Another thread got me thinking about Norm. I love this guy. He's a very brave comedian who forges ahead no matter how an audience reacts. This video points out that while MacDonald is known by most people (old enough to remember the 1990s) for his very brief jokes told during the SNL Weekend Update segments, the man actually tells very long and (seemingly) rambling jokes, dipped in world history and Russian literature. Uh, say what? Right. Just watch the video, and stick around for the punch line of the very long joke he's shown telling Conan O'Brien throughout the video. It will tell you a lot about the man's idea of comedy.
You can find several videos on youtube of MacDonald using Hitler for his comedy routine. This would be a fatal mistake for most comedians, but Norm has the courage and the delivery to pull it off. IIRC, he was fired from SNL because some humorless NBC exec did not find him funny. Some people wouldn't know funny if it bit them on the ass. I agree with the author of this video that MacDonald serves as a litmus test for a person's sense of humor.
August 20, 2019, 09:02 AM
smschulz
Totally agree - a true genius.
August 20, 2019, 10:25 AM
parabellum
How 'bout that joke?
I've always said that if you have to explain a joke to someone, there's no point in doing so, but MacDonald is an exception to this. If a joke bombs with an audience, he just stares at them, waits for people to catch up to the joke, then, in many instances, he'll explain why the joke is funny and he does this so well. It's all in the deivery.
August 20, 2019, 10:38 AM
YellowJacket
He is the greatest. I love hearing other comics talk about him, too.
His podcast on Youtube was one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen. So sad that it's not up anymore, but the episodes with Gilbert Gottfried put me in pain. There is a youtube channel called "ImNotNorm" which has tons of Norm videos. I can't count how many times I've just sat and watched Norm videos for an hour or two.
I tell his giant pumpkinhead joke all the time.
I'm gonna vote for the funniest frog with the loudest croak on the highest log.
August 20, 2019, 11:19 AM
NavyGuy
Don Ohlmeyer didn't think he was funny on SNL Update and was pissed at the OJ jokes so he fired Norm mid season. It's never been the same.
Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves.
-D.H. Lawrence
August 20, 2019, 11:52 AM
Ripley
quote:
Originally posted by YellowJacket: .."ImNotNorm" which has tons of Norm videos. I can't count how many times I've just sat and watched Norm videos for an hour or two.
Yep.
Set the controls for the heart of the Sun.
August 20, 2019, 11:55 AM
parabellum
quote:
Originally posted by NavyGuy: Don Ohlmeyer didn't think he was funny on SNL Update and was pissed at the OJ jokes so he fired Norm mid season.
Talk about backing the wrong horse. Man oh man
August 20, 2019, 02:12 PM
LS1 GTO
quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
quote:
Originally posted by NavyGuy: Don Ohlmeyer didn't think he was funny on SNL Update and was pissed at the OJ jokes so he fired Norm mid season.
Talk about backing the wrong horse. Man oh man
A bronco?
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
"If dogs don't go to Heaven, I want to go where they go" Will Rogers
August 20, 2019, 03:17 PM
PHPaul
quote:
Originally posted by LS1 GTO: A bronco?
Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
August 20, 2019, 03:21 PM
NavyGuy
quote:
Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
quote:
Originally posted by NavyGuy: Don Ohlmeyer didn't think he was funny on SNL Update and was pissed at the OJ jokes so he fired Norm mid season.
Talk about backing the wrong horse. Man oh man
A bronco?
Yeah, well he's dead at 72. Wonder if OJ did it.
Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves.
-D.H. Lawrence
August 20, 2019, 04:39 PM
parabellum
Just found this. How incredibly rude they were to the man, especially her Royal Majesty Baba Wawa. And although its hard to hear, at just past the two minute mark, you can hear Star I-am-a-lawyer Jones say "You're not allowed to make accusations (referring to the POTUS) without evidence, that's not the way it works." From the cackling hens on the freaking View!! Monumental hypocrisy!
August 20, 2019, 06:41 PM
roberth
Don't nobody fast forward...watch the whole thing
LOL
That was great.
Not the harpies, the video in the first post.
August 20, 2019, 06:54 PM
corsair
MacDonald and Dennis Miller, both very smart, some times too smart, comedians for network television.
August 20, 2019, 08:38 PM
topherh
I always loved his comedy and his show. Was surprised when the show was cancelled and understood what happened later. He and Dennis Miller are very definitely some of the exceptions to come out of SNL.
August 20, 2019, 08:59 PM
YellowJacket
Found the Norm show with Gilbert Gottfried. Looks like there are 4 parts. Some of the funniest stuff I've ever heard.
I'm gonna vote for the funniest frog with the loudest croak on the highest log.
August 21, 2019, 12:53 AM
medic451
Norm on Dennis Miller Live...
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them." - John Wayne in "The Shootist"
August 21, 2019, 09:20 PM
SevenPlusOne
I think this is my favorite Norm joke.
"Ninja kick the damn rabbit"
August 22, 2019, 04:55 AM
Underworld2086
How about this classic.
August 22, 2019, 06:46 AM
Jelly
I like the guy. I was just watching this youtube of Norm MacDonald last week.
October 30, 2019, 07:51 PM
parabellum
Oh my God, this is hilarious. The first episode of Norm MacDonald Live. Norm, Adam Eget and the late, great Dave Osborne. Super Dave did the best faux outrage and he does that bit throughout ths entire show. The whole segment is worth your time, but check out the 13:45 mark for Super Dave's story about Sly Stone and the midget on the Mike Douglas Show. OMG, I laughed so hard. Also, check out the "Fergie" and Redd Foxx stories he follows up with. "Can't a man relax?!" Damn, I miss this guy.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: parabellum,
