Comedian Norm Crosby Passed Away Due To A Heart Failure In Las Vegas (Photo Credit: Getty Images)
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American comedian, Norman Lawrence Crosby (better known as Norm Crosby), who is often referred to as ‘The Master of Malaprop’ is no more. The senior actor, who began his career as a stand-up comedian in the 1950s, passed away at the age of 93 owing to a heart failure in Los Angeles.
Norm Crosby thrived in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s as a television, nightclub and casino comedian. The news of his death was confirmed by his daughter-in-law Maggie Crosby.
Maggie told The New York Times that Norm Crosby passed away on Saturday (November 7) because of a heart failure.
Talking about Norm Crosby’s career as a comedian, he began telling jokes in the late 1950s as a stand-up comedian. During a period when comedians relied on one type of gag for their acts, Mr Crosby realized he needed a trick to differentiate himself from the others. At that time, Don Rickles was known for the insult comic shows, and Henny Youngman was the king of one-liners. Norm, a young comedian in New England, experimented with these forms and more making a name for himself.
Speaking about trying his hand at all types of comedy, Norm Crosby in an interview with Kliph Nesteroff in 2010 said, “I was doing everybody’s material. I took from Buddy Hackett, Jan Murray and Red Buttons. Everybody!”
Mr Crosby developed his lingo after he was offered a job at the famous New York City nightclub the Latin Quarter, in Times Square. He told an interviewer in 1989. “I was looking around for fresh ideas, and I kept hearing people misuse words. So I started to use it in my act.”
Norm Crosby’s first steady work as a comedian came at Blinstrub’s in Boston. This led to an engagement in the early 1960s at the Latin Quarter in New York. Crosby became a favourite at major Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos during the following years. He was also part of theatres and featured several times at London’s Palladium and different concert halls. Norm was a regular guest on Dean Martin’s celebrity roasts.
From 1978, Norm Crosby starred in the syndicated TV show, Norm Crosby’s Comedy Shop. He also served as co-host with Jerry Lewis on the Labor Day weekend telethon for muscular dystrophy.
