🇨🇦 CANADIAN NOTABLE BIRTHDAYS — NORM MACDONALD (1959–2021) Some comedians make you laugh. Others make you laugh so hard you can’t breathe. And then there was Norm Macdonald. Born on October 17, 1959, in Quebec City, Norm grew up in Ottawa, attended Gloucester High School, and cut his comedic teeth at the local Yuk Yuk’s before becoming one of the most brilliantly unconventional comedians Canada ever produced. For those of us from the Ottawa area, there was always something special about knowing that one of the funniest men on television got his start right here. Norm joined Saturday Night Live in 1993, eventually taking over the Weekend Update desk, where his deadpan delivery, perfectly timed pauses, and complete disregard for what anyone thought became legendary. And then there were the O.J. Simpson jokes. Norm relentlessly roasted Simpson throughout his murder trial and long after his acquittal. Unfortunately for Norm, NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer happened to be a friend of Simpson’s. In 1998, Norm was removed from Weekend Update. NBC insisted it was because the segment wasn’t funny anymore. Many suspected the Simpson jokes were the real reason. But Norm got the last laugh. In 1999, SNL invited him back to HOST the very show that had fired him. Norm opened his monologue by wondering how he’d suddenly become funny enough to host again. Then came the punchline: he hadn’t gotten any funnier. The show had just gotten worse! Only Norm Macdonald could turn getting fired into one of the funniest moments in SNL history. Beyond Weekend Update, he gave us Dirty Work, The Norm Show, unforgettable appearances on David Letterman and Conan O’Brien, and some of the most hilariously drawn-out stories ever told on television. And nobody could tell a joke quite like Norm. Take his legendary “Professor of Logic” joke on Conan. Norm spends several minutes spinning an increasingly ridiculous story about a neighbour, drawing you further and further in, all for one outrageous punchline. It’s the kind of joke that might earn a groan if anyone else told it. But with Norm, the pauses, the detours, that mischievous grin, and his absolutely perfect delivery made the journey funnier than the destination. I’ve included the clip here because, frankly, no written tribute could ever do justice to the way that man told a joke. His humour wasn’t for everyone, and I don’t think Norm ever cared whether it was. He was fearless, unpredictable, mischievous, and utterly one of a kind. When Norm passed away on September 14, 2021, at just 61, after privately battling cancer for nine years, the comedy world lost a genuine original. I’ve always considered him one of my favourite comedians, and his Ottawa roots make that connection even more special. Happy heavenly 67th birthday, Norm. 🇨🇦 There will never be another quite like you. What was your favourite Norm Macdonald moment? Weekend Update, his Letterman and Conan appearances, or one of those legendary stories that seemed to go on forever? #NormMacdonald #CanadianComedy #SNL