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Who is Norm Macdonald?

Norm Macdonald (Norman Gene Macdonald, October 17, 1959 – September 14, 2021) was a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor and writer known for a deadpan delivery, eccentric understatement and folksy, old-fashioned turns of phrase. Born in Quebec City, he started on amateur nights at Yuk Yuk’s in Ottawa in 1985 and, six months later, played the 1986 Just For Laughs festival in Montreal, where the Montreal Gazette called him “one of this country’s hottest comics.” He made his U.S. network debut on The Pat Sajak Show in August 1989, competed on Star Search and first appeared with David Letterman in May 1990. After writing for The Dennis Miller Show and Roseanne, he joined Saturday Night Live in 1993 and anchored Weekend Update from 1994 until early 1998. His stand-up specials were Me Doing Stand-Up (Comedy Central, March 26, 2011), Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery (Netflix, 2017) and the posthumous Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special (Netflix, May 30, 2022), recorded alone on June 28, 2020, and his first Primetime Emmy nominations (three). From 2013 he hosted the video podcast Norm Macdonald Live with Adam Eget, and in 2016 published Based on a True Story, a comic novel that heavily fictionalizes his life. He died of complications from acute leukemia in 2021, aged 61.

Sources: Wikipedia · Nothing Special (Wikipedia) · Moth joke (Wikipedia) · Norm Macdonald Live (Wikipedia)

Life in stand-up

• 1959Born October 17 in Quebec City
• 1985Amateur nights at Yuk Yuk’s, Ottawa
• 1986Just For Laughs, Montreal
• 1989U.S. network debut, The Pat Sajak Show (August)
• 1990Star Search; first Letterman spot (May)
• 1993Joins Saturday Night Live
• 1994–98Anchors Weekend Update
• 2006Sketch album Ridiculous
• 2011Me Doing Stand-Up (Comedy Central, March 26)
• 2013Starts Norm Macdonald Live
• 2015Last stand-up act on Letterman’s Late Show (May 15)
• 2016Book: Based on a True Story (comic novel)
• 2017Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery (Netflix)
• 2021Dies September 14, aged 61
• 2022Nothing Special released (May 30)

Podcast & show guest appearances

7 verified guest appearances by Norm Macdonald on other people’s podcasts, newest first. His own Norm Macdonald Live is listed above, not here; episodes released after his death, re-airs and tributes are left out.

MyShowNotes ✓ full episode notes exist on MyShowNotes · Request show notes tap to ask us to write notes for that episode

How we verify: each episode was matched in the show’s own RSS feed (found via the Apple Podcasts directory); the date is the feed’s publish date converted to Eastern Time; Norm Macdonald is named in the episode title or described as the guest; full episodes only (25+ min), no clips, re-airs or compilations. YouTube links appear only when the show’s official channel has the full episode and YouTube oEmbed confirms it (1 of 7); the rest link to the official audio.

His own shows and late-night TV

Specials, albums & books

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Each Amazon link opens a product page we checked on Oct 18, 2026. Specials that only stream on Netflix or Hulu have no store link.

• Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special (stand-up special, 2022, Netflix) · source: Wikipedia · streaming only; no Amazon product, so no store link
• Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery (stand-up special, 2017) · source: Wikipedia · Amazon product link
• Me Doing Stand-Up (stand-up special, 2011, Comedy Central) · source: Wikipedia · Amazon product link
• Ridiculous (sketch comedy album, 2006, Comedy Central Records) · source: Wikipedia · Amazon product link
• Based on a True Story (book, 2016, Spiegel & Grau) · source: Wikipedia · Amazon product link

In memoriam

Norm Macdonald, 1959–2021

Born October 17, 1959, in Quebec City · Died September 14, 2021, in Duarte, California, age 61 (Wikipedia)

No upcoming shows: Norm Macdonald died in 2021, so this page has no tour section. It remembers his stand-up, his late-night sets and the shows he made.

He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2013 and told only his family, his agent and his former wife. He kept working through years of treatment and died of complications from acute leukemia at the City of Hope National Medical Center, where he had been in hospital since July 2021. David Letterman called him “the best” in the world of stand-up, “an opinion shared by me and all peers.” Conan O’Brien said, “Norm had the most unique comedic voice I have ever encountered.” Dave Chappelle dedicated The Closer to him.

More on Norm Macdonald

• Named in We Might Be Drunk show notes on MSN (Paul Walter Hauser episode)
• Named in We Might Be Drunk show notes on MSN (Patton Oswalt episode)
• Movies & TV shows: every Norm Macdonald credit

Norm Macdonald FAQ

Official links

• Wikipedia
• Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special (Wikipedia)
• Moth joke (Wikipedia)
• Norm Macdonald Live (Wikipedia)

Disclaimer: Editorial memorial content. Every fact is cited to the sources linked above. Quotes from Letterman and O’Brien are as reported by Wikipedia. Corrections are welcome through the form above.