James Corden leads tributes to Norm MacDonald

James Corden felt “privileged” any time he was in Norm Macdonald’s “orbit”.

The 43-year-old star has paid tribute to the late ‘Saturday Night Live’ comedian – who died aged 61 on Tuesday (14.09.21) after losing his battle with cancer – and honoured him during his opening monologue on ‘The Late Late Show’.

He said: “All Norm ever wanted to do was to make us laugh, and he was absolutely brilliant at it. There was nobody quite like him. I felt privileged any time I got to be in his orbit.”

Corden hailed the late comedian as one of the greats.

He added: “He leaves us as one of the all-time great comics, perhaps the single greatest guest in the history of late-night television, I think.”

‘The Late Show’ host Stephen Colbert, 57. also remembered Norm, and praised his ability to tell “dark” jokes.

He said: “I liked that he told jokes, that, [I mean this in] the nicest possible way, he didn’t seem to care if the audience liked them.

“But he liked the joke. They were sometimes dark, sometimes even too dark for me. But they were dark and strange and he had a wonderful presence.”

Concluding his tribute to MacDonald, Colbert said he “wasn’t a good enough comedian” to come up with a fitting joke about the late star and noted the great loss the comedy world has suffered.

He added: “I wish I were a good enough comedian to come up with a joke right now about Norm Macdonald having died. But the only comedian I know who could get away with a ‘Norm Macdonald is dead’ joke, is Norm Macdonald.

“And I’m going to miss the fact that there’s nobody left on the planet who can do that. And the comedy world is poorer for it today.”

‘Late Night’ host Seth Meyers also paid tribute after working with Norm on ‘Saturday Night Live’, and recalled the first time they met.

He said: “I started at SNL in 2001, and I remember one time, Norm walked back into the studio to visit.

“I don’t remember how old his son was at the time, but his son was young and someone said, ‘Hey Norm, how’s being a dad?’

“And he said, ‘It’s going great. Still no abductions.’ That’s the first thing I ever heard him say in-person.”