Name: Dennis Miller is the Biggest Norm Macdonald Fan
Uploaded: 2021-10-01T20:06:37.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Dennis Miller is the Biggest Norm Macdonald Fan' from I'm not Norm on Comedy Buff. Published 2021-10-01. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Dennis Miller is the Biggest Norm Macdonald Fan' from I'm not Norm on Comedy Buff. Published 2021-10-01. Transcript available.

Dennis Miller is the Biggest Norm Macdonald Fan

The smartest cat I ever knew at SNL, and a much revered figure there is joining
us for another segment.
This is my former producer, longtime writer and contributor, Jim Downey.
Jim, I had Norm on the show yesterday.
I always thought Norm from the first second I saw him was just a flat-out misanthropic
genius.
I always gave him a wide berth as far as time schedules and that because I just
said,
I'm going to grab Amadeus and tell him he has to be here to do busy work.
You know what I mean?
That isn't going to happen.
So I think he's a genius.
What was it like to work with him on Updates?
Well, he is a genius and the most fearless performer.
I mean, he likes people to laugh at his stuff.
He enjoys that, but it's sort of one of half a dozen important aspects of what
he does.
So if he really loves a joke or a bit, he will happily go out there and do it,
whatever the response is.
And if there is a, if you want or want to hear a story.
I love me a Norm story.
One time we were in the office doing update stuff and there had been a news
item about there was going to be a newspaper for the homeless.
And so we were thinking about doing some of that.
So we started improvising.
It was more of a scene, not something we could do on the segment.
But it was like a tough kind of Terry White kind of editor going like, you,
Miller, I want 500 words on going to the bathroom in your pants.
You, you know, give me something.
Give me a human interest thing.
I'm here in Stain Matters.
You, you know, that kind of thing.
We had like a lot of, a lot of like photos, maybe some, you know, a little
human side, you know, what are, you know, pets, that kind of thing.
And so nothing came of it.
And I sort of forgot we had the conversation.
And then the first meeting we have after the summer, Norm comes to you and goes,
hey, hey, Daddy, remember that, you know, that thing we were talking about
there with the, you know, that thing with the newspaper for the homeless, you
know, that thing, the homeless newspaper.
I go, yeah, yeah.
He goes, yeah, well, you know, I was out in L.A. and I, I was asked to do this
benefit, you know, for the coalition to feed the homeless.
And, you know, and I'm going, no, no, no, no, and he goes, yeah, you know, I, I,
I, I did that bit, you know.
They hated it.
They hated it.
All right.
You tell me now.
He, that's part of the, that's the Andy Kaufman part of the joke, or is he
actually surprised that they hated it?
That's what I can't quite figure with.
I know.
Jimmy calls in here periodically and says that he has bought a puppet and he
wants to work material out on the show.
And I'll say, well, tell me about the puppet.
And it's an old man puppet who's a Holocaust denier.
And it's obviously just Norm sitting at home talking as Norm.
He makes no pretension to a puppet voice.
I know.
And I think he, he's, he's Andy.
I don't know.
I view, I view a lot of Andy Kaufman in there.
It's just.
He, he, he also would like to, one of the things that he would really enjoy
just getting into a character and then you could not get him out of it.
Like he, he liked doing old man stuff.
Yes.
Like being an old geezer and complaining about aches and pains and stuff like
that.
And then you go, okay, Norm, that now, seriously, now we actually have to talk
about it.
Oh, my, you know, he'd start doing stuff about rheumatism and, you know, things
like that.
And you just had to plead with him to just, to, to just stop.
But he, he was on his own kind of, you know, set of rhythms.
The speed with which he would take his sport coat off at the end of his Letterman
impression always used to, I would watch the thing just to watch.
Because Letterman, so ill at ease with show business, always makes this
conscious show of getting rid of the sport coat at the end of the show.
And when Lauren picked up, or when, uh, Norm picked up on that and did that his
impression, God, I fell out.
