Conan O'Brien is mourning the loss of his long-time friend Norm Macdonald, <a href="http://13.235.153.162/entertainment/norm-macdonald-former-saturday-night-live-comic-dies-413175">who died of cancer</a> at the age of 61. Brien has welcomed Norm Macdonald&nbsp;on his show many times over the years.&nbsp; 
 
Now, after Macdonald passed away, Conan&nbsp;revealed how NBC tried to ban Norm from his show after the late comedian was fired from 'Saturday Night Live'.&nbsp; 
 
The shocking revelation came during a new episode of his podcast, saying that Don Ohlmeyer, a long-time NBC executive who passed away in 2017, had once tried to ban Macdonald from network’s 'Late Night with Conan O’Brien'.

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Macdonald hosted 'Weekend Update' on SNL when&nbsp;the OJ&nbsp;Simpson trial was going on&nbsp;and Macdonald used to joke about it, often calling Simpson a murderer. 
 
The directive came from former NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer, whose friendship with Simpson was said to be the reason for Macdonald’s firing from 'Weekend Update'.

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O’Brien was joined by Andy Richter and long-time show producer Frank Smiley. “One of his bosses was friends with a murderer,” Richter said referring to Ohlmeyer friendship with Simpson. 
 
“Alleged! I’ve seen no proof, Andy!” O’Brien cracked in response.

''The word came down: You can't book Norm Macdonald anymore. It came from the top, from Don Ohlmeyer," O'Brien explained.&nbsp; 
 
"Don Ohlmeyer was the one who suggested me for Late Night — he gave me the job — so I had a lot of feelings of loyalty towards Don Ohlmeyer. I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for Don sticking with me. I owe him that. So I wrote a letter to Don that said, 'I got this directive. You've hired me to do the best show I can do, and this is my best guest. So I need to do my job, which is the best show I can do.'" 
 
O’Brien received the letter back with a response &nbsp;from Ohlmeyer, written, '' I expected better from you.” 
 
“It was basically me being told … I’m really disappointed in your lack of loyalty or something,” O’Brien said. “And I felt at the time, that’s not a lack of loyalty. That is loyalty. I always greedily wanted more Norm.”

Conan O'Brien is mourning the loss of his long-time friend Norm Macdonald, who died of cancer at the age of 61. Brien has welcomed Norm Macdonald on his show many times over the years.

Conan O'Brien is mourning the loss of his long-time friend Norm Macdonald, who died of cancer at the age of 61. Brien has welcomed Norm Macdonald on his show many times over the years. Now, after Macdonald passed away, Conan revealed how NBC tried to ban Norm from his show after the late comedian was fired from 'Saturday Night Live'. The shocking revelation came during a new episode of his podcast, saying that Don Ohlmeyer, a long-time NBC executive who passed away in 2017, had once tried to ban Macdonald from network’s 'Late Night with Conan O’Brien'. Lady Gaga's dog walker Ryan Fischer: I stayed at her house for months, she had trauma therapists flown in for me Macdonald hosted 'Weekend Update' on SNL when the OJ Simpson trial was going on and Macdonald used to joke about it, often calling Simpson a murderer. The directive came from former NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer, whose friendship with Simpson was said to be the reason for Macdonald’s firing from 'Weekend Update'. Former R Kelly assistant testifies about singer's sexual activity, 'apology letter' O’Brien was joined by Andy Richter and long-time show producer Frank Smiley. “One of his bosses was friends with a murderer,” Richter said referring to Ohlmeyer friendship with Simpson. “Alleged! I’ve seen no proof, Andy!” O’Brien cracked in response. ''The word came down: You can't book Norm Macdonald anymore. It came from the top, from Don Ohlmeyer," O'Brien explained. "Don Ohlmeyer was the one who suggested me for Late Night — he gave me the job — so I had a lot of feelings of loyalty towards Don Ohlmeyer. I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for Don sticking with me. I owe him that. So I wrote a letter to Don that said, 'I got this directive. You've hired me to do the best show I can do, and this is my best guest. So I need to do my job, which is the best show I can do.'" O’Brien received the letter back with a response from Ohlmeyer, written, '' I expected better from you.” “It was basically me being told … I’m really disappointed in your lack of loyalty or something,” O’Brien said. “And I felt at the time, that’s not a lack of loyalty. That is loyalty. I always greedily wanted more Norm.”

