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Norm Macdonald famously roasted Courtney Thorne-Smith on late night. She loved every second of it

"Wait a minute, she left 'Melrose Place' to do a movie with Carrot Top?!"
/ Source: TODAY

Having your upcoming movie get roasted on national television by a fellow talk show guest would be mortifying to most actors.

Courtney Thorne-Smith considers it a career highlight that the late Norm Macdonald once barbecued "Chairman of the Board" right in front of her in a classic 1997 appearance on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

"Every once in a while, I’ll run into Conan and he’ll apologize, and I say, 'That was one of my favorite moments of my life,'" Thorne-Smith told Vanity Fair. "Teased by Norm Macdonald? Are you kidding?"

Macdonald, the comic and former "Saturday Night Live" star who died at 61 from cancer on Tuesday, couldn't help himself when he found out that Thorne-Smith left the highly successful television drama "Melrose Place" to co-star in a movie with prop comedian Carrot Top.

"Wait a minute, she left 'Melrose Place' to do a movie with Carrot Top?" Macdonald incredulously asked while sitting right next to Thorne-Smith.

Before Thorne-Smith revealed the name of the film, Macdonald already had one for it.

"I know what it's going to be called," he said. "If it's got Carrot Top in it, you know what a good name would be? 'Box Office Poison.'"

Courtney Thorne Smith
Actor Courtney Thorne-Smith in 2018. She opened up to Vanity Fair about getting roasted by Norm Macdonald on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" in 1997. Macdonald died at 61 this week. Rodin Eckenroth / Getty Images

"I'm in it too!" Thorne-Smith protested. "C'mon. What about my career?!"

She was quietly relieved afterward considering Macdonald was prophetic about its chances at the box office. The movie didn't even make $1 million.

"I was not thrilled about having to do it, so when Norm took over, I’m like, 'Oh, thank you, God and Norm Macdonald,'" she told Vanity Fair. "It was a blessing. Look — had I thought that 'Chairman of the Board'was my path to an Oscar, I might have been offended. I did not.

"So it was a joy to be teased about it. Because I didn’t know what I was going to say. I was like, 'Good, Norm, you take over.'"

Macdonald softened after the first few jokes, saying that he would see any movie Thorne-Smith was in and praising her talent.

Then she said the name of the movie was "Chairman of the Board," and O'Brien challenged his beloved recurring guest to do something with that.

"I bet the 'Board' is spelled B-O-R-E-D," Macdonald said, sending the show into hysterics.

Thorne-Smith said she never spoke with Carrot Top about it. However, Carrot Top shared the "Late Show" clip at one of his comedy shows on Tuesday and posted it on Instagram Wednesday in a tribute to Macdonald.

"Norm was a very funny dude, a unique kind of talent," Carrot Top says in the video. "I wouldn't say we were the best of friends. But I think we were friends. I met him many times. This thing he did on Conan O'Brien is just f--- great. So cheers to Norm Macdonald."

O'Brien also shared a remembrance of his old friend on Tuesday.

"I am absolutely devastated about Norm Macdonald," O'Brien tweeted. "Norm had the most unique comedic voice I have ever encountered and he was so relentlessly and uncompromisingly funny. I will never laugh that hard again. I'm so sad for all of us today."

The clip, which has been viewed more than a million times, is one of numerous hilarious moments that fans have revisited in the wake of Macdonald's death. His Burt Reynolds impression on "SNL," one-liners on "Weekend Update," memorable talk show appearances, and his stand-up work have all been cherished by fans who will miss his unique comedy.