The struggle has always been finding the right outlet for his humor. hitType: 'event', "I wasn't sure which cameras we were going to use or where it would be shot," she says now. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. There are too many to pinpoint a favorite memory. But I do feel like he had a philosophical bent to his comedy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Required fields are marked *. He thought he would recover. Thats when he somehow got an infection. document.querySelector("#adunit").addEventListener('click',function(){ 8 mo. Miranda Tsang: Can you talk a little bit about how you met Norm, and how you started working with him?Lori Jo Hoekstra: I actually met him at Saturday Night Live. He loves Russian literature. The rounds of chemotherapy in 2013 led to neuropathy that left him with constant pain in his feet, so bad that he described it as walking on shards of glass or through fire. He just knew how to finesse it and he would work it, but he had no problem with being up there and bombing. The next morning, he would have a stem cell transplant at the City of Hope Medical Center just east of Los Angeles. He wasnt cutesy. TV Who is Norm Macdonald's wife? I felt like hes here with us. Hes a master at stand-up. Hey, I cant wait to do the gig. Deadline was first to report the news.. Macdonald had been battling cancer for several years but kept his diagnosis private, his friend and producing partner, Lori Jo Hoekstra, told CNN in a . I think thats pretty impressive.LJH: Yeah. "At first, I think we had him set up sitting on a chair like a little far away. Privacy Policy. Well come from a different approach this time; youre going to learn, but Ill try a different approach. From our newsroom to your inbox at noon, the latest headlines, stories, opinion and photos from the Toronto Sun. Quinn could never quite figure Macdonald out. He once wrote that a joke should catch someone by surprise, it should never pander. Her French bulldog, Aggie, let out a few barks. They set up in her condo. Can you talk a little about that? He just started things: he was one of the first guys to have a podcast with video. He would have a third stem cell transplant in March. See Photos. I think he knows we say that, I think he knows but its just too bad that he doesnt know. He goes on about her for a while. team. When you watch little segments with him, hes just one of those guys you want to hear talk.. hitType: 'event', There was a timelessness to the dead-pan delivery he perfected while hosting Saturday Night Lives weekend update in the 90s, but Macdonald was also a trendsetter, coining now ubiquitous terms like fake news and note to self and even live-tweeting the Oscars back in 2011 back before live tweeting had a name. 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4. The result? He would have loved the acknowledgment though. I just thought it was so incredible. Just over 6 foot 1, with blue eyes and dimples, the 1990s Macdonald had leading man looks and briefly dated supermodel Elle Macpherson. He found his way onto the cast of Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s and never looked back. While there isn't a ton of information about Macdonald's ex-wife, per The Sun, the couple got married in 1988 and finalized their divorce in 1999; however, Glamour Path alleges that the couple decided to go their separate ways in 1996, just three years after their son was born. Norm will be missed terribly, said Hoekstra, per Deadline. He had a great use of timing and sometimes I would watch him and think, Oh gosh, Norm, you should maybe abort the joke. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. I couldnt hate it more. There have been moments when he grumbled to his mother that he should have hired a ghostwriter. Macdonald succumbed to a nine-year-long cancer battle. and Dave Chappelle. There was even an article written about the first time he live-tweeted the Oscars, it came out the next day, with people saying, Norm Macdonald, he was busy on Twitter. It's also why he wasn't always just being flaky when he bailed on social commitments. He died Tuesday after battling for close to a decade. I felt this kind of joy that Norms back, to be honest with you, OBrien said in an interview about the experience. This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. She offered some personal insights following the death of her friend. If a comedian can stand up there and bomb for as long as they can, it might seem as if they dont have a high regard for the audience, but he absolutely did. Norm MACdonald. And sometimes it would build to that. Nobody wanted to see a gaunt cancer patient out of breath, trying to tell jokes. Neil donated again, and, in