Norm Macdonald’s Funniest Moments: Watch Burt Reynolds on ‘SNL,’ His Best Late-Night Jokes and More

William Earl
·2 min read
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Norm Macdonald, who has died at the age of 61, was an iconic comedian, known for his deadpan delivery and lack of fear in committing to bits that would make other comedians cringe, such as mocking fellow late night guests, letting jokes bombs for his own amusement or going clean when others were getting dirty. Below, Variety has gathered some of Macdonald’s most iconic bits.

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Macdonald created one of the most iconic “Saturday Night Live” impressions ever with the help of a novelty foam cowboy hat and the nickname “Turd Ferguson.”

Macdonald’s “Weekend Update” coverage on O.J. Simpson

This compilation cobbles together some of Macdonald’s most incendiary jokes about the O.J. Simpson trial on “Saturday Night Live.”

“The Moth Joke”

Macdonald loved telling long, rambling stories during his legendary late night appearances, and his extra-dry “Moth Joke” has racked up over a million views on YouTube.

Norm Macdonald’s Roast of Bob Saget

Comedy Central’s roasts were known as NSFW affairs, where the panelists mercilessly roasted each other. But Macdonald zigged when everyone else zagged, delivering nearly six minutes of tame jokes derived from a book called “Jokes From Retirement Parties,” which lost the audience but made the comedians onstage crack up.

Courtney Thorne-Smith and Norm Macdonald on Conan in 1997

Courtney Thorne-Smith might have been the scheduled guest during this “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” segment, but Macdonald completely stole the show, landing two devastating jokes about Thorne-Smith’s “Chairman of the Board” costar Carrot Top, including one of late night’s best ever puns.

“The Real World With Bob Dole” on “SNL”

On “SNL,” Macdonald did a hilarious impression of former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole if he would have been a character on MTV’s “The Real World.” “Who the hell ate my peanut butter? Peanut butter!” Macdonald as Dole shouts at the other cast members, including Tim Meadows and Molly Shannon. Other highlights from the skit include Macdonald knocking someone over in a chair because it was “his” and practicing socializing with other important politicians in a mirror.

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