Macdonald filmed secret comedy set
Norm Macdonald, the late comic who kept his terminal illness a secret until after he died, had another secret up his sleeve: the posthumous release of a new comedy special.
The former “Saturday Night Live” comic, who died Sept. 14 at age 61 after privately battling cancer for nine years, recorded an hour of new comedy while sitting in his living room under what were dire circumstances.
“His test results were not good, so during the heart of (the) COVID-19 pandemic and literally the night before going in for a procedure, he wanted to get this on tape just in case — as he put it — things went south,” the comic’s longtime producing partner Lori Jo Hoekstra told the Hollywood Reporter on Thursday.
“It was his intention to have a special to share if something happened,” she said.
But Macdonald pulled through his procedure and the tape was sort of forgotten, she said. His intention was to record it in front of an audience at some point, but that time never came.
His material will be released May 30 via Netflix under the title “Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special.”
“He didn’t do this for the shock that it exists. He shot it because he loved his material and was so proud of his material,” Hoekstra said. “He worked so hard, and it really would’ve bothered him to have done all that work and not been able to show everybody.”
“Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special” will also reportedly include commentary about the
comic from Adam Sandler, Conan O’Brien, Dave Chappelle, David Letterman, David Spade and Molly Shannon.
Williams addresses scene leak:
Jesse Williams vowed not to be discouraged after leaked video and images of his onstage nude scene in the Broadway play “Take Me Out” were posted online.
“I’m not down about it. Our job is to go out there every night, no matter what,” Williams said Thursday.
The leaked video and images prompted an outcry from the show’s producers and the union that represents actors and stage managers.
“I’m not really worrying about it. I can’t sweat that. We do need to keep advocating for ourselves. And it’s wonderful to see a community push back and make clear what we do stand for, what we don’t,” Williams said. “Consent is important, I thought.
So, let’s keep that in mind
universally.”
Williams is starring in a revival of Richard Greenberg’s exploration of what happens when a Major League Baseball superstar comes out as gay.
‘Bridgerton’ role recast: Netflix is shaking up the “Bridgerton” cast by swapping out Ruby Stokes, the original face of Francesca Bridgerton, for Hannah Dodd in the upcoming third season. While Stokes debuted the role in the first season that dropped in late 2020, Francesca has so far only appeared in five episodes across the series’ first two seasons.
May 14 birthdays: Director George Lucas is 78. Musician David Byrne is 70. Guitarist C.C. DeVille is 60. Musician Fabrice Morvan is 56. Actor Cate Blanchett is 53. Singer Danny Wood is 53. Director Sofia Coppola is 51. Singer Shanice is 49. Actor Carla Jimenez is 48. Musician Dan Auerbach is 43. Actor Miranda Cosgrove is 29.