Judd Apatow Recalls Last Show with Norm Macdonald Before His Death (Exclusive)

Judd Apatow had no idea that his friend Norm Macdonald was ill the last time they performed together, but he does remember the emotion of the night.

Macdonald died at age 61 in 2021 after a private nine-year cancer battle. And ahead of the four-year anniversary of his death on Sunday, Sept. 14, Apatow told PEOPLE about one of his final memories of the Saturday Night Live star — which was tinged with Macdonald’s signature humor.

“I did a show with him at Largo in Los Angeles. And at the time, none of us knew that he was sick,” says Apatow, 57. “And I just remember that, at the end of the show, he got very emotional and said to the crowd, ‘You’re so nice to me, but I have to go over there now.’ ”

“And he pointed to the wings, like the real world, [and said], ‘Because here, it’s kind of great, but I have to go over there,’ ” the filmmaker adds. “And then he just looked at the audience and he said, ‘I love you.’ And he walked offstage.”

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Aside from SNL, on which he served as “Weekend Update” anchor, Macdonald’s decades-long acting career included roles in movies like Billy Madison (1995), Dirty Work (1998) and Screwed (2000).

The late comedian was also a writer, notably for Roseanne, and starred in his own series The Norm Show (1999-2001) and A Minute with Stan Hooper (2003).

Additionally, Macdonald provided voice work for Family Guy and more, with his final film roles being voice work in Klaus (2019) and Back Home Again (2021).

Aside from several standup comedy specials, Macdonald released a 2006 sketch album titled Ridiculous, as well as a 2016 book titled Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir.

Apatow is currently developing a documentary about Macdonald.

The filmmaker’s conversation with PEOPLE came ahead of eBay for Charity‘s “Largest Comedy Auction Ever” back in July, which saw Apatow join forces with other comedy legends to raise money for The V Foundation for Cancer Research, in honor of Macdonald.

While there is really no way to know how Macdonald would have reacted to a charity auction in his honor, his unpredictability was what cemented him as such a special talent, according to Apatow.

“That’s the beauty of Norm,” he says. “He might’ve been completely fine with it. He might’ve had some really funny observation of the whole idea of it. And that’s what made him great.”