Norm Crosby

<p>Today we meet a man who is a true perspiration to both of us, the great Norm Crosby -- also known as the master of malaprop. Born out of the need for a shtick when he was a young comic, Norm's ability to mangle the language on command was a hit with audiences and led to a decades long career in comedy clubs, long runs in Las Vegas, and myriad appearances in film and on television. Norm was also a staple at the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts (and the much naughtier Friar's Club version), a regular on the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon, and an unlikely pitchman for beer. Not bad for a comic with Catskills material, but a gift for garbled gab that was top shelf all the way. As always find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!</p> <p>Want more Norm?</p> <p>If you want a nice sample of what Norm was all about this clip from the Ed Sullivan Show in 1967 is a great place to start. It's a simple riff on US History, but filled with the malaprop comedy that made his career. <a href='https://youtu.be/gshTXgcyoq4?si=Z3ZkQqqSMO4JrSkl&amp;fbclid=IwAR0HqByg8YE3bHSQxlVSpc83tvdCQIxxGUHBYG-UO0S3vur_WPUy9y28rS4'>https://youtu.be/gshTXgcyoq4?si=Z3ZkQqqSMO4JrSkl</a></p> <p>Norm was a Vegas stalwart with headlining gigs of his own, plus a long run opening shows for the likes of Tom Jones. Here's Norm guesting on the mother of all Vegas gigs -- the Jerry Lewis Telethon (Norm appeared 27 times). <a href='https://youtu.be/KjImNhOSDac?si=Cpo3iQkVowynKAT_&amp;fbclid=IwAR0SjShoVr9rGeIaNOJatUl82zMWR5QA2auC8LcuURhhsZ9veorFPyVVq3Q'>https://youtu.be/KjImNhOSDac?si=Cpo3iQkVowynKAT_</a></p> <p>Later in his career Norm found a new audience through an unlikely source -- he became a tv pitchman, most notably for the then new Natural Light Beer. Nothing like dressing up a lousy beer with some classic comedy! <a href='https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FteUfoBNYXrY%3Fsi%3DVPa6k9mjestTFyj3%26fbclid%3DIwAR31lO8hJtC9vpXJEkpTAqpqmNUM-KvJK0YSML5aYxumOwquI1v7vw_cQvg&amp;h=AT2fTg8V1Hcpg51Wt3GrtPNRjRVf7vTYRUrQdgbfuUvdf8js-kT