You know, I learned a little bit about that was, was Norm.
And of course, Norm's a little crazy.
But, but Norm, you know, big hosts would come and we'd all get all hopped up.
Like, okay, yeah, Rosie's going to bring in a big rating.
Let's get our A to, where's my goat?
I'm going to throw out a goat.
And, uh, Norm would sit there in the pitch meeting.
We'd all be dead serious.
You know, Will would throw out, I'm going to do a cheerleader.
Right.
And Norm would be like, hey, yeah, I got a sketch ready, you know, you're going
in your pants.
You know?
And you're just walking around.
And you're like, yeah, I'm a guy with a in my pants.
I keep this guy.
And he looked kind of like he was nuts, but he knew what he was doing.
Yeah, Norm knew exactly.
Listen, one of the single funniest things I've ever seen in my life is when he
did Letterman,
how quickly he would throw the sport coat off at the end of the sketch.
Nothing made me laugh harder than Norm doing Letterman.
And I said, well, what's with the sport?
You know how Letterman, how ill and easy he is with show business.
Norm said, that's all I had at the beginning.
The essence of it was his discomfort.
I said, this guy's a freaking genius.
He is a genius.
He would warm up the crowd.
Now, when I would warm up the crowd, I would warm up like I was playing the
garden.
And I wanted to teach everyone a lesson.
If I'm cut from tonight, I want you to know I should have been on.
But I was a badass.
Yeah, I'd warm up the crowd.
Kale, Norm would go up behind me.
And he'd go, um, hey, you know, Jim Brewer and these guys, he's got all these
great impressions.
You know?
So I said, well, I've got to learn some impressions.
So are you guys already, this is my newest impression of these, and I love it.
Because here's Ed Sullivan.
And I'm like, he's really going to do Ed Sullivan?
Like, why would you?
He goes, Ed Sullivan, introducing the Beatles.
And he goes, ladies and gentlemen, it's the Beatles.
Well, I've got to work on that one a little bit.
I see you there in the show.
He's got a little Andy Kaufman in him, Norm.
He likes to frustrate, titillate a little.
But then periodically, he'll say something like, you know, I feel sorry for the
homeless guy's dog.
Because, you know, the dog's thinking, this is the longest walk I've ever been
on.
Norm's hosting a sports show now, Jimbo, on Comedy Central.
Oh, that's dangerous, you and I both know that can be fair.
Yeah, but that is a panel I volunteer for.
Because I want to be in the blast side of that when that goes off.
Because that is going to be a hoot.
Hey, now listen, did I hear some rumble that Sandler, brother Sandler, sent out
Maseratis to the cast of Grown Ups?
Did you reap the benefit?
First of all, let me just say one thing.
Nothing's better than you get to Pellosius or Gustius or Gustius or Gustius.
Pellosius or Gustius.
I'm still swooning over that one.
Yeah, Sandler, Maseratis to Spade, Schneider, Kevin James, Chris Rock, all of
whom need one, by the way.
Exactly.
What do you get?
But me and Norm MacDonald, yeah, he's giving us, we're splitting a zip car.
And, you know, you split a zip car with Norm, it's like having one of those,
you know, those Christmas trees the drivers have that smells like North Slope
Sensamean.
Yeah, this car, I don't know, they must have been smoking pot in here or
something.
Norm cancels on us once every two weeks, and I almost enjoy it more than him
showing up at this point,
because he always wants me to talk to some ventriloquist puppet that he says is
on the phone.
A holocaust tonight, what has happened to Norman?
And then when he sees you, he's going to go, how come you never have me on your
show?
I know.
We tried to get you on, what?
Nobody funnier, though.
I mean, you've got to give it to him.
Nobody funnier.
That guy, if I'm in a room with him for ten minutes, they've got to put the paddles
on me, because I flat.
Now, you're a young iconoclast, Norm.
