Seth Rogen and Jim Carrey lead tributes as Saturday Night Live comic Norm Macdonald dies following cancer battle

Norm Macdonald has died following a battle with cancer (Picture: Rex/Getty)

Seth Rogen and Jim Carrey have led the tributes to the late Norm Macdonald following his death aged 61.

Saturday Night Live star Macdonald died following a nine-year private battle with cancer with is producing partner and friend Lori Jo Hoekstra by his side, his manager confirmed.

Celebrities have been paying their heartfelt respects to the ‘courageous comedy genius’, with Pineapple Express actor Seth writing: ‘Oh f*ck. I was a huge fan of Norm Macdonald and I essentially ripped off his delivery when I first started acting.

‘I would stay up specifically to watch him on talk shows. He was the funniest guest of all time. We lost a comedy giant today. One of the all time greats. RIP.’ (sic)

Ace Ventura’s Jim added: ‘My dear friend Norm MacDonald passed after a brave 10 year battle. He was one of our most precious gems. An honest and courageous comedy genius. I love him.’

‘To so many people in comedy, me included, there was nobody funnier than Norm MacDonald,’ Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane wrote. ‘You always hoped he would hang around after the work was done, just so you could hear his stories and get a laugh.

‘So hilarious and so generous with his personality.  I’m gonna miss him.’

Norm read the Weekend Update on SNL (Picture: Rex)

‘Norm was in a comedy genre of his own,’ Sarah Silverman said. ‘No one like him on this planet. Please do yourself a favor and watch his stuff. He was one of a kind of all time.’ (sic)

Jimmy Kimmel added: ‘Norm didn’t just make us laugh, he made us laugh hard. Rest well, you crazy bastard.’

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Macdonald was an SNL cast member from 1993-98, where he served as the news anchor of the show’s Weekend Update segments for three seasons.

After leaving the show, the funnyman went on to star in his own comedy series, Norm, from 1999.

More recently in 2018, Macdonald did a one-season talk show for Netflix titled Norm Macdonald Has a Show.

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