Today, the world was shocked to learn that Norm Macdonald passed away following a battle with cancer, and a host of friends and contemporaries have shared messages, stories and clips of his work online in tribute.
"Every one of us loved Norm. Some of the hardest laughs of my life with this man," Adam Sandler wrote in sharing a shot of the two in 1995's Billy Madison. "Most fearless funny original guy we knew. An incredible dad. A great friend. A legend. Love u pal."
Seth Rogen recalled how he "essentially ripped off [Macdonald's] delivery" when he first started acting, while Jay Baruchel called the late comedian "a sincere hero of mine and boundless source of inspiration since I was a teenager."
"Of all the comedic minds I've encountered in real life, Norm Macdonald was easily the most unique," Brent Butt wrote on Twitter. "I never knew anyone whose mind processed things the way his did. Where the rest of us couldn't see an angle, he saw the angle AND how it got bent, AND why, AND by who."
Letterkenny writer Trevor Risk shared a story about a job interview Macdonald had with The Ottawa Citizen, which he landed through brother and longtime CBC journalist Neil Macdonald. Risk writes that The Citizen "first asked Norm why he wanted to work for them, and he gave a long answer about the 'search for truth.' The next question was 'Do you have a car?' and Norm said 'I happen to believe that the truth is within walking distance of me at all times.'"
Of course, Exclaim! would be remiss to not highlight some musicians who shared memories of Macdonald. Better Than Ezra gave a nod to Macdonald's joke involving their band name on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update," while Margo Price revealed her favourite of his SNL impressions ahead of sharing how they later became mutual admirers of each other's work.
Find further tributes to Macdonald from Sarah Silverman, Edgar Wright, Rick Mercer, Dave Foley, Jim Carrey, Jennifer Tilly, David Letterman and more below.
"Every one of us loved Norm. Some of the hardest laughs of my life with this man," Adam Sandler wrote in sharing a shot of the two in 1995's Billy Madison. "Most fearless funny original guy we knew. An incredible dad. A great friend. A legend. Love u pal."
Seth Rogen recalled how he "essentially ripped off [Macdonald's] delivery" when he first started acting, while Jay Baruchel called the late comedian "a sincere hero of mine and boundless source of inspiration since I was a teenager."
"Of all the comedic minds I've encountered in real life, Norm Macdonald was easily the most unique," Brent Butt wrote on Twitter. "I never knew anyone whose mind processed things the way his did. Where the rest of us couldn't see an angle, he saw the angle AND how it got bent, AND why, AND by who."
Letterkenny writer Trevor Risk shared a story about a job interview Macdonald had with The Ottawa Citizen, which he landed through brother and longtime CBC journalist Neil Macdonald. Risk writes that The Citizen "first asked Norm why he wanted to work for them, and he gave a long answer about the 'search for truth.' The next question was 'Do you have a car?' and Norm said 'I happen to believe that the truth is within walking distance of me at all times.'"
Of course, Exclaim! would be remiss to not highlight some musicians who shared memories of Macdonald. Better Than Ezra gave a nod to Macdonald's joke involving their band name on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update," while Margo Price revealed her favourite of his SNL impressions ahead of sharing how they later became mutual admirers of each other's work.
Find further tributes to Macdonald from Sarah Silverman, Edgar Wright, Rick Mercer, Dave Foley, Jim Carrey, Jennifer Tilly, David Letterman and more below.
Norm literally got twice as many laughs as any other comic because you knew the punchline before he said it. "Laughter is the best medicine. Unless you're diabetic... *laughter* Then... insulin. Insulin would be the best medicine." *applause*
— Trevor Risk (@SunshineSucks) September 14, 2021
