He didn’t make it.
Six days ago I blogged about actor Bernie Mac’s ill health. At the time, the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated TV star was said to be battling pneumonia in a Chicago hospital, but Mac’s rep told reporters that the comedian was on the road to recovery and was expected to be released in a few days.
Sadly, it appears things didn’t turn out the way Mac and his loved ones had hoped. Less than an hour ago the actor’s publicist issued a statement saying that Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia. He was just 50 years old.
As I mentioned in my previous blog Mac suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body’s organs, but he was always quick to point out that his condition went into remission in 2005. Mac’s rep went public last week vehemently denying reports that the actor’s hospitalization had something to do with sarcoidosis.
In the end Mac died not far from where he grew up—on Chicago’s South Side. The comedian, who was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough on October 5, 1957, never forgot his roots and how far he came from his impoverished neighborhood to rise to the top of Tinseltown.
Mac started his comedy career while he was still in elementary school, but didn’t begin headlining shows until he was in his early 20s. From comedy routines Mac moved onto to a career in movies earning a bit part as a club doorman in the Damon Wayans movie “Mo’ Money” in 1992. The actor went on to star in the “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise with Brad Pitt and George Clooney, but he might be best known by today’s teens as Ashton Kutcher’s co-star in 2005’s “Guess Who?” Mac also had starring roles in “Bad Santa,””Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” and “Transformers.”
I’ll remember him best for his Fox TV show “The Bernie Mac Show,” which aired more than 100 episodes from 2001 to 2006. The comedy series starred Mac as a surrogate father to his sister’s three children. The show was a hit and won a Peabody Award in 2002 and also garnered Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Mac.
The actor’s publicist refused to publicly reveal any funeral plans or memorial services for Mac saying that the family needed time to grieve in private.