The news of O.J. Simpson’s death was met with a mixed bag of responses befitting his complicated (to say the least) history. But hearing the news, my immediate thought wasn’t anything to do with O.J.’s life, controversies or career. It was “Man, I miss Norm Macdonald.”
In my mind, Norm is the greatest stand-up comedian of all time. Norm initially became famous in the ’90s for his turn as the host of Saturday Night Live (SNL)’s Weekend Update segment, during which he relentlessly fired off O.J. Simpson jokes. Most still believe it was these jokes that ultimately cost Norm his job with SNL, as the NBC Executive who fired him, Don Ohlmeyer, was a long-time close friend of O.J. Simpson. (RELATED: Norm Macdonald Roasts OJ Simpson For 10-Minutes Straight Back When SNL Was Funny)
Here’s 10+ minutes of Norm Macdonald shitting on OJ Simpson pic.twitter.com/bEEhNozhp2
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) April 11, 2024
Norm would eventually have his revenge when he returned the following year as the guest host of SNL. In his monologue, he trolled the show by suggesting he was fired for not being funny, and then posited, “So I wondered … how did I go in a year and a half, from being not funny enough to be even allowed in the building, to being so funny that I’m now hosting the show? How did I suddenly get so goddamn funny?”
Norm’s answer to his own question was hilarious: “Then it occurred to me, I haven’t gotten funnier. The show has gotten really bad! So, yeah, I’m funny compared to, you know, what you’ll see later. Okay, so let’s recap. The bad news is: I’m still not funny. The good news is: The show blows!”
This brazen move encapsulates a large part of what made Norm such a unique and special talent. Describing comedians as “brave” is embarrassing at this point. Generally what’s being referred to is either a propensity for saying something outrageous solely for shock value or delivering unfunny woke testimonials under the guise of comedy. I would guess that Norm would hate being called “brave.”
But it’s hard not to admire the courage of Norm, the examples of which go well beyond that SNL monologue. According to some of his contemporaries, when Norm bombed a show, he would stand at the exit and shake hands with departing audience members, just for the humor of it. He also notoriously appeared on The View and spent the entire show pretending to be astonished that the hosts weren’t aware that Bill Clinton murdered a guy, which he claimed he thought was a “matter of record.”
Both examples, and countless others, not only speak to Norm’s willingness to push boundaries, but also demonstrate something less obvious. There was no “audience” for the joke in either case (certainly not the disappointed fans or outraged View watchers), so who were these jokes for?
Norm’s comedy sometimes seemed to be directed at something greater, like an offering to comedy itself. Norm himself would probably make fun of that claim in his customary understated and undercutting way, but it’s also probably the best way to understand the haunting power of his final special, the audience-free performance on Netflix called “Nothing Special.”
Contrary to the self-deprecation of that title (and of the “old chunk of coal” moniker Norm would frequently give himself), he was certainly something special. As his close friend (and second on my all-time greatest list) Dave Chappelle described it: he was “poetic” and his timing was that of a “jazz drummer.” So, in the wake of O.J.’s death, we should all take time to remember the brilliance of Norm Macdonald.
Liam Gray is an editor at the Daily Caller.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.