Norm

​Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr were players.

John Lennon sniffed heroin.

Sportscaster Marv Albert is into BDSM

Donald Trump sold his soul to the devil, was a Russian asset and sold out an entire country for 30 pieces of silver.


My wife says that if you do not want to learn anything bad about a person, stay away from the Internet. Sometimes you don’t have to. Sometimes it’s in the news and all you have to do is open a paper, unlock your phone or check your computer. Sometimes, someone you admire passes away and, because you think they are a genius and really miss them, you start digging around. In 99.9999 percent of the cases, my wife is right. You find something you would rather not know.

I am a great admirer of Norm McDonald; a brilliant everyman who, in most cases, called it exactly as he saw it. And, in most cases, he happened to be one hundred percent correct. O.J. Simpson is just one example. The relentless pounding he gave the murderer was hilarious. It was worth turning in to Saturday Night Live just to see what he would have to say. My favorite comment, Norm holding a copy of the New York Post that reads: Another Juror Axed. “O.J. Strikes again,” McDonald commented wryly. And so it went, week after week. Lorne Michaels called him the one of the best performers on the segment. And he was right.

I could go on and on and on. Most recently, YouTube posted his corona virus routine. The epidemic was in full swing, and he was performing at one of the Imrovs. He was nothing short of brilliant. His last performance on Letterman is legendary and his I predict his stand-up specials will be a true reflection of what humor is and was. God, I miss him.

So, I will choose to ignore that he was a misogynistic dinosaur who took pride in refusing to bend with the changing times. Still, I think it is possible to love the art and hate the artist. Sometimes it is just a matter of when to draw the line. Go back deep enough in any of our lives and you will find something we said that does not meet today’s standards.

Part of growing as a person is admitting your mistakes. Again, it is just a question of what, if anything, is too heinous to be forgiven. Right now, the jury is still out. In the meantime, I will continue to listen to my wife.

RIP