Saturday Night Live Comedian Norm Macdonald has Died

NEW YORK – Actor, former “Saturday Night Live” cast member and comedian Norm Macdonald has died.

The former “Saturday Night Live” cast member, who was known for playing the anchor on the SNL sketch “Weekend Update” from 1993-1998, had a private battle with cancer for 9 years. His partner, Lori Jo Hoekstra, was with him when he passed.

Macdonald’s diagnosis was kept from the public.

Hoekstra said, “He was most proud of his comedy. 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.’ Norm will be missed terribly.”

Macdonald started his career in comedy as a writer on “Roseanne” and did comedy gigs around Canada until he joined “Saturday Night Live” in 1993. Norm did the” Weekend Update” on SNL and on portrayed Burt Reynolds on the “Jeopardy” sketch. Macdonald left Saturday Night Live in 1998.

In the 1990s, Norm Macdonald had acting roles in the Adam Sandler film Billy Madison as well as Screwed, Deuce Bigalow, The People vs. Larry Flynt and did voice-over work in the Dr. Dolittle films.