There’s an unreleased Norm Macdonald special, says David Spade

It’s been eight months since the passing of one of the world’s funniest, most revered comedians, Norm Macdonald. His shocking death was another sucker punch in a decade filled with them, a reminder that while COVID has ravaged the global population, other deadly diseases, such as cancer, remain just as cruel.

Even as he struggled with the disease in private, Norm never stopped working, going as far as to record another comedy special before death. Per Vulture, last week, the Netflix Is A Joke Festival hosted a memorial to the late comedian, which featured tributes by the likes of Conan O’Brien, Molly Shanon, and Jim Downey. Other attendees included Bill Murray, Adam Sandler, and “The woman who took care of Norm’s ancient cat Kitty while he was on the road,” writes CTV. The tribute was filmed and might appear on Netflix at some point, God willing.

According to attendee David Spade, he and five others were escorted to a private screening room to see Norm’s final special after the show. Spade explained, “We were sequestered to another room, another whole building, where six of us watched his special.” Spade, who told the story on Dana Carvey’s Fly On The Wall podcast, said that, while the show was unpolished, it was still “classic Norm stuff” and “he was smoother than my special.” Netflix will use the footage for a documentary, says Spade. “I definitely cried.”

Recorded during the pandemic, the special features Norm seated, doing his set to no one. Spade recalled, “He just said ‘You know, I keep trying to do my set.’ And he was getting weaker, which we didn’t know. And they keep shutting down theaters, and they wouldn’t let him go. And then he goes, ‘I’m just gonna run it once, just kind of say it out loud,’ and then he never got to shoot it.”