Norm Crosby

Norman Lawrence Crosby (September 15, 1927 – November 7, 2020) was an American comedian born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was often referred to as "The Master of Malaprop".

Norm Crosby
Crosby in 1965
Born
Norman Lawrence Crosby[1]

(1927-09-15)September 15, 1927
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedNovember 7, 2020(2020-11-07) (aged 93)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationComedian
Spouse(s)
Joan Crane Foley
​
(m. 1966)​
Children2

Career

Crosby went solo as a stand-up comedian, adopting a friendly, blue collar, guy-next-door persona in the 1950s. Crosby refined his standup monologues by interpolating malapropisms. He first appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in December 1964. In late-1968, he co-starred on The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show, an NBC twelve-week series.[2]

In 1974, he co-hosted a Canadian variety television series, Everything Goes.[3] From 1974 through 1984 he was on over half a dozen Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts including one of George Burns and two separate ones of Redd Foxx. From 1978 through 1981, he hosted a nationally syndicated series, The Comedy Shop, in which a mix of up-and-coming stand-up comics and vaudeville legends presented their material.[4]

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Crosby became a commercial pitchman for Anheuser-Busch Natural Light beer. During this time, he also appeared as a celebrity guest on a number of game shows, including Celebrity Bowling, Liar's Club, Tattletales, and Hollywood Squares.

From 1983 until the program's dissociation with Jerry Lewis, Crosby co-hosted and contributed to the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6560 Hollywood Boulevard.[5]

He voiced the Judge in the animated film Eight Crazy Nights (2002).

Crosby played the KMart employee that wakes up Nick in Grown Ups 2 (2013)

Personal life and death

Crosby was born to a Jewish family[6] and was raised in Dorchester, Boston,[7] the son of Ann (née Lansky) and John Crosby.[1] In 1966, Crosby married Joan Crane Foley. They had two children. He became a Freemason in 1956, and served as Master of at least one lodge and participated in many charitable activities. He was a member of Ionic Composite Lodge #520 in Los Angeles, California.[8][9]

On November 7, 2020, Crosby died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 93.[10]

References
  1. Profile, filmreference.com; accessed April 3, 2017.
  2. "Barbara Feldon Guest on Phyllis Diller Show". Schenectady Gazette. October 5, 1968. p. TV 8. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  3. "From the Music Capitals of the World". Billboard. March 9, 1974. p. 54. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  4. The Comedy Shop videos at MeTV
  5. "Norm Crosby". Hollywood Walk of Fame. October 25, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  6. Epstein, Lawrence J. (December 6, 2001). "The story of Jewish comedians". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  7. Vennochi, Joan (April 20, 1983). "Langone Announces Entry Into Boston's Mayoral Race". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  8. Profile, MSANA.com (October 2007); accessed April 3, 2017.
  9. Ionic Composite Lodge #520 Trestle Board Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, calodges.org; accessed April 3, 2017.
  10. Saperstein, Pat. "Norm Crosby, Comedian Who Was Master of Malaprops, Dies at 93". Variety. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
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