Four “Saturday Night Live” legends got together Wednesday night to remember a fifth, Page Six has learned.
Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon, David Spade and Colin Quinn had an impromptu dinner at Lure in Soho after learning of the untimely death of Norm Macdonald, and were overheard sharing stories about the legendary “Weekend Update” host.
Macdonald died this week at 61 after a private nine-year battle with cancer.
Like the late comic, Fallon and Quinn are also veterans of the “Weekend Update” desk, with Quinn doing the job alone from 1998 until 2000, and the “Tonight Show” host taking the reins alongside Tina Fey from 2000 until 2004.
Meanwhile, Rock was a cast member on the long-running NBC institution from 1990 until 1993 — just before Macdonald joined the cast in 1993 — and Spade appeared from 1990 to 1996. Spade and Macdonald overlapped for three years.
Macdonald’s close friend Lori Jo Hoekstra, who was with Macdonald when he died, was adamant about keeping his diagnosis from family, friends and fans. He only shared it with a handful of people.
Hoekstra, Macdonald’s longtime producing partner, told Deadline in a statement: “He was most proud of his comedy. 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.”
Lure seems to have become something of a comedy clubhouse lately after Dave Chappelle threw a party at the downtown seafood joint last week after the 9/11 comedy show. It went on until 4 a.m.
