Norm Macdonald's Turtle Joke | Late Night with Conan O’Brien

(Original airdate: 05/07/96) Norm Macdonald tells a "true story" about a turtle, a drunk, and a dartboard.


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Running from 1993-2009, Late Night with Conan O’Brien is one of the most beloved late night shows in television history. Known for its absurdist humor, hilarious celebrity interviews and featuring the best stand-up comedians and musical acts of the 90’s and early 2000s. Hosted by Conan O’Brien alongside sidekick Andy Richter and house band Max Weinberg and the Max Weinberg 7, Late Night with Conan O’Brien featured unforgettable segments like “If They Mated,” “In the Year 2000,” “Desk Driving” and made a breakout star of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

ABOUT TEAM COCO
Team Coco is the YouTube home for all things Conan O’Brien and the Team Coco Podcast Network. Team Coco features over 25 years of comedy sketches, celebrity interviews and stand-up comedy sets from CONAN on TBS and Late Night with Conan O’Brien, as well as exclusive videos from podcasts like Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Literally! with Rob Lowe, Why Won’t You Date Me? with Nicole Byer, The Three Questions with Andy Richter, May I Elaborate? with JB Smoove and Scam Goddess with Laci Mosley.

Team Coco

[JuJuAndPenny]

My favorite thing about Norm is that he always looks like he's just waiting for everyone else to realize how ridiculous it is that people keep letting him get away with being him.

[kevinmccabe]

I'm convinced the real joke was the "what" knowing he would get questioned about a random turtle being there

[probie]

"It's the greatest gig in the world, being alive. You get to eat at Denny's, wear a hat, whatever you wanna do."
Norm Macdonald
RIP

[moshlyfe]

The “what?” was such a masterful display of inversion of reality. The way Norm could make you question your own sanity just by telling the most mundane story was truly incredible. Miss him so much.

[legendarygary]

I love how he tells a joke like someone really struggling to tell a joke, yet somehow pulls it off

[SRShahani]

the "what?" at 1:57 is the funniest one-word punchline i've ever heard.

[Reuster]

“He goes you—I go ‘you’re uh, you’re not a—sin—guh—you’re drunk!”
No one could deliver like Norm. RIP ❤️

[muhamarfirmansyah]

Release them all Team Coco!

RIP Norm, we'll surely miss you.

[bradleyduer]

Norm explaining his jokes, after everyone has obviously already gotten it, is one of my favorite bits.

[wayplebney]

One of Norm's best things was him explaining his own jokes.

[Mjwestneat]

That "....What?" was spot on haha

[BryLo]

"There's a shoebox with a turtle in it"
"From where? What is that doing there?"
"...What?"

Gets me every time 🤣 RIP Norm

[barfymann]

I imagine Conan must be hurting right now, they were quite close. Considering the Team Coco channel hasn't stopped uploading Norm videos since his passing, I see that as a sign that he was truly beloved by the team. Cheers for sharing all this!

[Qwickset]

Norm telling a joke was, many time, way more entertaining that just the joke itself. RIP Norm. Legendary comedic timing.

[FineFlu]

The best part is the fumbled words and slurred speech before saying “youre drunk!”

[p.turtle]

Norm Macdonald is so F***ing funny. A savant of comedy. His quick wit, intellect and phrasing, camouflaged under a veneer of "aw shucks" naivete while delivering the punch line is so incredibly unique. The only comedian I can watch over and over and laugh as hard as if I was seeing the bit for the first time. RIP Norm.

[elnach]

The more I watch videos of Norm, the more I realize what a comedic genius he really was. The timing, the delivery, and his mischievous smile, are so perfect. One in a million.

[Skullertx]

1:52 His delayed "...what?" Is the best part. Whenever he did something like that always got me.

[randyjones]

Conan was always Norm's best interviewer. Conan instinctively knew when to stop being the comedian and switch to being Norm's straight man.

[brendammit]

"I says to him, I says..." No one will ever do it better than Normy 💔