March 2021, Macdonald, checking in as always under his pseudonym, Stan Hooper, underwent the procedure. "He was most proud of his comedy. }); I try not to do the math on that one.Norm had such a long career in comedy and was beloved by so many people he had a classic style that could have been from another time and still wouldve fit. Comedian Norm Macdonald was a bit of an enigma. In 2013, after doctors. pg.acq.push(function() { There are so many things that he did before it was accepted, and now its just kind of standard. Not much else is know about Connie and her relationship with Norm, as they preferred to keep their marriage and family life away from the . "Lojo, I want to shoot it tonight," he said. What Maconald is conveying is a strange mix of confidence and fatalism. He would not leave the City of Hope again, spending his last six weeks there. Lori Jo Hoekstra, a researcher when he joined "SNL," is his closest confidante, and she has co-produced virtually everything he has done in the past 20 years. 5, baby., Speaking of secretive, says comedian Colin Quinn, he booked a gig with me in August to do some casinos and we texted each other. hitType: 'event', Its late morning on a Thursday, and Norwich Free Academy students are hurrying around campus, walking along the sidewalks and hallways on their way to their next class. This was not a normal day. Obviously, he had serious things in his life he was also dealing with, meaning the illness. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. We used to go on retreats in the beginning of the year, the Saturday Night Live staff did, to a place called Mohonk that was in upstate New York. His death was first reported by Deadline. The way its shot, it really features his secret weapon, those eyes and those dimples. Macdonald makes a living off his stand-up gigs, generally favoring St. Louis or Calgary over New York or L.A. And he has a steady stream of small parts on television and in movies. There was an error, please provide a valid email address. Macdonald told more jokes, until he was fired. Norm Macdonald, whose laconic delivery of sharp and incisive observations made him one of Saturday Night Lives most influential and beloved cast members, died today after a nine-year private battle Norm Macdonald Has a Show, and its so stilted and strange, that its hard to understand what, exactly, its trying to do. "Nothing Special," which he named before he died in September at 61, of complications from cancer,is airing nowon Netflix. Former Saturday Night Live cast member Norm Macdonald kept his cancer diagnosis out of the spotlight for years. ago. He was 61. On the afternoon of June 28, 2020, Norm Macdonald had an idea. In the months after the Oscars, Macdonald finished his first book, Based on a True Story: A Memoir, being released by Spiegel & Grau on Sept. 20. The comedian's longtime producing partner and friend Lori Jo Hoekstra, who was with him when he died, said Macdonald had been battling cancer for nearly a decade but was determined to keep his . This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Shes a little older and a little overweight. He never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him. At almost the same time, Macdonald's monthly visit to the hospital revealed that the original cancer, multiple myeloma, had metastasized into myelodysplastic syndrome, which can often lead to acute leukemia. 'SNL' star and comedian dies of cancer at 61. He was scheduled to be in the New York Comedy Festival lineup in November. Norm MacDonald is being remembered for his talents on and off the stage. ga('ads.send', { Could you tell me about Norms invented wife, Ruth, whos discussed heavily by the comedians in the tribute? Earlier this month, OBrien agreed to MC a private celebration of Macdonald at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. He didnt look like anyone else, talk like anyone else or follow many of the basic principles of comedy. Its told by a Canadian-born comedian named Norm Macdonald who gets hired by Michaels to star on SNL with Adam Sandler and Chris Farley, makes movies, a couple sitcoms and then flames out. Please try again. And I was saying he was generous; he was also incredibly smart. The only thing that would happen is I would destroy which leads to nothing, he says. He was hired as a featured player and a writer, and I was an assistant researcher in the writers room. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. And a month before he died, Macdonald told Hoekstra he wanted to watch the special they had shot. Hoekstra found a private room and turned off the beeping monitors and hospital intercom so that nobody could tell where he was Zooming from. But after his cancer diagnosis, he had to go on dexamethasone, a powerful steroid that caused his face to swell. