Norm Macdonald to host Canadian Screen Awards
Stand-up stalwart and former SNLer known for edgy, uncensored comedy
Norm Macdonald, known for his edgy, uncensored brand of comedy and biting wit, will take on emcee duties for the upcoming Canadian Screen Awards.
"Comedian Norm Macdonald has done brilliant stand-up comedy everywhere and on every show from Saturday Night Live to Just for Laughs, so we know how lucky we are to have him," Helga Stephenson, Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television CEO, said in a statement released Tuesday.
A comic, writer, producer and actor, Macdonald is perhaps best known for his SNL run during the 1990s, including three years as anchor of the show's popular Weekend Update segment. He also wrote for classic TV sitcom Roseanne and starred in the comedy The Norm Show.
"Out of all the award shows on the planet, the CSAs are definitely the newest," Macdonald said about his upcoming hosting stint.
"I'm thrilled to host the show and I hope I can get back across the border with the award they'd better give me."
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His recent appearances include serving as a brutally honest judge on TV competition Last Comic Standing, giving a stand-up performance during David Letterman's final run as host of the Late Show and taking over for fellow SNLer Darrell Hammond as the new Colonel Sanders in a series of KFC advertisements.
"We're thrilled to have Norm. Rules will be broken. People will be offended," CSAs producer Barry Avrich noted.
Quebec-born and raised in Ottawa, Macdonald is the brother of CBC journalist Neil Macdonald.
The Canadian Screen Awards will take place in Toronto on March 13, 2016, airing live on CBC-TV