend his voice to one of the animals in the
Eddie Murphy remake of Doctor Dolittle.
In 1999, MacDonald starred in a sitcom called The Norm Show, which lasted three seasons on the ABC television network. Also that year, MacDonald portrayed
Michael Richards in the movie, Man On The Moon, which was the story of comedian
Andy Kaufman's short and unusual life. 1999 also saw MacDonald in advertising as the voice of the Hardee's restaurant's (Carl's Jr. on the west coast) costumed mascot, the Hardee's Star. MacDonald also appeared on Miller Lite commercials that year.
MacDonald returned to
Saturday Night Live to host the October 23, 1999 show. In his somewhat notorious opening monologue, he expressed resentment at having been fired, and says that since he left the show had "gotten really bad". This comment received a mixed reaction from the audience.
MacDonald starred in his second motion picture in 2000, entitled Screwed.
MacDonald is currently starring in "A Minute With Stan Hooper".
MacDonald's brothers Neil and Leslie are both newscasters for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
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