How Norm Macdonald saved ‘SNL’ in one of its ‘dark times’
Germans love David Hasselhoff.”That, for me, was the classic off-kilter Macdonald remark during his remarkable, too-short run on “Saturday Night Live” where, from 1993 to 1998, he was one the brightest stars on a show already nearing its 20th season — and going through one of its sporadic “dark times” (Translation: it was rarely funny … save for Norm and a few others including Will Ferrell, Kevin Nealon, Tim Meadows and Cheri Oteri).Macdonald, who died Tuesday at the age of 61, was reportedly battling cancer for the past decade but never wanted to go public with his diagnosis, for fear people would laugh with him because of his personal situation — and not because of his jokes, which more often than not, hit the comic bullseye.