Off the desk, Macdonald's best-loved impression is likely his spin on '70s and '80s movie star Burt Reynolds, also known as Turd Ferguson, who he distils into a cocky caricature of dated machismo.

Live from New York, Mike Myers became a star on “Saturday Night Live.” As did fellow Canadian comics Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short, and the late Phil Hartman and Norm Macdonald. Canadian ties to ...