Norm Macdonald vs. O.J. Simpson

A day after the death of O.J., KT went through every weekend update joke Norm Macdonald ever did about Simpson 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
You're listening to the Downbeat on ninetyseven one the Freak for me, I
really like con What do you likeabout Corn? It's cool as they didn't
have to do I can't learn thewhole beautiful, it's cool. I can
tell you all about it. Imean you look at the swinging when I

(00:24):
try to kind of say anything.What about saying about Cols degrees the Conrad?
Can you stow you anything? CornKids was great? Let him go.
When you love something, have youanyone that's done? If you come
to me, I can tell youall about it, about the round by

(00:46):
Conall and Raw and look as well. Look at this take along with the
No Step Battle for you and TostiGood Degrees that all step out the don't
say it's Colm, we lock itoff the juice. It's the cutest kid

(01:15):
in the world. Is so adorable. I mean, look at this st
corn Kidna. I'm putting corn Kidon down Beat Request Live Top one hundred
Famous person of the twenty first century. Who ever produced this needs a damn

(01:38):
Grammy. That's brilliant, delicious.Look at this thing. It's Colm,
It's Coln Oh God lost all aboutit? Corn good choice on the return
cut. There, Maddie, We'rethe downbeat. I'm Kevin. Hi,
Kevin. Hello, that's Danny.What's up. It's Mike. I'm May.
We have Maddie in for jj Jon a mysterious trip, very us,

(02:05):
mysterious trip. Maddie. I'm gettinga notification on my phone. The
bagels are one minute away. Butyou know whatever, Okay, So i'll
let you know when. I'll letyou know when today. He's gonna give
you a double thumbs up. Yeah, I'll give you two thumbs up.
Ciskel and Ebert, one of each. So OJ died yesterday at the age

(02:29):
of setenta. He says, sure, Yeah, that was right, thank
you. Yes, there you go. Cancer cancer got him. I've cancer
got pretty much everyone who defended himin court. To hate cancer. I
do too. Almost all the O. J. Simpson Dream team, though

(02:53):
pretty much all have gotten cancer.Jesus is kind of nuts. But I
think it's said a lot of things, and what percentage members of this year's
Cowboys team's got cancer? Probably alot. Cancer sucks. But I went
through something and spent way too muchtime yesterday doing something because we got to

(03:16):
discuss it. But I was like, this is more of a cultural touchstone
here, which probably spent a littlemore time on it. But I've always
associated Norm McDonald with OJ Simpson becauseI just love SNL in that story.
But you know, I was sixwhen the chase happened, and then I

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was six through ten when the trialwas happening, and that was in the
news cycle just before impeachment talk.You know, that was my understanding of
the news growing up in the latenineties, and those are the big,
biggest two stories probably of my firstten years of life. So I pulled

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a lot of audio chronologically of saturdNot Live, Weekend Update, jokes of
Norman McDonald. But the reason Iwanted to do this is expound on this
because I think the next segment wecan talk about what this meant to us,
the court, TV, all ofthat. I think that's kind of
interesting. But what you need toknow as we begin this segment is that
the West Coast president of NBC wasa guy named Don Olimier, and he

(04:21):
was good friends with OJ. Ithink OJ was doing some analysis too on
NFL on NBC. Every once ina while you have him in to you
break down a game. I cansee that. So there are golf buddies
for twenty seven years, and Olamiernever was in the camp of OJ did
it. He was always like itmaintained his is his friend. I've been

(04:42):
loyal to him for twenty seven years. Doesn't sound like something he would do,
you know, but that is whenSo they covered this on Saturday Night
Live. They didn't have a lotof interference until the trial ended. And
OJ was basically an unconvicted murderer,you know. That is when they had
submissions. That's a nice way ofputting it in a convicted murderer. I

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think bagel time is now, Maddie, get the audio up. I'll play
thatgels. So I'm just I justhave it's corn ringing in my head,
so that I all I care aboutcorn. Norm m MacDonald came came on
the scene in SNL in ninety four, and here is a season twenty episode

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three. Your your host was JohnTravolta. Your musical guest was Seal.
That tells you where we were inlife. But Normal is still kind of
nervous new to the gig at thispoint, as he'd replaced Kevin Nealon and
we kend up doting sorry not liveAccording to retailer, is the most popular
Halloween mass this year is O.J. Simpson and the most popular Halloween

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greeting is I'll kill you and thatguy who's bringing over your glasses or treats.
By the way, we can nowpurchase a brin statue of the jokes
for only three, three and ninetyfive dollars, and for an even five
grand you can buy one that AlCollings has kissed the ass up. Okay,

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you see joke. Okay, dude, that first joke is brilliant or
treat So that's the October October afterafter the murder, chase, the murder
after the chase. Yeah, soI haven't gone to trial yet, and
I want to be clear. LikeDon Olamier, the executive, NBC did
not tell them not to make O. J. Simpson jocks. It's in

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the news. You guys do whatyou do. He did not like Jim
Downey, who was a writer atSNL for a long time legendary producer,
and basically fired him. Now LorneMichaels at SNL maneuvered it behind the scenes
and said, well, look,Jim, when you won't be with us
writing sketches, but you go helpNorm do weekend Update essentially a weekend updates

(06:56):
yours will pay you that table.Yeah, and Olmeyer was fine with that,
I think, but he did notlike Jim Downey. So there's a
big war there. But then sothere's a thing where Lauren finageled that.
Lauren also boss is Oldmeyer, sohe's got to play at both sides there.
It's a middle management thing. Youknow, he's sitting there taking it.

