Live From New York - James H. Miller [232]
After that, I just tried to get off the show. Ohlmeyer wouldn’t let me off; he just wanted me not to do “Update” and do like sketches or whatever. I didn’t want to do sketches. So everybody’s kind of embarrassed about the whole situation; they just want you gone. But Lorne had always told me, “In the show, you have to have an exit strategy.” Which is a way to leave the show in exactly the right way to move on in show business. So I guess after I got fired, my idea was to have an exit strategy — to get out of there without just slinking away after getting fired. And that worked to some extent, in the sense that it gave me a little bit of publicity, which is sort of currency in show business.
TIM HERLIHY, Writer:
I’m very good friends with Norm and very good friends with Colin Quinn, so it was tough making that “Update” transition. It was like right around the time Chris Farley died, that first week that we were trying to put together “Weekend Update” with Colin, wondering whether Norm was going to show up or whether it was all going to reverse. We kind of had to plow into it, and put together a whole new set and a whole new everything and try and get Colin ready.
“They’re going to fire Norm, they’re going to fire Norm” — and, you know, this had been going on for weeks and weeks. And all of a sudden they fired Norm. We just kind of couldn’t believe it. There was a real sense of disbelief, and there was a sense that this was just the latest chess move in something that was going to go on for a long, long time.
COLIN QUINN, Cast Member:
There was no inkling. Maybe some people knew and we just didn’t realize it. But there was no inkling. And I think at that point I was well enough known in the show where I probably would have heard if there was some big rumor flying. I mean, sure, a couple of people knew. But there was no inkling. And Norm had been so good about letting me do pieces on “Update.” Not only were me and Norm tight when shooting pool, I lived in the same building as Norm. So it’s like, here he is, ten floors below, and I’m hearing this shit.
What happened was, they called me and told me about Norm just because we knew each other. So it’s like, “Oh my God!” But here’s how I felt: I felt horrible that it wasn’t going to be Norm, but — and I even said it to Lorne when I met Lorne after that — if it’s not Norm, I’m not going to stand here and say I don’t want it. Because I don’t want some other guy from outside who I don’t think is fucking funny to take the job just because I was being respectful of Norm. And I think Norm felt the same way.
Norm was such an ally of mine, getting all my “Update” features on, that in a way, he had a lot to do with the fact that I would be the guy to take over for him. “Huge whore” — he would say that a lot. And in that Canadian accent of his, it’s perfect. Yeah, he’s a funny fucking bastard. “Huge whore.” You know, if there’s one criticism of him, it is that he should have used that on more people.
In retrospect, I could imagine how people would be like, “Quinn’s not ready for ‘Update.’” But part of being a comedian is the delusion that you should be onstage at all times. Comedians could watch like Robin Williams and Chris Rock go on and the whole audience go crazy, and the whole time I know what they’re thinking — even the youngest new guys: “I should come to work this crowd. I’m telling you, I could kill right now.” That’s how comedians think. I see the young guys looking at me like, “Move over. You had a nice run. Beat it!”
LORNE MICHAELS:
Don’s not stupid. Don’s not even “evil.” But Don is like the greatest