Jim Downey On The “Anarchy” Of Norm Macdonald’s “Weekend Update” | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

I have to bring up I can't go anywhere. in this world without people stopping me. and saying uh I'm sorry about nor. McDonald and I always think in those. moments because he had so many amazing. appearances on my show and I think well. the person who really needs to be. hearing this is Jim Downey because you. were the. one that pretty much hold up with Norm. you identified Norm as a brilliant guy. very quickly you wanted him to do update.

and then you and Norm really crafted. that update which has. become I think the iconic. performance uh recognized today as the. iconic performance on update of all time. Norm uh you were working with norm and. there's a quote here I just want to read. back to. you what I did like about the way we. approached update was that it was akin. to the punk movement what the punk. movement was was for music just stripped.

down we did what we wanted there was. nothing there that was considered to be. a form of cheating we weren't cuddly we. weren't adorable we weren't warm we. weren't going to do easy political jokes. that played for clapter and let the. audience know we were all on the same. side we were going to be mean and to an. extent anarchists and I think that's a. perfect distillation of of what I don't. know where he said that but basically um. um yeah we we um the thing with with. Norm there were so many uh first of all.

he was really really smart he was very. intelligent and he had a great look he I. always said about our update if you. watched it with the sound off you you. couldn't be sure you were watching a. comedy broadcast it could have just been. a sort of a low Tech news news show like. O Network or something it could have. been you know and it didn't have like a. you know a lot of goofy kind of stuff. and um and Norm could speak he could you. could write complicated fairly.

complicated jokes for him as long as you. had a good writer good editor you know. making sure that it wasn't um you know. you didn't give them too many words. because anyone's going to trip over if. you create like a little Minefield but. um Norm could speak he could speak. beautifully he could land things he was. clipped and precise you know his older. brother Neil um is a CBC newscaster yeah. and um and so and so Norm had the.

perfect what we call the perfect. straight line going for in terms of his. look and he just had a great sensibility. also he hated he hated easy laughs and. and what my my colleague Seth Meyers he. coined the term clapter I think he did I. give always give him credit either him. or Tina feay I can't remember I've hear. different people or. Oppenheimer one of them come up clapter. is a perfect thing for that kind of like.

lazy you know just just fingering the. wind kind of you know uh sucking up to. the audience Trump sucks you know yeah. yeah we just it we might even agree with. that we politically but you know that. come on they deserve more than than that. kind of so just challenge them with. stuff even if it's going to maybe make. them uncomfortable like oh I don't like. laughing at that but that's. funny so I'm going to have to laugh you. know and and so I'm trying to think of.

examples of of what I'm talking about. but we would do um and of course the OJ. jokes well here's the thing huge part of. that so the OJ uh trial happens and OJ. the the murders and then the trial and. it's and and this is where I really. thought you and uh and nor. McDonald. um sees that moment because you can have. the right tool but if you don't have the. right moment you don't have it and I. always thinking any great movement.

whether it's the Beatles in 64 or Sex. Pistols 76 you have to have the moment. too you just can't have the two have to. come together the OJ trial happens and. you and Norm are writing these jokes. that are so fantastic they're. just razor. blades and Norm is the perfect person to. deliver them um there's one you wrote. which I'm I could I could try and do but. you might remember it exactly but it's a.

picture came up of Johnny Cochran. testifying I think I know uh and and OJ. sitting next to him and Cochran's. standing there and he's holding the knit. cap the knit cap the knit cap that was. found at the scene and Norm in his Norm. masue says well you know uh the vents uh. had a bit of a had a you know bit of a. bad day today at the defense sh when. Johnny Cochran uh testified and held up. the knit cap that was found at the scene. of the murder he was going on about the.

knit cap when suddenly was interrupted. by OJ who said hey hey easy with that. that's my lucky stabbing. cap yeah and I remembered that being an. ice bullet that went through my heart it. was so that's my that's my lucky stabbin. hat that's my lucky stabbin hat and and. and and the thing is and and and you. know this too he would say something. like that and I don't know where my. camera is it's there I guess my lucking.

