September 14th, 2021.

Norm MacDonald has passed away at the age of 61.

His death constitutes the biggest loss of comedic genius since Don Rickles. The man was a genius, but he was the kind of genius artist that you had to be sophisticated enough to understand. I’m sorry if that sounds pretentious and self-aggrandizing, but it’s true.

I think the thing I admire most about him was that he was fearless.

I want to emphasize “fearless” here. He wasn’t insane. I look at someone like Ari Shaffir and I know it isn’t simply bravery. That’s genuine mental illness.

Norm MacDonald knew exactly what he was doing when he took risks.

Don Ohlmeyer was the President of NBC during Norm’s time as host of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live. Don Ohlmeyer was also a close friend of accused (and legally acquitted) murderer OJ Simpson. Ohlmeyer let it be known that he wasn’t happy with Norm constantly making jokes about Simpson being a murderer. Norm knew it could cost him his job. He didn’t care. He pressed on. I wonder if the threat didn’t makes the jokes even funnier to him?

ABC’s The View invited Norm onto their show prior to the Presidential elections of 2000. The View is ostensibly a political talk show, in spite of the fact that the majority of their hosts aren’t particularly educated on political issues… or even particularly bright. When Norm came on, they asked him for whom he planned to vote. He said that he would vote for George W. Bush and that it was important that there no longer be a murderer in the White House. Barbara Walters- journalist, primary host of the View and Democrat supporter- was not pleased that MacDonald brought up the rumor about President Bill Clinton murdering a man to keep him from testifying against the Clintons. Barbara tried to keep her composure, but she was clearly livid. Norm persisted. “You’re supposed to be funny!!!!” Barbara screamed. And of course he was. It was hysterical. One of the other co-hosts stated on air that he would never be invited back. And of course this being Hollywood, Norm probably pissed off a lot of important people who could affect his career. He didn’t care. It was funny.

Comedy Central brought Norm on to be one of guests for the Comedy Roast of Bob Saget. The celebrities who went on before him did their best to make the audience laugh. Norm MacDonald decided to go a different way. When he took the stage he told the kind of jokes that would have been edgy in the 1940s. There was a palpable nervousness in the air. Was he really going to do the whole set as an intentional bomb? Yes. He did. And it was legendary. Out of the dozen or so Roasts that Comedy Central has done, that is easily the most talked about set, despite the Roasts regularly featuring other legends like Jeff Ross and Greg Giraldo. Several years later, Andy Samberg attempted to replicate the set, but didn’t have the balls to go full out and purposely bomb on stage.

But I digress.

So why bring all this up?

Great comedy is one of the biggest things that makes life worth living, second only to love. For that reason, I will miss Norm MacDonald’s presence in our world. But as an artist, the thing I most admire him for is his fearlessness and his commitment to his art. He constantly took risks. He went his own way and never looked to see if anyone was with him.

That is what it takes to be great. That is what makes a legend.