Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Norm Macdonald
From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how Norm Macdonald made an impact.
Norm Macdonald was a Canadian comedian, actor, and writer celebrated for his deadpan delivery and understated style. He was a stand-up comedian with a folksy style. He was a frequent and popular guest on late-night talk shows. David Letterman regarded him as the best stand-up comedian. He appeared in many movies and tv-shows.
1985: First Stand-up Performances
In 1985, Norm Macdonald's first performances in comedy were at stand-up clubs in Ottawa, regularly appearing on amateur nights at Yuk Yuk's.
1986: Performed at Just For Laughs Comedy Festival
In 1986, Norm Macdonald performed at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, where he was heralded as "one of this country's hottest comics".
August 1989: U.S. Network Television Debut
In August 1989, Norm Macdonald made his U.S. network television debut by appearing on The Pat Sajak Show.
May 1990: Appearance on Late Night with David Letterman
In May 1990, Norm Macdonald appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, where the host became a huge fan.
1992: Writer for The Dennis Miller Show
In 1992, Norm Macdonald served as a writer for the only season of The Dennis Miller Show. He was also hired as a writer for Roseanne for the 1992–93 season.
1993: Joined Saturday Night Live
In 1993, Norm Macdonald joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) television program. In the following year, during the show's twentieth season, Macdonald began anchoring the news satire segment Weekend Update.
1996: Appeared in The People vs. Larry Flynt
In 1996, Norm Macdonald appeared in The People vs. Larry Flynt as a reporter.
1997: Stopped Frank Stallone Jokes
In 1997, Norm Macdonald stopped making jokes about Frank Stallone on Weekend Update after a request from Sylvester Stallone, Frank's brother, who was guest host for SNL.
January 10, 1998: Colin Quinn Replaced Macdonald
Beginning on January 10, 1998, Colin Quinn replaced Norm Macdonald as Weekend Update anchor on SNL.
February 28, 1998: Last Appearance on SNL
On February 28, 1998, Norm Macdonald made one of his last appearances on SNL, playing the host of a fictitious TV series titled Who's More Grizzled? He was dismissed shortly thereafter.
1998: Starred in Dirty Work and Voiced Lucky in Dr. Dolittle
In 1998, Norm Macdonald co-wrote and starred in Dirty Work and voiced Lucky in the Eddie Murphy adaptation of Dr. Dolittle.
1998: Fired from Weekend Update and Starred in Dirty Work
In 1998, Norm Macdonald was removed as host of SNL's Weekend Update. After being fired from SNL, he wrote and starred in the 1998 film Dirty Work.
October 23, 1999: Hosted Saturday Night Live
On October 23, 1999, Norm Macdonald returned to Saturday Night Live to host the show. He expressed resentment at being fired from Weekend Update in his opening monologue.
1999: Starred in The Norm Show and Appeared in Man on the Moon
In 1999, Norm Macdonald starred in The Norm Show and made an appearance in the Andy Kaufman biographical drama Man on the Moon.
1999: Starred in The Norm Show
In 1999, Norm Macdonald wrote and headlined his own sitcom, The Norm Show, which aired from 1999 to 2001.
November 12, 2000: Appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
On November 12, 2000, Norm Macdonald appeared on the Celebrity Edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, winning $500,000 for charity.
2001: Reprising Lucky in Dr. Dolittle 2
In 2001, Norm Macdonald reprised the role of Lucky in Dr. Dolittle 2.
2003: Starred in A Minute with Stan Hooper
In 2003, Norm Macdonald played the title character in the Fox sitcom A Minute with Stan Hooper, which was cancelled after six episodes.
2005: Created Back to Norm and Voiced Genie on The Fairly OddParents
In 2005, Norm Macdonald created the sketch comedy Back to Norm for Comedy Central. Later in 2005, Macdonald voiced a genie named Norm on the Nickelodeon cartoon series The Fairly OddParents.
September 2006: Released Ridiculous
In September 2006, Norm Macdonald's sketch comedy album Ridiculous was released by Comedy Central Records. He also created an animated series entitled The Fake News on the comedy website Super Deluxe.
2006: Reprising Lucky in Dr. Dolittle 3
In 2006, Norm Macdonald reprised the role of Lucky in Dr. Dolittle 3.
2007: My Name Is Earl appearance
Norm Macdonald appeared as Lil Chubby, the son of Chubby, in the 2007 My Name Is Earl episode "Two Balls, Two Strikes".
2008: Bell Mobility Campaign
Through 2008, Norm Macdonald continued to perform as a voice actor in a series of commercials for Bell Canada divisions, such as Bell Sympatico and Bell Satellite TV, as the voice of Frank the Beaver.
May 16, 2009: Reappeared on Saturday Night Live
On May 16, 2009, Norm Macdonald reappeared as Burt Reynolds on Celebrity Jeopardy! on Saturday Night Live, and in another sketch.
