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CHICAGO
-- Bernie Mac, the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor and
comedian who worked his way to Hollywood success from an impoverished
upbringing on Chicago's South Side, died Saturday at age 50. (9-8-08)
"Actor/comedian
Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to
pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital," his publicist, Danica
Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles.
She
said no other details were available and asked that his family's
privacy be respected.
The
comedian suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease
that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said
the condition went into remission in 2005. He recently was
hospitalized and treated for pneumonia, which his publicist said was
not related to the disease.
Recently,
Mac's brand of comedy caught him flack when he was heckled during a
surprise appearance at a July fundraiser for Democratic presidential
candidate and fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama.
Toward
the end of a 10-minute standup routine, Mac joked about menopause,
sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude
language. The performance earned him a rebuke from Obama's campaign.
But
despite controversy or difficulties, in his words, Mac was always a performer.
"Wherever
I am, I have to play," he said in 2002. "I have to put on
a good show."
Mac
started his comedy career at age 8, with a standup performance at a
church dinner. In 1977, at age 20, he took that act to comedy clubs
in Chicago.
His
film career started with a small role as a club doorman in the Damon
Wayans movie "Mo' Money" in 1992. Mac went on to star in
the "Ocean's Eleven" franchise with Brad Pitt and George
Clooney and his turn with Ashton Kutcher in 2005's "Guess
Who?" _ a remake of the Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn 1967
classic "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" _ topped the box office.
Mac
also had starring roles in "Bad Santa," "Charlie's
Angels: Full Throttle" and "Transformers."
The
comedian drew critical and popular acclaim with his Fox television
series "The Bernie Mac Show," which aired more than 100
episodes from 2001 to 2006.
The
series about a man's adventures raising his sister's three children,
won a Peabody Award in 2002. At the time, judges wrote they chose the
sitcom for transcending "race and class while lifting viewers
with laughter, compassion _ and cool."
The
show garnered Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Mac. He also was
nominated for a Grammy award for best comedy album in 2001 along with
his "The Original Kings of Comedy" co-stars, Steve Harvey,
D.L. Hughley and Cedric The Entertainer.
In
2007, Mac told David Letterman on CBS' "Late Show" that he
planned to retire soon.
"I'm
going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my
life a little bit," Mac told Letterman. "I missed a lot of
things, you know. I was a street performer for two years. I went into
clubs in 1977."
Mac
was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough on Oct. 5, 1957, in Chicago. He
grew up on the city's South Side, living with his mother and
grandparents. His grandfather was the deacon of a Baptist church.
In
his 2004 memoir, "Maybe You Never Cry Again," Mac wrote
about having a poor childhood _ eating bologna for dinner _ and a
strict, no-nonsense upbringing.
Mac's
mother died of cancer when he was 16. In his book, Mac said she was
a support for him and told him he would surprise everyone when he
grew up. Woman believed in me," he wrote. "She believed in
me long before I believed." |