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But then Oldmeyer steps in and startscritiquing weekend Update, specifically the O.
J. Simpson jokes that were happeningweekly, and I went through them.
There are one or two jokes aboutOJ every effing episode, twenty episodes
a year for the three and ahalf years that Norm did it. Now
I say three and a half becausehe got fired midyear. He got fired
at Christmas, right around when ChrisParley died. I love him so much.

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Now I'm gonna do a couple morejokes from Norm, right, and
then we'll get to like when Normgot fired, because that is incredible.
This is episode six of season twenty. This would be November of ninety four,
after the murder. This is orafter the chase. John Taturo and
Tom Petty are your musical guest.Judge Edo was interviewed this week by a

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local TV station in Los Angeles.Asked by the interviewer if it was appropriate
for a supposedly impartial judge to beon TV with his case still pending,
Itto said, maybe not, Buthow appropriate isn't to kill your ex wife?

(08:24):
Wow? This is episode ten here, guys, this is Jeff Daniels
and Okay, Lucius Jackson band kindof a female band. Yeah, oh
lu what was it? Luscious Jackson? Think it is? Okay? I
was like confused with that because Iwas like, here's something I've never heard
of. But this is January ofninety five. Let's get to ojoj.

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Simpson's lawyers say they don't want thefamilies of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman in
the courtroom during the trial. They'reafraid the presence of the family members will
just remind Ojy of how much morekilling he still has to do. Whoa,
oh dude, wow, oh mygod, I mean just pushing it

(09:07):
up. That's kind of shocking.Episode twelve is February ninety five. Bob
Newhart is your host. Desray isyour musical guest. Don't know me neither.
It was revealed this week the defenselawyer Johnny Cochran once abused his first
wife. In his defense, Cochranesaid, hey, at least I didn't
kill her like some people I know. In his book, O. J.

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Simpson says that he would have takena bullet or stood in front of
a train for Nicole. Man.I'm gonna tell you that has some bad
luck. When the one guy whowould have died for you kills you,
that's probably that has some bad luck. He loved Norm so much. I
did love the just consistent killing us. Yes I did, and it never

(09:54):
stopped. And part of it,like you know, he claims, Olmeier
was like never really talked to him. Again. Omar was the West Coast
president of NBC, but he stillhad a lot to say. I don't
know the East Coast president. Andeven when he got fired, like Norm
was not told straight up. Andwe'll get to that in a minute episode
fifteen Pole Risers, your host,Annie Lennox, this is March ninety five.

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Was OJ Simpson high on speed thenight of the murders? Absolutely not,
said defense attorney Johnny Cockran today,And a simple test of any of
OJ's blood found at the crime scenewill prove it and OJ pal Al Colling
said this week that in looking forthe truth in the OJ Simpson case,
he sometimes talks to a picture ofNicole Brown Simpson, something that in the

(10:43):
past would have gotten him killed byOJ. I mean, it's just like
I like going through this chronologically too, because there are storylines that I kind
of knew about but don't remember thatone. Yeah, well he was drugs
are throwing that out there vaguely evenremember that at all? He was sixteen,

(11:05):
John Goodman musical guest Mike the Tragicallyhip all Right Canadian at Canada's Own
Right, Yeah. Aflee Vailey saidthis week that if the defense only knew
what Ron Goldman's last words were,they might be able to find the real
killer. You know, if youasked me, and Goldman's last words were
probably hey, you're OJ Simpson.Oh. They don't even know to laughed.

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They're like, I don't know ifwe should laugh with that or not.
And then at Bob Saggett was yourhost, and then TLC this is
the last one of that of seasontwenty. Here at Norma's first year old
weekend update after grizzly photos of themurder Nicole Brown Simpson were showing in court.
OJ turned his head away and wept. It was at that moment that
he realized he would never be ableto kill her again. Good lord,

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they hadn't grown. Oh my god, I mean, dude, you got
a couple of booz You got acouple of boos there, and then like
god. So I don't remember thisspecifically, but I remember like talking about
whatever anniversary it was, and itmight have been in twenty nineteen, was
the twenty five year or whatever.I remember them talking about the trial and

(12:20):
diving into that. Yeah, theydid show you know, the photos were
there, and Court TV showed yousome of that, which is crazy.
So we get the summer off andyou return in September of ninety five.
Okay, So now the trial's goingto be heating up. Muriel hemingways your
host Blues Traveler as your musical guest. In a brilliant move during closing arguments,

(12:43):
simpson attorney Johnny Cochrane put on thenick cap. Prosecutors say OJ war
the nightie, committed the murders,although OJ may have heard his case when
he suddenly blurted out. Hey,easy with that. That's my lucky stabbing
hat, my lucky stab in hand. Episode two, see you with that

(13:05):
Chevy Chase and Lisa Lobe of Dallas. Hey, Well, that covers the
main developments in the OJ Simpson casethis week and after So, first of
all, I edited out he'd hada joke that was kind of bad,
okay, and this is when Ifirst started to go okay. He knows
now that management does not like this. He is doubling and tripling down.

