I have recently been diagnosed with a chronic disease that keeps me immobile most of the day, but watching Norm has given me joy. I wish I could thank him personally.
I believe in another interview he is talking abt his former boss and how he got fired over the phone... And conan just ask something and he goes "Naahh, he is a good man, you know" and conan calls him out for tht
I love how Norm’s bits are completely chaotic, you never know if they’re completely random, if there’s a punchline, whether it’s the end of story or there’s more to it, what’s intended and what’s not... - it’s basically like random guy talking random stuff but it’s bizarrely hilarious.
I love that chaotic, seemingly random aspect, too, but they're definitely planned. He told the same story to Conan with pretty much all the same punchlines.
I love how even though he's explaining everything as though Jay doesn't know what any of it is, he doesn't come across as patronizing, but more bewildered and hoping for someone to commiserate with over how strange the world is. Very unique delivery style.
To hear Leno laugh so genuinely to Norm's material and shtick raised him in my estimation. I thought - he knows something special when its there.@@thomasc2680
"This other character...he comes out of the bathroom. You know? He was in the bathroom?" *holds eyesight, pauses, checks to see if audience understands this concept, waits for this new and important information to be assimilated*
Interesting...the Seinfeld episode "The Merv Griffin Show" where George hits a squirrel and has to take it to an animal hospital where the doctors then give him 30 minutes alone with the squirrel aired on November 6, 1997. This episode of the tonight show was on Jay Leno's 47th birthday, which was April 28, 1997. So the Seinfeld writers very much could've been inspired by this exact Norm story.
It Was So Sudden To Me.. When I Learned Norm Macdonald Past Away. I Never Cried In Such A Way.. I Out Wardly Balled. It Was Just So Easy To Connect With Him. ( even if it was through television )
@@joelluongo7419 I feel this. Norm's passing was a gut punch to me, especially losing Rush L the same year. Few other celebrity deaths impacted me like those two, along with Robin Williams and Prince... all of whom I found myself shredding tears for in a way which surprised me.
@@joelluongo7419 me too, I think because he helped through my depression years ago, I felt close to him. He believed in God and I remember wondering if he was okay in afterlife. And the day he died exactly while thinking that I got a spam call from Los Angeles California. I’ve never had a spam call from LA before or since the day he died. I’m from Philly.
It's wonderful when Norm's recounting some moments of quick thinking that spanned a few seconds at most but turns it into 30 seconds of making sure we're caught up on some of the most obvious parts of his winding tale.
That's what Norm does. Comedians love and laugh at Norm. Sadly a lot of people don't get his humor. It's more about his chaotic and spastic delivery that's just pure fun.
Mike Tang - so you’re saying that this guy who is in showbiz is not exactly like this all the time? I think you’re on to something here. He is worshipped by the biggest names in comedy as a genius, but I’m going with Ted Johansen, a RU-vid commenter...nailed it chief. Good thinkin.
@@toxxygen2424 So you're here why? That would be like me going to CNN and telling them how stupid the libtards are. Quite pointless. They already know they're stupid.
I fucking love Norm. He’s like the old man that’s constantly rambling out old stories that run into each other and never stop, except every bit of it is hilarious.
His delivery is untouchable....the man is a fucking GENIUS, one of the most talented comedians on the planet. ...I use Turd Ferguson to fill out bullshit online surveys
Leno is a comic legend, just because you were too young to get him doesn't change that. There's a reason he got the highest ratings of any of the late night show guys
Yep, and I think that’s why norm mentions at the 4:20 mark that the guy who gave him the cat ‘is working on the Seinfeld show now’. I think norm wanted to get on record that a writer for Seinfeld got this joke from him.
Fred Stoller was his friend who wrote for Seinfeld. Norm interviewed him when he had his podcast/RU-vid channel. Unfortunately Norm deleted his channel, but you might still find the episode on youtube.
After these things aired, people would basically never see them again. So it made a lot more sense then. Now everything is online to be rewatched for all of history.
its bits from their stand ups, its what every comic does. People still think its random stories they are sharing, but almost every time a comedian does a late night show they just use a few jokes from their stand up Isnt as fun if you know their stand up routines already, esp ppl unlike Norm that do lots of specials but really it makes sense cause they are only on these shows to promote themselves and to do that you use your best jokes
Norm finishes the sick cat story another time on Conan's show. Its great how a joke like this has multiple punch lines, and Norm is able to cut the joke short and still get it to work.
i had a cat that had a heart attack once. when he was recovering he told me he had eaten way more pepperoni than he had led me to believe. lying bastard...
@@vangroover1903Yes...in a very weird way, it may have been Norm's final, ultimate joke--of a more cosmic nature...when you think about it, our lives are so brief, and mostly meaningless, that life itself is sort of a sick joke.
Norm told comedy like a jazz musician. The difference between jazz and many other forms of music is that what comes out is spontaneity on top of a plan, rather than just a plan. Jazz musicians know the melody, but play with it in real time to make it feel loose. Norm knew the key concepts of a story he has to narrate leading up to a punchline or joke, but he plays with the journey there, each time in a slightly different way. Then the third element was he was authentically edgy in real life. Before he "got cancelled" for ridiculous reasons, he willfully lost his podcast's sponsors for the sake of comedy. Before that he willfully got himself fired at SNL for the sake of comedy. Then he returned to the show and sabotaged the show in his monologue as his revenge lol! Before all that back in the 80's he toured America with Sam Kinison at the height of Sam's insanity. Before that he was a highschool dropout that spent nearly a decade doing a mix of blue collar work like logging, and even straight up street crime with jail stints! He gambled away his life savings 3 separate times! The man was good friends with a legit country outlaw like Billie Joe Shaver and was raised on a rural Ontario farm by a very old dad and his World War 2 buddies around. The man even faced a decade of cancer and his own death without ever bringing it up or seeking sympathy. His life could and probably should be a movie. A genius, a clown, and a wildman, all competing inside the same head. Will never be another like him.
@@ironmike5812 His Netflix show "Norm MacDonald Has A Show" was not renewed specifically because he made comments on Howard Stern using "the r word" (meaning a mentally challenged person) that created a huge backlash. This happened around 2019 or 2020.
His humor could touch you at a very human level...his stories, mostly made up, could draw you in, in a very believable, totally relatable way. He found great humor in the more mundane aspects of our daily existence. He was just unique, and I do not believe that any future comedian will be able to copy his style, and his witty insights. Carlin could do this, in a more "in your face" way. Norm did not rely on shocking language, etc.
One of the things about this man is how aware he is of the so called codes and ways of humans and how confident he is of making fun of them. he really enjoyed when people got uncomfortable on his jokes because he had literally no filter. RIP
Yup...check out his ESPY Awards appearance as the host...talk about sheer bravery!..Several of his jokes absolutely stunned his audience, who were mostly made up of professional jocks--who have limited abilities to appreciate such cutting-edge humor!..Norm just did not care a whit if he pissed off his audience! If there is a God (Norm was actually a Christian!), I am pissed off at the deity for taking this brilliant comic from us, and making him suffer from cancer for ten years!
@@alvareo92 Norm is the guest though. If they were just talking in the green room or at a restaurant then I can see what you are saying. Johnny did not tell lengthy stories, but allowed the guests to tell their stories.
