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Norm Macdonald’s latest comedy special makes it clear he reflected on his mortality while secretly battling cancer for nearly a decade.
The late standup taped Netflix’s low-key “Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special” (streaming now) at his home in front of his computer in the summer of 2020. He wears a navy plaid blazer, baseball cap, and headphones, which he likes because they cover his white hair, which he no longer wants to dye.
“I don’t want someone to paint my hair black because I don’t want to die and then wonder” when God says, “Well, I made your hair white. What do you think it was about? I told you to get your affairs in order, for God’s sake.’”
Nothing Special features the late comedian’s final jokes for about 50 minutes, followed by about 30 minutes of David Letterman, Molly Shannon, Dave Chappelle, Conan O’Brien, Adam Sandler and David Spade telling stories about their boyfriend. The Quebec City native, best known for his stint as the “SNL” cast member (1993-98), died to himself in September 2021 at the age of 61 because “he never wanted the diagnosis to be the way.” influences how the audience or a loved one sees him.”
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Hoekstra is executive producer on Nothing Special. She says in a statement that this stripped down show, which was taped in Macdonald’s living room, “wasn’t originally intended to be a final product,” but “COVID restrictions prevented him from filming in front of audiences.”
‘Nothing Special’ begins with this message: “He was due to undergo a procedure in the summer of 2020 and, as he put it, ‘not wanting to leave anything on the table in case things go wrong.’
“At home, the night before he went in, he shot that — in one take.”
The special is filled with homemade charm. It’s interrupted by a dog barking in the background and Macdonald’s phone ringing, which he answers. “I need to call you back because I’m doing a special on TV, a comedy special,” he tells the caller.
Although there is no audience (and therefore no laughter), one can be fairly certain that a joke about roulette would draw shouts of, “I bet $100 on black and the little silver ball spun around the wheel and all ‘ says Macdonald. And then it landed on red. And that’s what I said, ‘(Expletive) I almost picked that!’” Or when he says his dad was progressive because they had a “gender-neutral bathroom.”
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The set is not perfect. It needed refinement. Macdonald sometimes loses his train of thought (whether that’s part of his routine is hard to say). There are passages that might make some viewers cringe, like Macdonald’s use of the R-word before beginning an awkward passage about people with Down syndrome.
In light of Macdonald’s death, some of his other comments seem sinister. He encourages audiences to have a living will and warns viewers, “You have to be prepared for whatever life throws at you in this world. I learned that as I got older.” He says of making the most of life: “You only have so much time. You have to make a decision.”
Speaking about religion, Macdonald reveals: “One of my biggest fears is that I have chosen the wrong religion (Christianity). I believe that, but then I die and I’m like, ‘Ah! You’re the one! I thought it was the other guy.’”
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“This guy weirdly reconciled his mortality before our eyes in a hilarious way,” says Chappelle after watching the special. Postman agreed. “His circumstance, he bumped into it several times but didn’t stay in place for long. And very important for us from this perspective.”
Macdonald’s fellow comics say they have no idea about his terminal illness.
“Never let you know anything,” Sandler tells the group, but noted that Macdonald “got emotional” on a tour they did together. That’s wonderful, just the tour itself. And hang out, and we have dinner and breakfast and (swear words). It would just be so much fun to see him. He had so much energy to hang up on.”
O’Brien worried that he had offended Macdonald because the comedian had turned down offers to appear on O’Brien’s late night programme. “When he left everyone in the (comedy) community was, we all thought we were the only ones who didn’t know and we were so upset we didn’t get a chance to tell him what he meant to us. O’Brien says: “It was clear to me very quickly that he would not have tolerated it.”
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Shannon recalls that in his later years, Macdonald “really wanted to understand God” and made the most of his time with her when they saw each other for SNL’s 40th anniversary in 2015.
“As soon as he saw me he said, ‘I love you Molly,'” recalls the “Superstar” actress. “He blurted it out immediately. I could feel that he had this urgency to say whatever was on his mind because maybe he’ll never have that moment again. I thought, ‘Oh, there’s something different about Norm.’”
Chappelle describes Macdonald as “uncharacteristically emotional when we broke up” when they last saw each other at the Comedy Store. A picture from that night concludes Chappelle’s The Closer special dedicated to Macdonald. Chappelle says Macdonald lifted his head for the photo. “And I realized in hindsight that he posed for the photo like a gift. It was a very fitting farewell.”
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