Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes: Death Strikes Two Legends in Two Days

Black America lost two legends, Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes, the weekend of August 9^th and 10^th respectively.

It was a significant and emotional event for me to loose two great icons, one noted for comedy and one noted for music, within a day of each other. It's surreal to succumb at age 50 and 65 since we are told and believe that people live until they're 90 years old.

Life expectancy has improved with a proper diet and exercise. Isaac Hayes believed that and was found unconscious next to his running treadmill. In a CNN interview, Hayes credited his success to "adjusting and constantly evolving, expanding and trying to stay as young as I can." To see his sleek muscular body lets everyone knows that he believed in exercising. I saw Isaac Hayes perform at the Veil Prophet (VP) Fair in St Louis a few years ago. His stage presence and performance was spectacular and even at age 63 his muscles were toned from exercise.

Life expectancy for Bernie Mac may not have been 90 since he was diagnosed in 2004 with sarcoidosis disease. The disease attacks body organs such as the lungs and have no known cure at this time. Bernie Mac was hospitalized for one week prior to his demise. The stated cause of death was complications from pneumonia. I will always wonder if the disease coupled with growing up on bologna sandwiches for dinner contributed to ending his life at the age of 50.

Two Midwesterners, Bernie Mac from Chicago and Isaac Hayes from Memphis, made Americans laugh, clap their hands and stump their feet. Their originality left a trade mark for others to follow. Bernie Mac brand of comedy brought a new generation of black standup comedy stars to a wider audience. Bernie Mac said "If you let people put tags on you, you'll never be able to remove them," he said. "You've got to make people respect you. Respect is bigger than dollars and cents"

Each icon started with a God given talent, music and comedy, and later excelled to the movies. Bernie Mac shared roles in Ocean Eleven and later received two Emmy Awards for his sitcom The Bernie Mac Show. Isaac Hays won an Emmy Award and an Oscar for his musical score written for the movie Shaft.

White Americans will miss and acknowledge the loss of both icons but not in the same way as Black Americans. Everyone who loved them shares shock and astonishment to the fact that each succumbed to death during the weekend of August 9^th and 10^th.