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RIP: BERNIE MAC
Gifted comedian Bernie Mac is dead at the age of 50.
August 9, 2008
Comedian Bernie Mac died at Northwestern Memorial hospital early Saturday morning, according to Sun-Times Columnist, Stella Foster. He was 50. Though the cause of death has not been confirmed, Mac had been hospitalized recently for pneumonia. Foster said that she received calls early Saturday morning from a close friend of the Mac family, confirming the reports of Mac's death.
His last completed film was 'Soul Men', which is scheduled to be released on November 14 paired him with Samuel L. Jackson as two estranged soul-singing legends who agree to participate in a reunion performance at the Apollo Theater to honor their recently deceased band leader. He was last seen on the big screen in 2007 in the blockbuster hit 'Transformers' where he played the car salesman, Bobby Bolivia. In 2004, Mac had his first starring role as a retired baseball player in the movie 'Mr. 3000'.
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough was born on October 5, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois. Mac had suffered from sarcoidosis, a tissue inflammation disease, since 1983, but repeated had stated that it did not his daily life.
Mac started as a stand-up comedian in Chicago's Cotton Pickin' Club. He won the Miller Lite Comedy Search at the age of 32, at which point his popularity as a comedian began to grow. A performance on HBO's Def Comedy Jam thrust him into the spotlight. He opened for Dionne Warwick, Redd Foxx and Natalie Cole. He also had a short-lived talk show on HBO titled Midnight Mac. Later, Mac also began acting in minor roles, and received his big break as Pastor Clever in Ice Cube's 1995 film Friday. Following that role, Mac would also work in many other movies, and some television appearances, including Booty Call, How to Be a Player, Life and What's the Worst That Could Happen?.
Mac was one of the few African American comedic actors to be able to break out of the traditional "black comedy" genre, having roles in the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven and becoming the new Bosley for the Charlie's Angels sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. In 2003, he also turned in an impressive performance in a small but important role as Gin "The Store Dick" in Bad Santa. He also starred in Guess Who?, a comedic remake of the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
In 2000, Mac continued with his stand-up comedy roots, touring the country as one of 'The Kings of Comedy', along with Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley. The comedy act was filmed by Spike Lee and was included later in the movie 'The Original Kings of Comedy'.
In 2001, Fox gave Mac his own sitcom called 'The Bernie Mac Show', somewhat based on his own life. In the show, he suddenly becomes custodian over his sister's three children after she enters rehab. It was a success in part because it allows Mac to stay true to his stand-up comedy roots, breaking the fourth wall to communicate his thoughts to the audience. The show was cancelled after the 2006 season.
Mac leaves behind his wife since 1977, Rhonda McCullough, daughter Je'Niece, and granddaughter Jasmine.
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