Norm Macdonald is campaigning for the 12:35 talk show slot on CBS. I can't see them just handing him the job but if they try auditioning different hosts by having them each do a few nights or a week, Norm could easily rally himself into a tryout.
A friend of mine over at CBS wrote to me the other day that the in-house buzz is that the execs there had someone in mind for the job before Craig Ferguson's departure was announced but that things fell through. I don't think he's talking about Neil Patrick Harris. He may be talking about John Oliver, who reportedly turned the job down. So on-air auditions may be in the cards.
I've always found Norm Macdonald to be a very funny guy. I first saw him one night at the Improv. I was there with Victoria Jackson, back in the days when she didn't think folks like me were destined to burn in Hell for destroying America. She wanted me to see this new comedian she'd "discovered" so we saw Norm…and he was quite good. He did 15 strong minutes around 9 PM and then we joined him at the bar and talked a bit. He had to be at the Laugh Factory up on Sunset at Midnight and didn't have a car…so the three of us went to my house to talk, then Victoria and I drove him up to Sunset and watched him do the same material to even better response.
But as funny as he was on those stages, he was even funnier in my living room. It has never surprised me that he's attained such a following.
Victoria was on Saturday Night Live at the time and she said she was going to get Norm's material to Lorne Michaels to perhaps fill an open slot on the writing staff. The next thing I knew, Macdonald was not only writing for SNL but he was in the cast…and Victoria was not. I never heard what happened or if he got the job because of her. Never heard him mention her in interviews, either. If you ever hear anything about this, let me know.