One of the countless actors paying tribute to Burt Reynolds in the wake of his passing on Thursday was Norm Macdonald, a comedian whose career became intertwined with the “Smokey and the Bandit” star thanks to his “Celebrity Jeopardy” impersonations on “Saturday Night Live.”
“Big Burt is up in heaven slapping around little Bert,” Macdonald tweeted after the sad news broke, in reference to the iconic – but often crude – sketches.
Big Burt is up in heaven slapping around little Bert. #onefewerB*rt inthispooroldworld
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) September 6, 2018
From 1996 to 2002, Macdonald starred alongside Will Ferrell and Darrell Hammond in a send-up of the infamous celebrity editions of “Jeopardy!,” lampooning the stars’ frequent struggle to answer questions correctly. With Ferrell playing an exasperated Alex Trebek, Macdonald portrayed Burt Reynolds, who would often be seen wearing a cartoonishly large cowboy hat.
In one of the most frequently quoted sketches the concept created, Macdonald’s Reynolds gets his name legally changed to “Turd Ferguson,” insisting that Trebek address him as such. The moment became so famous among “SNL” and “Jeopardy!” fans that in 2015, a contestant wrote down “Turd Ferguson” as a joke response in Final Jeopardy just so that the real Trebek would say the name.
According to a 2007 TV Guide interview, Macdonald revealed that Reynolds loved his impersonation and they had even planned to include him in a “Celebrity Jeopardy” sketch. The plan was to have the real Reynolds show up and knock out Macdonald, taking over as contestant. Unfortunately for Trebek, the real Reynolds’ responses would be even stupider. Sadly, Macdonald was dismissed from “SNL” before the sketch could be done.
Reynolds, who has starred in films like “The Longest Yard,” “Boogie Nights” and “Deliverance,” died of cardiac arrest on Thursday at age 82.
Watch a clip of the hilarious “SNL” sketches below.
Click here for more tributes from around Hollywood to Burt Reynolds and his decorated career.