The first “Weekend Update” segment of the 47th season of “Saturday Night Live” paid tribute to former cast member Norm Macdonald.To begin, current cast member Pete Davidson joined “Update” co-anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost at the desk wearing a shirt with a picture of Ronald McDonald on it.
Davidson spoke with them about his Met Gala appearance, but shortly after, NBC’s late-night sketch comedy series used the last few minutes of the segment to pay tribute to Macdonald in a larger way.Instead of discussing him, the show put together a package of some of his greatest hits at the desk, delivering what he liked to refer to as “fake news” long before that term became politically divisive.The package began with Macdonald discussing former President Bill Clinton’s opposition to gay marriage.
“What’s more,” he added, “the president has stated that he is not a fan of opposite-sex marriages.”However, not all of his jokes were overtly political. Following that, Macdonald talked about a proposed airport three miles west of San Diego, literally in the Pacific Ocean. “Built on 40 by 20-foot floating cylinders, it’s all part of a city officials’ plan to have a massive disaster,” he explained.
They also showed his joke about a “snake man” scaling a skyscraper, as well as his comments about O.J. Simpson.The package concluded with his infamous sign-off, “That’s the way it is, folks.”Macdonald, who appeared on “Saturday Night Live” for five seasons (1993-1998) and then hosted in October 1999, died on September 14 this year after a long battle with cancer.
On the sketch show, he was best known for hosting the “Weekend Update” desk for three seasons and doing impressions of David Letterman and Burt Reynolds.
_________
Saturday Night Live | Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @njtimesofficial. To get the latest updates
