Bernie Mac a 'king of comedy'
2008-08-09 17:30
Chicago - Comedian and actor Bernie
Mac, who starred in one of U.S. TV's few black sitcoms and
appeared in the Ocean's 11 movies, died in Chicago on
Saturday after a bout with pneumonia. He was 50.
Publicist Danica Smith confirmed the death in a statement
but gave no further details. "We ask that his family's privacy
continues to be respected," she said.
His hospitalisation was announced on August 1. At the time,
his publicist said his illness was unrelated to a chronic
tissue inflammation called sarcoidosis, which had been in
remission since 2005.
The Chicago-born comedian, whose real name was Bernard
Jeffrey McCullough, starred in The Bernie Mac Show, which ran for five seasons until 2006 and lives on in syndication.
He appeared on the big screen in films like the Ocean's
11 trilogy, and alongside Ashton Kutcher in the romantic
comedy Guess Who.
With his beefy frame and bulging eyes, Mac cut an imposing
figure. His scathing comedic observations were inspired by his
impoverished childhood in Chicago and honed by years on the
stand-up circuit.
"I reflect on my childhood, my young adulthood, the
disappointments of life - the problems I brought on myself,
the self-pity I went through before I became a man," he told
Playboy magazine in 2003.
Kings of Comedy
Mac achieved national prominence after joining the Kings of
Comedy stand-up tour in 1997 with Steve Harvey, DL Hughley
and Cedric the Entertainer. Tapping into an underserved market
of middle-class blacks, the dapper quartet sold out arenas
across the country during their annual treks.
In 2000, director Spike Lee shot a hugely profitable
documentary about the tour.
The following year, The Bernie Mac Show debuted on Fox, created by Larry Wilmore and drawing heavily on Mac's personal
life. Mac played a married stand-up comedian who is reluctantly
thrust into parenthood when he takes custody of his sister's
three children after she enters rehab.
Mac's character often turned to the camera, addressing
"America" with such observations as "I hate my loved ones. They
make me sick," or, "I love my wife, but I hate her (golf)
game."
He received two Emmy nominations for his role. While many
contemporary TV dads get cheap laughs by playing clueless
characters, Mac deliberately played a level-headed family man
not afraid to exert his authority.
Mac was born in Chicago on October 3, 1957, and raised in a
rat-infested tenement on the city's South Side. His mother died
when he was 15, and his father - whom he met only a dozen
times - three years later. He credited his grandmother for
keeping him grounded.
Married for more than 30 years, Mac largely eschewed the
Hollywood lifestyle, choosing to live a simple life in Chicago
playing golf and collecting guns.
He is survived by his wife, a daughter and a
granddaughter.