Norm MacDonald Has Passed Away

 

Here is one of my favorite jokes, told by one of my favorite people.

Norm lost his private battle with cancer today.  Rest in Peace, Norm.  Long live Turd Ferguson!

Sincerely,

Your Deeply Closeted Fans

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  1. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Man!

    • #1
  2. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    Rest in Peace

    • #2
  3. Caryn Thatcher
    Caryn
    @Caryn

    Sad loss and way too young!

    • #3
  4. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    You were right, Norm. O.J. did it.

    • #4
  5. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    EJHill (View Comment):

    You were right, Norm. O.J. did it.

    Right about Madonna, too.  Heh.

    • #5
  6. tigerlily Member
    tigerlily
    @tigerlily

    Sorry to hear this. I enjoyed his dry sense of humor. R. I. P.

    • #6
  7. Blondie Thatcher
    Blondie
    @Blondie

    This is sad news. I didn’t know he had cancer. Yes, long live Turd Ferguson.

    • #7
  8. No Caesar Thatcher
    No Caesar
    @NoCaesar

    Very sad.  A great loss.

    • #8
  9. drlorentz Member
    drlorentz
    @drlorentz

    That guy’s timing was incredible.

    • #9
  10. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    drlorentz (View Comment):

    That guy’s timing was incredible.

    I ran across a comment that summed up a good deal of the Norm experience:

    “The first time you hear one of Norm’s jokes, it’s like watching a drunk guy stumble a tightrope, barely hanging on, then landing a perfect finish out of nowhere. The second time you hear the joke, you realize the guy was sober the whole time, and the joke was that you thought he was drunk.”

    • #10
  11. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    I’ve never appreciated Conan O’Brien — I find him annoying, cloying, incompetent. But Norm on Conan is a great pairing.  Conan is a good straight man perhaps.  Although there are questions…

    • #11
  12. Franco Member
    Franco
    @Franco

    BDB (View Comment):

    drlorentz (View Comment):

    That guy’s timing was incredible.

    I ran across a comment that summed up a good deal of the Norm experience:

    “The first time you hear one of Norm’s jokes, it’s like watching a drunk guy stumble a tightrope, barely hanging on, then landing a perfect finish out of nowhere. The second time you hear the joke, you realize the guy was sober the whole time, and the joke was that you thought he was drunk.”

    I like that approach also. Your comment reminds me of this a classic representation of that style, close to your description.

    RIP Norm.

    • #12
  13. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    The Moth Joke is a brilliant piece of misdirection. You’re hung up on the fact that the moth is talking to a podiatrist, which has to be crucial to the resolution.  The punchline knocks away all the psychological anguish, reveals the podiatrist issue as a red herring, gives you a reason both absurd and rational (“we need the eggs” as the Woody Allen joke goes) and makes a darker point about instinct and nature. 

    What’s unforgivable about the clip above is Conan stepping on the joke halfway through. Of all people he should’ve known he had no role here. Let the man work. 

    • #13
  14. Podkayne of Israel Inactive
    Podkayne of Israel
    @PodkayneofIsrael

    He will be missed. Another Norm obliterated in 2021.

    • #14
  15. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Darn, so sad to hear this . . .

    • #15
  16. Dave of Barsham Member
    Dave of Barsham
    @LesserSonofBarsham

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    The Moth Joke is a brilliant piece of misdirection. You’re hung up on the fact that the moth is talking to a podiatrist, which has to be crucial to the resolution. The punchline knocks away all the psychological anguish, reveals the podiatrist issue as a red herring, gives you a reason both absurd and rational (“we need the eggs” as the Woody Allen joke goes) and makes a darker point about instinct and nature.

    What’s unforgivable about the clip above is Conan stepping on the joke halfway through. Of all people he should’ve known he had no role here. Let the man work.

    That Norm made the moth “Ivan Ilyich” from The Death of Ivan Ilyich is something I didn’t realize until a lot later (I’m just a country boy). I imagine most of the people in the audience don’t know it when he’s telling it either, which doesn’t really matter for the joke to land. Still, the fact that the guy is more or less correctly telling a story out of Russian literature to tell a moth joke makes it even more impressive.

    • #16
  17. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    No more Yaphit on “The Orville.”

     

    • #17
  18. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    It’s pretty funny that they re-posted this one:

     

    • #18
  19. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    kedavis (View Comment):

    It’s pretty funny that they re-posted this one:

     

    This has one of my favorite Norm moments.  I won’t spoil anything.  FEARLESS.

    • #19
  20. ddavewes Member
    ddavewes
    @ddavewes

    The baby seal story. Some resemblance in style to the moth joke.

     

    • #20
  21. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

     

    • #21
  22. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    BDB: Norm lost his private battle with cancer today.

    It was a draw!

    • #22
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