Comedian Norm Macdonald has died at 61 years old after a nine-year battle with cancer.
The beloved formerSaturday Night Live cast member's death was announced by his management firm, Brillstein Entertainment. The late star's producing partner and pal Lori Jo Hoekstra was reportedly by his side when he took his last breath on Tuesday morning, September 14.
Hoekstra shared, per Deadline, that Macdonald had been privately battling cancer for almost a decade and was determined to not only keep his health struggle out of the public eye, but also hidden from his family and friends.
“He was most proud of his comedy,” Hoekstra said. “He never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him. Norm was a pure comic. He once wrote that ‘a joke should catch someone by surprise, it should never pander.’ He certainly never pandered. Norm will be missed terribly.”
Macdonald joined the late night show's crew in 1993 and made his biggest impact as the anchor for the Weekend Update segments for three seasons. The Quebec native left the show in 1998, and attributed him being fired to his brutal treatment of O.J. Simpson, as the embattled former NFL pro was a friend of the NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer.
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