You know, the kids, they get you.
What?
I was going to wear a suit, and I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I...
I don't need you.
I like this old D.B. Cooper look for you, man.
This is...
Now, it is...
Is he the guy who jumped out of the plane?
No, no.
He's married to Alice Cooper.
Now, the thing I'm, uh...
Do you remember you wrote for my first talk show?
Yeah, you gave me my first job.
And I used to come in the room, and you and Drake say there had no lights on.
It was like some fucking Anton LaVey Satan cult in there.
And you guys used to turn out the sickest jokes ever.
And everybody was always smoking.
Then I see you on Saturday Night Live during the opening credits.
And one of the things I like about you is you're completely unfiltered on that
show.
You'll say anything.
And I saw in the picture you had a cigarette in your mouth.
This guy just doesn't give a shit.
So I asked you to come on.
I find out you pussed out on me and quit smoking.
What is that all about?
No, because it's bad for you.
They have these fucking things on the side.
You have to read the fine print where it says, it's bad.
Now, when did you first start smoking?
I started smoking as a kid, like when I was, uh...
I think I was like 14.
And I thought, I'll look really cool, like, if I start smoking.
Because I didn't get along with anybody.
So I started smoking.
Wouldn't you know it, I did look cool.
All of a sudden, all these broads liked me and everything.
Not broads, but ladies, girls, women.
And, uh, it was hard, though, man.
Because I was guilty about all the time I smoked.
Because I always thought, you know, I always knew it was bad for me, you know.
Like, even though some, you know, some guys will say that it's good because
their uncle lived long or something and he smoked.
You know, and they'll go, hey, what about, you know, that old guy, uh, you know,
Burt Mustin.
What about that guy, you know?
And then, uh, uh, uh, he, just because he lived long, that doesn't mean
anything, right?
That's just one guy.
You can't, just because Burt Mustin lived long, you're all of a sudden.
You did your master's theses on this, didn't you?
Now, do people bother you a lot when you're smoking?
Or are people pissed off when?
Yeah, people don't like when you smoke, you know, they, they're bothered, like,
I gotta admit, though, secondhand smoke is bad.
Like, I don't like, when I smoked, I didn't like secondhand smoke, you know?
I like that firsthand smoke because you get to suck it right out of the
cigarette, you know?
And the secondhand, any, any fucking thing that's already been ingested by
someone is not as good, you know?
You know what I mean?
I, I, I, like a pork sandwich is delicious, but after a digested pork sandwich,
that's fucking shit.
You know?
You can't fight that logic, Norman.
You cannot?
Do you think advertising brings kids to smoking?
You know, they have a lot of fight with the Joe Camel thing.
Do you think they really?
Yeah, they got, no, yeah, definitely, they gotta, because the thing is this.
The advertisers, they gotta go after kids because they're not gonna get adults.
Like, there's not gonna be a 50-year-old guy going, hey, I should start smoking.
That goddamn Camel, look at him.
They gotta get little children.
Joe Camel.
Yeah.
That's a frightening-looking beast.
Because he looks like a cock.
I didn't make this up.
I, I, I know you don't mind first-hand cock, but, uh.
You don't know that.
Don't say that.
I know how this stuff happens, man.
Because a buddy of mine worked on Saturday Night Live, and he said he was a fag
once, as a joke.
Then he said, everybody comes up to him saying, are you a fag?
Gay man, gay man, I mean.
Show about smoking.
They thought you meant the British word for cigarette.
All right, uh.
Exactly.
Can I bum a fag?
That's what they say in England.
Where else?
All right, uh.
The thing about Joe Camel looking like a cock, Dennis.
Oh, yeah.
I lost my train of thought.
Thanks for bringing me back.
It was this.
This is what I've noticed.
He look, he doesn't even look like a fucking camel.
He looks so much like a cock.
Because you know how it's usually subliminal?
Yeah.
Where you have to find