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This weekday update just broke a lot of hearts.
Comedian and former “Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update” host Norm Macdonald has passed away following a nine-year battle with cancer that he kept private, Deadline reports.
Macdonald’s management company Brillstein Entertainment told the news outlet that Macdonald, 61, died on Tuesday. His friend and producing partner Lori Jo Hoekstra was with him, and explained that the comic had wanted to keep his health struggles away from his friends, family and fans.
“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.”
Macdonald, who was born in Quebec City in 1959, was an “SNL” cast member from 1993-1998, and was perhaps best known for his deadpan delivery while anchoring the “Weekend Update” segments. He later starred in “The Norm Show” comedy series from 1999-2001, and the short-lived Netflix talk show “Norm Macdonald Has a Show” in 2018.