Conan O'Brien says former NBC executive tried to ban Norm Macdonald from his late-night show

Comedian Norm Macdonald, a former 'Saturday Night Live' writer and performer who was 'Weekend Update' host when Bill Clinton and OJ Simpson provided comic fodder during the 1990s, has died. 
 
Macdonald, who was 61, died Tuesday after having cancer for nine years, but keeping it private, according to Brillstein Entertainment Partners, his management firm in Los Angeles. 
 
He never reached the same television heights after being fired from 'SNL' in 1998 but was an indefatigable stand-up comic and popular talk show guest whose death provoked an outpouring from fellow comedians. 
 
"Norm was in a comedy genre of his own," tweeted Sarah Silverman. "No one like him on this planet. Please do yourself a favour and watch his stuff." 
 
Macdonald, the son of two schoolteachers, was raised in Quebec City, Canada. He was a stand-up comic and briefly a writer for the sitcom 'Roseanne' when he was picked to join the cast of 'Saturday Night Live' in 1993. 
 
He became known for his esoteric impressions, including Burt Reynolds, who gave Will Ferrell's Alex Trebek character grief on 'Celebrity Jeopardy'. He also impersonated Bob Dole, Larry King and David Letterman. 
 
His deadpan style and skills as a writer made him the choice to host 'Weekend Update'. 
 
Simpson was a favourite target. Macdonald opened the fake newscast the week of the former football star's acquittal on murder charges by saying, "Well, it's finally official. Murder is legal in the state of California." 
 
Macdonald was fired in the middle of the season in 1998 by NBC Entertainment executive Don Ohlmeyer, a friend of Simpson's who reportedly didn't appreciate the 'SNL' star making Simpson the near-constant butt of jokes. 
 
"I was never bitter," Macdonald said in the oral history 'Live From New York', released in 2002. 
 
"I always understood that Ohlmeyer could fire me, because he was the guy who owned the cameras, so that didn't bother me. I was always happy that 'SNL' gave me a chance." 
 
He went on Letterman's show to announce that he was fired. During a commercial break, Letterman asked him, "This is like some Andy Kaufman thing with fake wrestling, right?" Macdonald recalled. But it wasn't. 
 
Letterman was a fan who made Macdonald one of the guests in the CBS 'Late Show' host's final run of shows. 
In 2016, Letterman told The Washington Post, that the show would have had Macdonald on every week "if we could". 
 
"He is funny in a way that some people inhale and exhale," Letterman told The Post. "With others, you can tell the comedy, the humor is considered. With Norm, he exudes it ... There may be people as funny as Norm, but I don't know anybody who is funnier." 
 
The Post's story was headlined, 'Will Somebody Please Give Norm Macdonald Another Show.' 
 
As if to answer, Netflix two years later aired 10 episodes of an interview series, 'Norm Macdonald Has a Show'. Guests included Letterman, Lorne Michaels, Jane Fonda and Judge Judy Sheindlin. 
 
He had limited success in other TV ventures. He created and starred in the ABC sitcom 'The Norm Show', later shortened to 'Norm', playing a former NHL player kicked out of the league for gambling and tax evasion and forced into community service as a social worker. 
 
A Comedy Central show, 'Sports Show with Norm Macdonald', lasted only a handful of episodes, but he kept busy in comedy clubs. 
 
"In my mind, I'm just a stand-up," he told The New York Times in 2018. "But other people don't think that. They think, 'oh, the guy from SNL' is doing stand-up now." 
 
Jim Carrey tweeted that Macdonald was "an honest and courageous comedy genius." 
 
Seth Rogen said he essentially ripped off his delivery when he started acting. 
 
