September 15, (THEWILL) – Popular Canadian comedian, Norm MacDonald, is dead after a nine-year battle with cancer. He was 61 years old.
This was disclosed by his family and representatives, who said he never wanted the public to know he had cancer.
“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.’ He certainly never pandered. Norm will be missed terribly,” Lori Jo Hoekstra, MacDonald’s long-time producing partner, said in a statement.
Some of his friends and colleagues have taken to their social media pages to pay tribute to the late comedian.
Comedian and actor Jim Carrey tweeted: “He was one of our most precious gems. An honest and courageous comedy genius.”
“I am absolutely devastated about Norm MacDonald,” wrote late-night host Conan O’Brien. “I will never laugh that hard again. I’m so sad for all of us today.”
Seth Rogan recalled his own beginnings as a Canadian comic, saying: “I essentially ripped off his delivery when I first started acting. We lost a comedy giant today. One of the all-time greats,” Rogan added.
The late comedian was born in Quebec City in 1959 and started doing comedy in Canadian clubs before going to the US to pursue TV comedy writing.
MacDonald was also famous for comedies such as Dirty Work, Billy Madison and Dr Doolittle.
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