Seth Meyers Remembers Norm Macdonald

Seth Meyers is paying tribute to Norm Macdonald by sharing some of his favorite stories about the late comedian.

Macdonald's death was tragic, Meyers said on Tuesday's "Late Night," and although he would not have wanted to "hear anything sentimental" in wake of his death, the host was armed with anecdotes and praise for Macdonald, who he said taught and inspired him as anchor of "Weekend Update."

One particularly fond memory that was typical of Macdonald's humor was in 2001, when they worked together on "Saturday Night Live," Meyers recalled.

"I remember one time, Norm walked back into the studio to visit," he said, according to Entertainment Tonight. "I don’t remember how old his son was at the time, but his son was young and someone said, 'Hey Norm, how’s being a dad?' And he said, 'It’s going great. Still no abductions.' That’s the first thing I ever heard him say in-person."

Meyers continued to share how Macdonald had an impact on both comedy and himself.

"I said to him, one of the hardest parts of doing 'Update' for me, was not telling every joke the way I thought Norm would tell it," Meyers admitted. "I had to beat Norm’s delivery out of me.”

During Tuesday's "Late Night," Meyers also explained what separated Macdonald from other comedians.

"He told me one, his favorite thing about SNL is that it's the last place on TV where you can bomb. He just didn't care if he was bombing," Meyers said. "If he thought the jokes were good, he had exactly as much fun telling them to a dead audience as one that appreciated them, he shared. "I think for so many of us, we came up watching Norm, and we thought that we were on the inside with him, when you were watching him tell these jokes that you thought were great, and no one in the room thought was good."

Macdonald died Tuesday at age 61 after a nine-year battle with cancer, which he kept private, Deadline reported. His longtime friend Lori Hoekstra explained that the comedian wanted to keep his health struggles away from family, friends and fans.

"He was most proud of his comedy," Hoekstra said. "He never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him. Norm was a pure comic. He once wrote that ‘a joke should catch someone by surprise, it should never pander.’ He certainly never pandered. Norm will be missed terribly."

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