Fans of Norm Macdonald will want to catch up with a special episode of Conan O'Brien's podcast dedicated exclusively to the late comedian. O'Brien talks with Andy Richter and longtime producer Frank Smiley about Macdonald's legendary appearances on O'Brien's talk show over the years. The 61-year-old Macdonald died this week after a nine-year, extremely private battle with cancer. O'Brien, for one, said he was unaware Macdonald was sick. Two standout moments from the podcast:
- NBC's hard line: Macdonald was fired in 1998 from Saturday Night Live, reportedly because he refused to stop making jokes about network exec Don Ohlmeyer's friend OJ Simpson. Afterward, "the word came down: 'You can't book Norm Macdonald anymore,'" recalls O'Brien, per the Daily Beast. "And it came from the top, from Don Ohlmeyer." O'Brien wrote Ohlmeyer a letter saying he wouldn't obey the order, and the exec responded with something along the lines of "I expected better of you," he says. And Macdonald continued appearing as a guest.