The Canadian star known for his laconic, deadpan style died of cancer after a previously unshared diagnosis nine years ago
Norm Macdonald, the Canadian stand-up comic and Saturday Night Live cast member known for his deadpan delivery, died of cancer Tuesday at age 61.
The comedian had been living with cancer in private for nearly a decade, according to his longtime friend and producing partner Lori Jo Hoekstra, who was with him when he died. “He was most proud of his comedy,” Hoekstra told Deadline. “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.”