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So he's done a joke, andthen he does this. Well, that
covers the main developments in the OJSimpson case this week, and after all,
other important things are going on inthe world. Now more OJ Simpson.
When Simpson trial juror Gina Rodborough returnedhome this week, her little girls
were delighted to have her back,and no wonder she lets him get away

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with murder. Meanwhile, in Washington, Mayor Marion Barry praised the verdict as
quote wise and just, and hecalled upon people of all races to please
get him some crack knew it boy, He always all ages, yea,

(14:09):
all over Mary and Barry one thatwhole fiasco was going down. One of
his go tos. February nineteen he'shigh on crack. I like to imagine
February nineteen ninety six is probably anodd time in our history. The Cowboys
had just won Super Bowl thirty though, yep, their third and four years.
Kevin Nil O'Donnell was paid to throwthe ball to Larry Brown directly into

(14:31):
his hands multiple times hundreds of dollars. Tom Arnold and Tupac or your your
solid well weird duo. OJ Simpsonclaimed that he never ever beat, choked,
or hit his ex wife with aclosed or open fist. Luckily for
OJ, lawyers forgot to ask ifhe had ever cut her head off,

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and he just stared at the camerawith that s eaton grin of his boy.
I imagine March of ninety six isa good time for Mike is El
Macpherson is hosting Saturday Night Live musicalguest sting Lyle and Eric Menandez were found
guilty of first degree murder. Soto review California law, it is killing
your wife legal, killing your parentsillegal. Yesterday and Rivera Alive, Kato

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Kalen made the startling admission that henow thinks O. J. Simpson is
guilty, although authority suspect this mayjust be part of an attempt by Kato
to crash at Fred Goldman's place fora while. Meanwhile, simpson dream team
attorney Alan Dershowitz was back in thenews this week, and good lord,

(15:46):
is he ugly. Take a lookat the guy. I mean, this
is an ugly, ugly guy.I know two ways about it. An
ugly character. Yeah, my,oh my season finale of his second year.
This is May ninety six, Jimcarreyon Soundgarden. On an Electric episode.
Arriving back in the US after hisweek in London, O J.

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Simpson was asked by a reporter whyhe hadn't spent Mother's Day with his children.
Visibly annoyed, Simpson replied, idiot, I didn't spend Mother's Day with
my kids because I killed their mother. I mean, you know where it's
going. Yeah, Okay, thisis year three of him doing this.

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Now, this is Bill Pullman innew edition. Okay, so the trial's
over. Trial's over. He's beenfound you know, this is kind of
not guilty. So he's just thesalt. There's a wound, there's some
salt, and he's got a largebag of it, and he was cramming
it. In the civil trial thisweek, OJ and Fred Goldman got into
an explosive shouting match. Mister Goldmanbellowed at OJ, don't give me that

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damn look, while OJ shouted back, I wasn't even looking at you.
You're just mad because I killed yourson. It's just such a hard sentence
to laugh at. I don't knowwhat that's about it. That's what's brilliant
about it. Robert Downey Junior andthe woman Danny turned down Fiona apple O.

(17:17):
J Simpson was in a different courtroomthis week, attempting to regain custody
of his two children in order toprove to the court how much he loves
his kids. OJ pointed out,quote, hey they're still alive, aren't
they. God joke about the kids, and the audience was that's really funny.
Sting and Veruka assault things back.He was hosting the study. More

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bad news for OJ this week,HarperCollins reached an agreement with the Brown family
to publish his late wife's diary.Especially troublesome to Simpson is this final entry,
dear diary. I have to runnow because OJ is here to murder
me. And also the guy whoreturned my glasses. I think he might
murder him too, jau stupid dude. And then Mike Myers hosted as He's

(18:11):
Back with Aerosmith as your musical guest. Here we Go. Jay Simpson was
awarded custody of his children mainly becausea court ordered psychological test showed that he
is a loving father. It shouldbe noted, however, that the same
test also showed that he was aloving husband. Okay, So when we

(18:33):
get back, not only will wediscuss how this changed TV? Yeah,
I think people being infatuated with crimeand things like that. Also how Norm
got fired, how that went down, and then his strategy on his end
while still technically an employee at SaturdayNight Live, when he went on David
Letterman to talk about it, okayand talk about his bosses. That's next

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to ninety seven one f