Norm McDonald, was of SNL’s most beloved cast members has died. He was 61.

According to multiple reports, the comedian has been battling cancer for the last nine years which he chose to keep private.

“He was most proud of his comedy,” McDonald’s producing partner and friend Lori Jo Hoekstra told Deadline. “He never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him. Norm was a pure comic. He once wrote that ‘a joke should catch someone by surprise, it should never pander.’ He certainly never pandered. Norm will be missed terribly.”

Macdonald was an SNL cast member from 1993-98, making his greatest impact as the anchor of the show’s “Weekend Update” segments for three seasons.