Norm Macdonald Dead at 61

“Saturday Night Live” alum Norm Macdonald has died at the age of 61.

According to Deadline, Macdonald died Tuesday after a nine-year battle with cancer, which he kept private.

In a statement, his friend and producing partner Lori Jo 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.’ He certainly never pandered. Norm will be missed terribly.”

Hoekstra was by Macdonald’s side when he died.

Hoekstra noted that Macdonald kept his cancer private from his family and friends, too.

Macdonald was a member of “Saturday Night Live” for five years until 1998.

After his gig on “Saturday Night Live,” he was a frequent talk show guest, starred on the sitcom “The Norm Show” (1999-2001), recurred on “The Middle” (2010-2018), and hosted “Norm Macdonald Has a Show” on Netflix in 2018.

After the news broke on his death, many celebrities took to social media to mourn his loss, like Jon Stewart, Patton Oswalt, and Seth Rogan.

Stewart tweeted, "No one could make you break like Norm Macdonald. Hilarious and unique. F**k cancer."

Rogen tweeted, "Oh f**k. I was a huge fan of Norm Macdonald and I essentially ripped off his delivery when I first started acting. I would stay up specifically to watch him on talk shows. He was the funniest guest of all time. We lost a comedy giant today. One of the the all time greats. RIP."

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