"No one could make you break like Norm Macdonald," Jon Stewart said on Twitter, "Hilarious and unique."&nbsp;

Comedian Norm Macdonald, a former 'Saturday Night Live' writer and performer who was 'Weekend Update' host when Bill Clinton and OJ Simpson provided comic fodder during the 1990s, has died.

Comedian Norm Macdonald, a former 'Saturday Night Live' writer and performer who was 'Weekend Update' host when Bill Clinton and OJ Simpson provided comic fodder during the 1990s, has died. Macdonald, who was 61, died Tuesday after having cancer for nine years, but keeping it private, according to Brillstein Entertainment Partners, his management firm in Los Angeles. He never reached the same television heights after being fired from 'SNL' in 1998 but was an indefatigable stand-up comic and popular talk show guest whose death provoked an outpouring from fellow comedians. "Norm was in a comedy genre of his own," tweeted Sarah Silverman. "No one like him on this planet. Please do yourself a favour and watch his stuff." Macdonald, the son of two schoolteachers, was raised in Quebec City, Canada. He was a stand-up comic and briefly a writer for the sitcom 'Roseanne' when he was picked to join the cast of 'Saturday Night Live' in 1993. He became known for his esoteric impressions, including Burt Reynolds, who gave Will Ferrell's Alex Trebek character grief on 'Celebrity Jeopardy'. He also impersonated Bob Dole, Larry King and David Letterman. His deadpan style and skills as a writer made him the choice to host 'Weekend Update'. Simpson was a favourite target. Macdonald opened the fake newscast the week of the former football star's acquittal on murder charges by saying, "Well, it's finally official. Murder is legal in the state of California." Macdonald was fired in the middle of the season in 1998 by NBC Entertainment executive Don Ohlmeyer, a friend of Simpson's who reportedly didn't appreciate the 'SNL' star making Simpson the near-constant butt of jokes. "I was never bitter," Macdonald said in the oral history 'Live From New York', released in 2002. "I always understood that Ohlmeyer could fire me, because he was the guy who owned the cameras, so that didn't bother me. I was always happy that 'SNL' gave me a chance." He went on Letterman's show to announce that he was fired. During a commercial break, Letterman asked him, "This is like some Andy Kaufman thing with fake wrestling, right?" Macdonald recalled. But it wasn't. Letterman was a fan who made Macdonald one of the guests in the CBS 'Late Show' host's final run of shows. In 2016, Letterman told The Washington Post, that the show would have had Macdonald on every week "if we could". "He is funny in a way that some people inhale and exhale," Letterman told The Post. "With others, you can tell the comedy, the humor is considered. With Norm, he exudes it ... There may be people as funny as Norm, but I don't know anybody who is funnier." The Post's story was headlined, 'Will Somebody Please Give Norm Macdonald Another Show.' As if to answer, Netflix two years later aired 10 episodes of an interview series, 'Norm Macdonald Has a Show'. Guests included Letterman, Lorne Michaels, Jane Fonda and Judge Judy Sheindlin. He had limited success in other TV ventures. He created and starred in the ABC sitcom 'The Norm Show', later shortened to 'Norm', playing a former NHL player kicked out of the league for gambling and tax evasion and forced into community service as a social worker. A Comedy Central show, 'Sports Show with Norm Macdonald', lasted only a handful of episodes, but he kept busy in comedy clubs. "In my mind, I'm just a stand-up," he told The New York Times in 2018. "But other people don't think that. They think, 'oh, the guy from SNL' is doing stand-up now." Jim Carrey tweeted that Macdonald was "an honest and courageous comedy genius." Seth Rogen said he essentially ripped off his delivery when he started acting. "No one could make you break like Norm Macdonald," Jon Stewart said on Twitter, "Hilarious and unique."

Norm Macdonald, former 'Saturday Night Live' comic, dies

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Conan O'Brien says former NBC executive tried to ban Norm Macdonald from his late-night show

Norm Macdonald, former 'Saturday Night Live' comic, dies