Saturday Night Live aired a tribute to former cast member Norm Macdonald on this week’s season premiere.
The tribute ran during the show’s Weekend Update segment, with cohost Colin Jost stating, “It is a bittersweet night for us tonight. Norm is the reason that I ever wanted to do Weekend Update, so tonight we thought we’d turn the last few jokes of Update over to Norm.” A montage of past segments from Macdonald’s time on the series were then shown.
Macdonald died Sept. 14 after battling leukemia for nearly a decade. The actor’s condition was not widely known to the general public.
The compilation clip aired on SNL included references to then-President Bill Clinton and the O.J. Simpson murder trial. “And that’s the way it is, folks. Good night,” Macdonald concludes, closing out the segment.
The comedian joined Saturday Night Live in 1993, and began serving as anchor for Weekend Update the following season. He was known for his impersonations of Hollywood personalities such as Burt Reynolds, Quentin Tarantino, among others.
Macdonald was removed as Weekend Update anchor during the ’97/’98 season, and was fired from the show weeks later. A contentious and public feud with NBC President Don Ohlmeyer followed, but Macdonald nonetheless returned to host an episode of Saturday Night Live two seasons later.
Saturday Night Live just kicked off its 47th season. Jost and Michael Che currently serve as hosts for the show’s Weekend Update segment.
Source: YouTube
About The Author