2009: The Middle Debut
In 2009, Norm Macdonald began playing the role of Rusty Heck, Mike Heck's brother, on the sitcom The Middle.
September 2010: Developing Sports Show with Norm Macdonald
In September 2010, Norm Macdonald was developing a series for Comedy Central that he described as a sports version of The Daily Show, which would eventually become Sports Show with Norm Macdonald.
February 26, 2011: Commentator on High Stakes Poker
On February 26, 2011, Norm Macdonald became a commentator and co-host (with Kara Scott) of the seventh season of the TV series High Stakes Poker on Game Show Network.
March 26, 2011: Aired First Stand-Up Special
On March 26, 2011, Norm Macdonald's first stand-up special, Me Doing Stand-Up, aired on Comedy Central.
April 12, 2011: Sports Show with Norm Macdonald Premiered
On April 12, 2011, Sports Show with Norm Macdonald premiered. Nine ordered episodes were broadcast.
June 2012: Safe Auto Insurance Spokesman
In June 2012, Norm Macdonald became the spokesman for Safe Auto Insurance Company, featuring in television and radio commercials, web banners, and outdoor boards. The campaign introduced the tagline, "Drive Safe, Spend Less."
2012: Developing Norm Macdonald is Trending
In 2012, Norm Macdonald was developing a talk show for TBS titled Norm Macdonald is Trending, which would cover headlines from pop culture and social media.
2013: Hosted Norm Macdonald Live
In 2013, Norm Macdonald began hosting the talk show Norm Macdonald Live, a video podcast.
2013: Joins Grantland as Contributor
In 2013, Norm Macdonald joined Grantland as a contributor in the first two months of the year.
2013: Norm Macdonald Live Premieres
In 2013, Norm Macdonald premiered his podcast, Norm Macdonald Live, with Adam Eget as his sidekick. It streamed weekly on Video Podcast Network and was later posted on YouTube.
May 2014: Norm Macdonald Live, Second Season
In May 2014, the second season of Norm Macdonald Live, a podcast featuring Norm Macdonald and sidekick Adam Eget, began streaming.
2014: Campaigns for Late Late Show Host
In 2014, Norm Macdonald campaigned, though unsuccessfully, on Twitter to become the new host of The Late Late Show after Craig Ferguson announced his departure.
May 15, 2015: Final Stand-Up on Late Show
On May 15, 2015, Norm Macdonald performed his final stand-up act on the Late Show with David Letterman. He shared a joke Letterman had told in the 1970s and expressed his love for Letterman, becoming emotional during his set.
August 2015: Becomes Colonel Sanders
In August 2015, Norm Macdonald replaced Darrell Hammond as Colonel Sanders in TV commercials for the KFC fast food chain.
February 2016: Replaced as Colonel Sanders
In February 2016, Norm Macdonald was replaced by Jim Gaffigan as Colonel Sanders in TV commercials for KFC.
September 2016: Based on a True Story Published
In September 2016, Norm Macdonald's semi-fictional memoir, Based on a True Story, was published by Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Random House. It became a New York Times Best Seller.
September 2016: Norm Macdonald Live, Third Season
In September 2016, the third season of Norm Macdonald Live, a podcast featuring Norm Macdonald and sidekick Adam Eget, began streaming.
2016: Authored Based on a True Story
In 2016, Norm Macdonald authored Based on a True Story, a novel that presented a heavily fictionalized account of his life.
May 2017: Comedy Style Shift
From May 2017, Norm Macdonald shifted his comedy to a more reserved, deadpan style, claiming to have "no opinions" with a minimalist delivery.
March 2018: Netflix Orders Talk Show
In March 2018, Netflix announced it had ordered ten episodes of a new talk show titled Norm Macdonald Has a Show, hosted by Macdonald.
September 14, 2018: Norm Macdonald Has a Show Premieres
On September 14, 2018, Norm Macdonald Has a Show, hosted by Macdonald, premiered on Netflix.
2018: The Middle Concludes
In 2018, Norm Macdonald's run as Rusty Heck on the sitcom The Middle came to an end after nine years, as the show concluded.
February 2020: Loko Dating App Launch
In February 2020, Norm Macdonald launched Loko, a dating app he co-created that heavily uses video for first impressions.
July 2021: Hospitalization for Chemotherapy
In July 2021, Norm Macdonald entered the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, for a round of chemotherapy, where he developed an infection. During his hospitalization, he recorded a voice-over role for the television series The Orville.
May 30, 2022: Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special Released Posthumously
On May 30, 2022, Norm Macdonald's final Netflix stand-up special, Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special, which was recorded as an audienceless dry run before his death, was released posthumously to critical acclaim. A discussion with Dave Chappelle, Molly Shannon, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, David Spade, and Adam Sandler followed the special's release.
June 2022: The Orville: New Horizons Premieres
In June 2022, the third season of The Orville, subtitled New Horizons, premiered, featuring Norm Macdonald posthumously as Yaphit, a gelatinous engineer. This was Macdonald's last casting.
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