Seth MacFarlane: “Norm, you want to be a blob?”
Norm: “Hell yeah, I’ll be a blob.”
Damn, if this is real, it’s yet more proof that Norm hid the mind of a brilliant poet beneath his comedy.
Tbh, I was never a fan of his comedy. A little too flat for me. But the guy was so smart and kind, it’s no wonder everyone that knew him loved him.
A little too flat for me
There’s a reason why he’s considered the comedian’s comedian. His deadpan delivery is a perfect blend of subverting joke structure and just perfect timing.
I’m on board with that fully. I think the best thing I’ve ever seen of his is the moth joke.
And, I think part of my view of him was “too flat” was because he works best when he’s playing off of someone that gets it. Working just for a camera, or a crowd, he doesn’t have the same delivery as he does when it’s smaller scale. He’s still deadpan, but it’s “alive” in a way I’m not sure how to describe.
Obviously, since this came up, I’ve been casually watching stuff again. And that’s the impression I get, that when he’s able to play to people rather than a camera or generic crowd, there’s something in the way he moves that changes. The stuff that has me laughing like a loon is when he’s connected to someone, or a small group, like when he was reading jokes at the roast.
I agree with the other comment, he was the natural successor to the kind of thing Kaufman was so good at. I really just wish I’d seen more of that side of him as a viewer as opposed to the SNL stuff which is a totally different vibe.
I have some positive stories about Norm.
At a comedy show afterparty, these women groupies came for Norm. And Norm, not interested, said, “Hey You don’t want to party with a old guy like me. My dick doesn’t work! Those fellas could probably use some company!”
And they did! They all left together and Norm just hung out with the staff.
If you ever met comedians, they’re timid and shy, and often starving for attention. So to see someone like Norm MacDonald do that made him so incredible to me. Just super confident in himself.
His confidence was really something else. All of his friends in comedy describe him as “fearless” because he was never desperate to prove himself and seemed to just do whatever he personally thought was funny.
There are multiple stories of him going out and bombing on purpose, just for kicks.
There are multiple stories of him going out and bombing on purpose, just for kicks.
I mean if you listen to his live stuff, a solid quarter of it is him bombing intentionally, then just antagonizing the audience. Its like whatever the opposite of crowdwork is.
crowdplay? 🤔
