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".

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.

In 1974, he co-hosted a Canadian variety television series, Everything Goes. 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.

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

Personal life

Crosby was born to a Jewish family and was raised in Dorchester, Boston, the son of Ann (née Lansky) and John Crosby. 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.

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