Who is Norm Macdonald's wife? 'SNL' star and comedian dies of cancer at 61

Norm Macdonald succumbed to a nine-year-long cancer battle

UPDATED SEP 15, 2021

Norm Macdonald demise was confirmed by his management team at Brillstein Entertainment on Tuesday, September 14 (Michael Brands/Getty Images)

Former 'Saturday Night Live' anchor and comedian, Norm Macdonald passed away. He was 61 years old. Macdonald succumbed to a nine-year-long cancer battle. He was scheduled to be in the New York Comedy Festival lineup in November. The comedian's demise was confirmed by his management team at Brillstein Entertainment on Tuesday, September 14.

Macdonald's longtime producing partner and friend Lori Jo Hoekstra, who was with him when died, noted that the star had been battling cancer for nearly a decade. "He was most proud of his comedy. He never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him. Norm was a pure comic. He once wrote that ‘a joke should catch someone by surprise, it should never pander.’ He certainly never pandered. Norm will be missed terribly, " Hoekstra said. We witnessed the demise of many great stars in recent months. Paul Mooney, Art Metrano, Phil Jerrod and Sean Lock are to name a few.

How did Fuquan Johnson die? Comedian, 42, found dead in LA along with two others

Norm Macdonald (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Macdonald began his show business career in the comedy clubs of his native Canada. He competed in the early reality TV competition series 'Star Search' in 1990. Norm is known to be in the infamous writer’s room for fellow standup Roseanne Barr’s hit sitcom 'Roseanne' during the 1992-93 season before landing his coveted gig on Lorne Michael’s iconic NBC sketch comedy series 'SNL'. "I would love to stay at SNL forever — but you can’t stay in the same place. People think you’re a loser, " Norm told TV Guide in 1997.

After exiting 'SNL' in 1998, Norm starred in his own sitcom, 'The Norm Show', from 1999-2001. He also hosted a one-season talk show 'Norm Macdonald Has a Show' on Netflix in 2018. Norm Macdonald once said, "I was in my peak physical condition when I was about like, uh — one, oh God, I looked good, young and fresh! You wouldn’t know me now if you’d seen me when I was one, you know? I even looked good for my age. People would come up to me and go, ‘what are you, zero?’ And I’d go, “no, I’m one over here!"

Who is Norm Macdonald's ex-wife?

Macdonald married Connie Vaillancourt in 1988, with whom he has a son, Dylan, born in 1993. The couple separated in April 1999.