The guy who fired Norm

A couple of minutes ago I was scanning ESPN.com when I noticed the article “What fans hate the most” by ESPN ombudsman Don Ohlmeyer, otherwise known as the man who fired Norm MacDonald from Saturday Night Live.

As pathetic as it is, I remember Norm’s firing like it was yesterday. January 7th, 1998. I was 17-years-old, and not surprisingly to all who read this blog, still a good six or seven months away from losing my virginity, thereby freeing me up to watch Norm on Letterman.

At the time, there were probably only three things I watched on TV. Seinfeld, Dave and SNL for Norm’s legendary “Weekend Update” segments. The holy trinity of comedy.

So, imagine my surprise when Dave revealed Norm had been fired from “Weekend Update” earlier that day. It was unimaginable. “Who would fire Norm?”

The answer, Don Ohlmeyer, of course. The then NBC president claimed to have demoted Norm for being “unfunny,” but many insiders felt that MacDonald’s constant jokes about Ohlmeyer’s friend, O.J. Simpson, were the real reason.

In the interview, Letterman, who knew Ohlmeyer as one of the sleazy NBC executives who helped Jay Leno steal The Tonight Show, called him both an “idiot” and a “pinhead,” while Macdonald mocked his friendship with O.J. and called him a “fat guy.” Letterman also questioned the loyalty of SNL creator Lorne Michaels for not supporting Norm.

Not surprisingly, a couple months later Ohlmeyer fired MacDonald from the whole show altogether. In his return to Letterman, which until looking it up I thought happened mere weeks later rather than months, Norm leads off the interview by saying:

“You kept saying “he’s an idiot, he’s a pinhead” and stuff like that and I kept saying, “he’s a good guy” and ahh, it turns out you were right.”

Later on, Dave adds:

“He’s one of these guys, he fancies himself ‘creative’ doesn’t he? Well, I worked for Don Ohlmeyer when I was at NBC for years and years and years, and I know the guy, and here’s a guy who could not create gas after a bean dinner.”

Part 2 of interview.

I love these interviews. My two favourite comedians of all-time both at the top of their game. What could be better?

Well, getting laid, but like I said, that didn’t happen until much later.

…
…
…

Pearl Jam dropped by Conan’s Seattle show on Tuesday night (clips).

Curb Your Enthusiasm was officially renewed for an 8th season. It will film this summer and premiere next year sometime. I’ve always said that there would be ten seasons. To make real money in syndication, there needs to be 100 episodes (Curb has ten per year). No one knows this better than Larry David, so look forward to not just one, but three more great seasons of Curb.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert signed contract extensions with Comedy Central on Monday. Stewart agreed to host “The Daily Show” through June 2013, while Colbert is locked up until the end of 2012. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any contract details.

Congratulations to 71-year-old Al Pacino, who is apparently dating an Argentinian actress 40 years his junior.

The fourth season of Mad Men will begin Sunday, July 25th.