Bernie Mac, Comedian and Film Star, Dead at 50

The death of someone you admire, whether you are acquainted with them or not, is always a surreal experience. It is hard to grasp that their vitality; that spark of light that made such an impression has been snuffed out. One understands that death comes to all and for all. However, the loss of those larger than life characters that seem to live charmed lives is somehow harder to fathom.

In my life, Bernie Mac held such a place. Not graced with leading man good looks but blessed with humor, something that I hold in much higher esteem than beauty. Beauty fades, but the ability to deliver a good joke, just gets better with time. I considered Bernie Mac one of the funniest. I did have some idea that he'd been ill even before the report that he'd gone into the hospital. A friend who is an actress, works in a lot of local productions, was working in Shreveport and ran into Mac. She said that he did not look well and he had lost a substantial amount of weight. I did not think that was anything life threatening, just because, he was Bernie "Who Ya Wit" Mac and I just figured he'd get past it.

So it was with great sadness that I learned this morning that Bernie Mac had indeed passed away at the age of 50. His publicist Danica Smith, acknowledged that he had died from complications of pneumonia, however no other information was divulged. Perhaps many of you have heard about this already and maybe many others of you may not be familiar with Bernie Mac's body of work. I consider that a great sadness as well.

It was reported last week that Bernie Mac had taken ill and been admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. Hints at the severity of Mac's condition were evident, when premature reports of his death leaked out on a number of celebrity blogs. As it turned out, those initial reports were exaggerated. Jay Thomas Smith, entertainment reporter for local radio station, Magic 102 reported that Mac was in good spirits and looking forward to heading home, before taking a turn for the worst. Bernie Mac had been diagnosed with Sarcoidosis, a lung disease, back in 1983. According to Mac's reps, he was in remission from the Sarcoidosis and it is not thought to be to blame for his illness or subsequent passing. One cannot help but wonder, if any damage done by the Sarcoidosis could have contributed to his inability to recover.

Most recently, Bernie Mac had been on the hotseat concerning remarks made, during a Barack Obama campaign stop, that were considered unacceptable. However, part of Bernie Mac's popularity rested in the fact, that he was who he was. He was brash and at time foul-mouthed. However, one gleans from Mac's life that he had a good heart.

Born Jeffrey Bernard McCullough, on the South side of Chicago, Bernie Mac came up hardscrabble. His mother died of cancer when Mac was only 16. Mac says he spent numerous hours in his local recreation center and even worked as the athletic director for a time after high school. He credited his will to succeed, to the rec center coaches who pushed him to go farther and do more.

He started honing his comedy chops early on. Not everyone was enamored with his early comedy stylings. At the age of 8, at a church function, Bernie Mac, did a spot on impression of his grandparents having dinner. Though the routine garnered Mac a whooping when he got home, it also had the church folk rolling in the aisles. It was from there, Mac began to understand the power of humor. Mac had an affinity for impressions. He began to refine his routine, performing in local parks and Chicago's El stations. Soon he began to work the comedy club circuit; at first working for meager earnings. Before long, his star began to rise.

Bernie Mac is best known for his self-titled show, "The Bernie Mac Show". The show chronicled Bernie's travails, when he and his wife take in his sister's kids. The show paralleled Bernie's own life. He too, took in his sisters children while she was in drug rehab. Though Mac's non PC parenting methods met with some resistance, the show was a success, garnering a Peabody Award in 2002. Bernie Mac came to my attention during the "Who Ya Wit?" Tour. "Who Ya Wit" became a part of my lexicon and even today, when greeting some of my close friends, who ya wit? is the greeting of choice.

From his beginnings as the doorman in Mo' Money to his star turn as Zoe Saldana's overprotective father in "Guess Who" opposite Ashton Kutcher, Bernie Mac's growth as an actor was evident. He held his own along side Hollywood heavyweights, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle, in Stephen Soderbergh's "Ocean's " franchise. One of my favorite roles was his portrayal of Mitch Gilliam in the broadly panned "Head of State" with Chris Rock. It is one of the only Chris Rock movies, I can bear to watch.

In 2007, Bernie Mac announced his retirement from standup to concentrate on his family and to devote more time to his acting and production work. With four projects in post production at the time of his death, he seemed to be making good on his word.

Though he lost his mother when he was young, he carried her belief in him throughout his life. He wrote, of his mother, in his memoir, "Maybe You Never Cry Again," "Woman believed in me. She believed in me, long before I believed."

I know many thought Bernie Mac's comedy was brash and rude and the subject matter, perhaps too risqué for public consumption. But for many other's Bernie Mac's comedy hit us where we lived and because we could identify, we could find the humor in our own hellish situations. He spoke, to many of the truths in my life. I thank him for the funny.

Sources:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=av.2l.GR57ts&refer=muse

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,400883,00.html

http://www.usmagazine.com/Comedian-Bernie-Mac-Dies-at-50

http://www.answers.com/topic/bernie-mac