stabbing. hat and he would hold in this way oh. yeah yeah that nobody does hold and hold. and hold and he would do it for a joke. that killed as that one did but he'd. also do it for a joke that he liked or. that you liked or that you guys liked. yeah and if it got nothing it was like. it wasn't some people said you're. punishing the audience for not liking. the joke no we're we're we're giving. them enough time to appreciate it um but.

you know it's funny you mentioned there. I decided years later because I you know. you have to have distance on this stuff. to to realize that that a lot of there. was a through line to our OJ Jokes which. was him it was all self-owned stuff yeah. so that the standard OJ joke would be so. it would like you know like that one you. just did I think I think the way we got. into it was like um um though OJ may not. have helped his case when he blurted out. yeah yeah you hey easy with that that's.

my lucky stabbing hat but but um there. was one that was like um was OJ Simpson. high on drugs the night of the murders. absolutely not says a defiant OJ and a. simple test of any of his blood found at. the crime scene will. prove you know and uh and then there was. one. like there there was. Nation there was one um there was one uh. when like OJ Simpson had been.

criticized because the first Mother's. Day after the murders he played golf in. Scotland yeah and it's like um this. weekend um OJ Simpson playing golf in. Scotland was heavily criticized for. missing the first Mother's Day uh and. not spending the first Mother's Day. since Nicole Brown Simpson's murder with. his children and angry Simpson um. responded idiots I didn't spend Mother's. Day with my kids because I killed their. mother.

and. so God it's basically but there was one. uh there was there was one joke um and. by the way it was Frank Sebastiano who. and Frank wrote a lot of great gr jokes. uh for for that segment and he the he's. the guy who contributed this joke. structure um it'd be like um like um you.

know uh several Navy several Navy. warship nor ships have um uh joined the. search for an you know overturn thing in. in some of the most shark-infested. waters on Earth also joining the search. the. Sharks and and he that was a became like. a was there's a one that I remembered. which is uh uh you know the rock crewp. Better Than Ezra or. group Ezra came in second you know.

whatever this week Rolling Stone. released its list of the of the of the. top 10 uh College acts on the on the. summer tour at number one Better Than. Ezra number two. Ezra he also had he also had one that. was uh I mean we could do this do these. forever but he talked about he was. talking about kickboxing and he was just. like ah you know and he's doing update. and he said of of course you popular.

kickboxing an incredible martial art. that combines whatever the the art of. like punching the martial arts of. punching karate with. kicking and he just stares and because. kicking on its own sounds like such a. lame there were there were two more I. wanted to bring up because I was very. Norman I would would spend like insane. amounts of time obsessing over the. precise wording yeah and I remember.

there was one that I thought actually. benefited from our our our our kind of. neurotic attention to tail but it. started off as a joke about Penthouse. Magazine had had had this cover story. which even if you didn't read Penthouse. you would see the cover on new St and it. was um you know this week shocking. photos alien autopsy this is Penthouse. Magazine so so they claim to be actual. photos of of an alien autopsy so the.

joke the joke we started out with which. I think would have been good enough was. um this week Penthouse. Magazine uh released its much awaited um. photos of an alien autopsy according to. those who've seen the issue the photos. were sharp clear and easy to masturbate. to and so so anyway then I thought like. you know what that there's that can be. better there's a better Rhythm to that.

so I so I suggest I first suggested that. it should. be andon and quote easy to masturbate. too because I just liked it for rhythm. and then I came up with one of my. greatest contributions of the Season. which was I added the word. surprisingly so that so that the joke. became the joke became kind of different. so it was like according to those who've. seen the advanced copies the photos are. Sharp clear and quote surprisingly easy.

to masturbate. too you got this image of a guy going. you know I at first I I I didn't think. this would work but God damn it God damn. it this is. hot.