BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

I haven't seen the press release, but just heard this on the news.

He's just passed away at 50 years old -- recently, he was hospitalized dealing with pneumonia.

Here's the "latest" article from 15 hrs ago: (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=7&entry_id=28930)

Bernie Mac To Be Released from Hospital Soon

Comedian Bernie Mac is making a good recovery from pneumonia and should be released from a Chicago, Ill., hospital within the next few weeks, his representative has confirmed.

News of the ailing actor's illness broke last week, and at one point, his publicist Danica Smith was forced to play down reports Mac's health had rapidly deteriorated, with some rumors claiming he had died.

Speaking on Sunday, she insisted, "Bernie Mac is still alive and being treated in a Chicago hospital for pneumonia and is expected to make a full recovery. (He is) responding well to treatment and will be released soon."

Smith has now reiterated news of Mac's improving health after sources close to the star's family claimed he was in a "very, very critical" condition on Monday.

In a new statement released on Thursday, she says: "Bernie Mac is in stable condition in a Chicago-area hospital. He is responding well to treatment and hopes to be released in the next few weeks. His family thanks everyone for the well wishes and concern."

Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

His rep just issued the following statement to TMZ: "Actor/ comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital. No other details are available at this time. We ask that his family's privacy continues to be respected."

Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

i just saw this on the news too, sad

Message edited 8/9/2008 9:43:15 AM.

Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

Oh how horrible. May he rest in peace

Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

What a sin

Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

May he rest in peace.

Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

They just posted the story on Yahoo, too
Source
By F.N. D'ALESSIO, Associated Press Writer
1 minute ago



CHICAGO - Bernie Mac, the actor and comedian who teamed up in the casino heist caper "Ocean's Eleven" and gained a prestigious Peabody Award for his sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show," died Saturday at age 50.

"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 worked his way to Hollywood success from an impoverished upbringing on Chicago's South Side. He began doing standup as a child, and his film career started with a small role as a club doorman in the Damon Wayans comedy "Mo' Money" in 1992. In 1996, he appeared in the Spike Lee drama "Get on the Bus."

He was one of "The Original Kings of Comedy" in the 2000 documentary of that title that brought a new generation of black standup comedy stars to a wider audience.

Mac went on to star in the hugely popular "Ocean's Eleven" franchise with Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

His turn with Ashton Kutcher in 2005's "Guess Who" topped the box office. It was a comedy remake of the classic Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn drama "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" — with Mac as the black dad who's shocked that his daughter is marrying a white man.

Mac also had starring roles in "Bad Santa," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Transformers."

In the late 1990s, he had a recurring role in "Moesha," the UPN network comedy starring pop star Brandy.

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.

"But television handcuffs you, man," he said in a 2001 Associated Press interview. "Now everyone telling me what I CAN'T do, what I CAN say, what I SHOULD do, and asking, `Are blacks gonna be mad at you? Are whites gonna accept you?'"

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.

"I came from a place where there wasn't a lot of joy," Mac told the AP in 2001. "I decided to try to make other people laugh when there wasn't a lot of things to laugh about."

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."

Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

I LOVED him - LOVED him!!! I am so so sad - my heart is aching right now - DH is really sad too

Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

I was just going to post this!!! So sad!!!

Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

I just read this on MSN...how sad.

Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

So sad!

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Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

WOW!!! He was so young. Terribly sad

Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

me and DH are so upset

We LOVE him!

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Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

Rest in Peace. Keep them laughing upstairs!!!!!!1

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Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

I cannot believe this. So sad.

Re: BERNIE MAC PASSES AWAY AT 50 Y/O

So sad