In his final comedy special, Norm Macdonald gets candid about his mortality.
This week, Netflix debuted “Norm MacDonald: Nothing Special”, the final special recorded by the late Canadian comedian.
Recorded at his home, in front of his computer in the summer of 2020, the 50 minutes of material was never intended to be the final product.
READ MORE: Norm Macdonald Recorded One Hour Of Material Before His Death For New Special
“COVID restrictions prevented him from filming in front of an audience,” Macdonald’s longtime producing partner Lori Jo Hoekstra told Yahoo! Entertainment.
The special opens with the message, “In the summer of 2020, he was scheduled to undergo a procedure and as he put it, ‘didn’t want to leave anything on the table in case things went south. At home, the night before going in, he shot this – in one take.”
Many of the jokes and comments in the special feature the comedian reflecting on his own mortality, revealing that he wears a baseball cap so he doesn’t have to dye is hair anymore.
“I don’t want anybody painting my hair black on account I don’t want to die and then be surprised,” he says.
“‘Well, I made your hair white. What do you think that was all about? I was telling ya to get your affairs in order, for God’s sake,'” he adds, imitating God.
In another moment during the special, Macdonald implores viewers to have a living will, saying, “You’ve got to be ready for anything life throws at you in this here world. That’s what I’ve learned, as I’ve aged. You only got so much time. You’ve got to choose.”
Following the new material, the special includes David Letterman, Molly Shannon, Dave Chappelle, Conan O’Brien, Adam Sandler and David Spade speaking about their friend.
“When he went,” O’Brien says of the very private comedian, “everybody in the (comedy) community was, we all thought we were the only one that didn’t know and we were so upset that we didn’t get a chance to tell him what he meant to us. I very quickly realized he would not have tolerated that.”
Macdonald died in September 2021 at the age of 61 after a private battle with cancer.