Died at 66
male
Norman Gene Macdonald (October 17, 1959 – September 14, 2021) was a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer, and actor known for his deadpan style. Early in his career, he wrote for the sitcom Roseanne and made guest appearances on shows such as The Drew Carey Show and NewsRadio. He was then a cast member on Saturday Night Live (SNL) for five years, including anchoring the Weekend Update segment for three seasons. After leaving SNL, he starred in the 1998 film Dirty Work and in his own sitcom, The Norm Show, from 1999 to 2001. In 2013, he started a video podcast, Norm Macdonald Live, on which he interviewed comedians and other celebrities. In 2018, he released Norm Macdonald Has a Show, a Netflix talk show with a similar premise to his podcast. Throughout his career, he appeared in numerous movies and had been a guest on talk shows such as Conan, Late Night with David Letterman, and The Howard Stern Show. He had also worked as a voice actor, notably on the animated show Mike Tyson Mysteries. Paste magazine named him #31 on their 50 Best Stand-up Comics of All Time.
Alex Trebek is known as the host of the hit game show Jeopardy!, with which he has remained synonymous since 1973. But the show was unceremoniously cancelled in the early 90's, leaving him to search for another way back to the top. This led to the creation of Celebrity Jeopardy!, in which celebrities would play the iconic game in an effort to attract more viewers. Trebek's plan took quite the turn when his first episode was just 30 minutes of stupid answers, inappropriate behavior and comments regarding his mother. The show somehow gained a following heading into the mid-2000's despite slowly destroying the host's sanity. It eventually gets to the point where Trebek loses it behind the scenes and quits, putting the show on indefinite hiatus. In 2011, NBC announces a new show called Hollywood Game Night and Jane Lynch is set to host. It will involve celebrities and will air at the same time that Trebek's show did. Sony Pictures Television is furious about this and, after making a deal with an equally irate Sean Connery, decide to fight fire with fire by somehow reviving Celebrity Jeopardy! with a big tournament in which the winner will receive a million dollars. Connery locates his old "friend" Trebek and forms an unlikely alliance with him to bring as many celebrities together as possible and make the revival happen. But Lynch refuses to be upstaged by a "has-been". Can Trebek and Connery work together to give Celebrity Jeopardy! the ultimate comeback it rightfully deserves?