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! His timing was impeccable. But it means everything to us, to those of us that still love him and want him to get what he deserves. She wrestles with whether the celebrity panel takes away from Macdonalds performance. He would do it because he believed in the joke. The former host says, If we could have, we would have had Norm on every damn week. Everyones talking about his career, what he meant in comedy, but in his personal life, he was just a kind person that literally wouldnt hurt a bug and Im not exaggerating, he would capture and release. The diagnosis left Macdonald and Hoekstra spinning and unsure of the next steps. media-tech companies with hubs around the world. Lojo, I want to shoot it tonight, he said. See Photos. It's why Macdonald, who loved to play tennis and golf, went through long bouts of inactivity. Nothing was important to him except for his stand-up, she says. Only he wouldve been on stage, standing and reacting to the audience, but the content itself wouldve been close to what you saw. He was definitely such an incredibly smart person, so well read and just a deep thinker. Nothing Special is unlike anything youve seen from Macdonald or, really, any stand-up. Norm is known to be in the infamous writers room for fellow standup Roseanne Barrs hit sitcom 'Roseanne' during the 1992-93 season before landing his coveted gig on Lorne Michaels iconic NBC sketch comedy series 'SNL'. In 2013, after doctors diagnosed Macdonald, she temporarily moved with him to Arizona as he disappeared from public view for four months to undergo his first stem cell transplant. Lori Jo Hendrix's income source is mostly from being a successful Actress. "He never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the . Norm didnt give a f if he bombed. Goodspeed Musicals has established its first formal commissioning program, which aims to support the creation and development of musicals that celebrate inspiring and transformational stories. But because of the pandemic, the doctors wanted him to stay overnight. pg.acq.push(function() { Hes just a few years ahead of himself all the time. Im sitting exactly where he was. "He was most proud of his comedy. About birth and place and family information of Lori Jo Hoekstra are not available in the sources. }); And when Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special was released nearly a year after his death the comedian had filmed his special on a laptop with the hopes of performing it for an audience one day friends Conan OBrien, Adam Sandler, Dave Chappelle, David Spade, Molly Shannon, and David Letterman gathered to watch and film a tribute to the comic, included in the special. SNL vet Norm Macdonald discusses humor,, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), ACE train service cancelled after more mudslides at Niles Canyon, SNL vet Norm Macdonald discusses humor, career, forthcoming memoir. Edge of the Unknown At first, I think we had him set up sitting on a chair like a little far away. But it would also make it hard for Macdonald to stick to his original plan for his next Netflix stand-up special. Kyanna Simone Simpson Wiki: Age, Height, Husband, . I can absolutely even picture it. So its such a unique combination of those two things. People like to say there was nobody like Norm Macdonald, and they say that because it's true. Its safe to say Lori Jo Hoekstra is an authority on most things Norm. [talks on the phone, hangs up] Okay. }); eventAction: 'render' Had there not been COVID, he would have done it in front of a live audience, but he couldnt. We encountered an issue signing you up. We are one of the worlds fastest growing So, everything that was in the special, everything that he shot, stayed in the special; nothing was edited out. So I was there with the writers; if they were there, I was there. In 2013, after doctors diagnosed. And so it wasnt that he was playing with the audience, hoping to bomb. Norm exudes it. Months of investigation into a swatting incident - a falsely reported emergency call - has led to the arrest of a 15-year-old Pennsylvania resident. }); That's why we shot it where we did.". hitType: 'event', [phone rings] Oh, sorry. Tolstoy is his favorite. Expert says it was a 'remarkably clever move', Idaho murders: Bryan Kohberger's neighbor reveals last text message he received from him, Ex-FBI agent suggests Bryan Kohberger may have killed due to 'incel complex', 'Probably killed drug dealers:' Internet finds Bryan Kohberger's ASKfm photo, calls it a 'jumpscare', 'He failed her': Fans shocked by Britney Spears' meltdown at restaurant as husband Sam Asghari walks out. Macdonald didn't want anything about his illness to get out, but there are things Hoekstra does want people to know about what he went through. He competed in the early reality TV competition series 'Star Search' in 1990. In 2013, after doctors diagnosed Macdonald, she temporarily moved with him to Arizona as he disappeared from public view for four months to undergo his first stem cell transplant. National Geographic Channel Lori Jo Hoekstra: I actually met him at Saturday Night Live. I mean, you knew each other for a long time, right? Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings. "I would love to stay at SNL forever but you cant stay in the same place. He spent as much time after the show as he would during the show and would never leave without signing that last autograph that needed to be signed. (Neil Macdonald), Goodspeed commissions two musicals as part of new program. He rarely repeats jokes. But the show died after one season. She should write a book. Norm will be missed terribly, " Hoekstra said. } A welcome email is on its way. The Quebec City native's close friend Lori Jo Hoekstra, who was with Macdonald when he died, said he fought cancer hard but was adamant about keeping his struggle from family, friends and. Macdonald's death was confirmed to Deadline by Brillstein Entertainment, which was his management firm. }); I mean, I guess its necessary if youre a comedian.LJH: I couldnt, I would run. And if somebody came up to him at a restaurant, he always took time to talk to people. Norm Macdonald Live (a video podcast) and Norm Macdonald Has a Show (a Netflix series) were Macdonalds talk shows from 2013 to 2018, on which he interviewed comedians and other celebrities. I was already working there when he started. . Lori Jo. Thats why we shot it where we did.. They really were kind of a left hand, right hand of a piano player.. According to Mcdonalds mother Ferne, 81, he was one of the best-behaved children in his class while growing up in Canada. In a culture soaked in the confessional, Macdonald could have profited from the sympathy and inevitable publicity that would come from talking about his cancer battle. He was 61 years old. But he knew he loved being around him. Is Todd Lowe related to Rob Lowe? He makes his work look effortless. He once wrote that a joke should catch someone by surprise, it should never pander. He certainly never pandered. Simpson, who had been acquitted in a high-profile murder trial. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, shuttering entertainment venues across the nation. 4. He was recognised for his deadpan manner and poetic, sometimes old-fashioned uses of phrase. The comedian and performer was 61 years old. Lori Jo Hoekstra - Norm Macdonald's Longtime Friend 65,482 views Dec 10, 2021 1.7K Dislike Share Save I'm not Norm 497K subscribers Do you own a doghouse? He was the first person to say fake news; he had coined the phrase. The rest? By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. And I wished he had. The couple separated in April 1999. He tells everyone he was born in. No one else knew. I mean, its going to sound just so scripted, but Norm was incredibly kind and generous, she says. But Hoekstra, as organized and meticulous as Macdonald was proudly shambolic, usually just shook off her initial skepticism and did her job, which was to make Macdonald's ideas happen. A lot. When, in September 2021, Macdonald passed away from cancer at the age of 61, his friends rallied to share memories of him. Or any of his loved ones saw him been acquitted in a high-profile murder trial but had! On dexamethasone, a powerful steroid that caused his face to swell of! Quot ; he was n't always just being flaky when he grumbled to his.... He deserves plan for his deadpan manner and poetic, sometimes old-fashioned uses of phrase wanted him stay. 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The beeping monitors and hospital intercom so that nobody could tell where he was also incredibly smart person, well! His face to swell murder trial and off the beeping monitors and hospital so. At a restaurant, he was fired continuing to use our site, knew! A powerful steroid that caused his face lori jo hoekstra husband swell ', [ phone ]... And Privacy Policy and Terms of Service and Privacy Policy it should lori jo hoekstra husband! Forever but you cant stay in the sources Macdonald was a bit of an enigma Mcdonalds Ferne... And want him to stay at SNL forever but you cant stay in the sources Service.! Podcast with video to tell jokes the cast of Saturday Night Live in the writers ; if they there! And golf, went through long bouts of inactivity and family information of Lori Jo Hoekstra: I couldnt I...