Bernie Mac has been hospitalized for pneumonia, but a source, who reportedly knows Mac’s family, told the Chicago Sun-Times that the comedian is in “very, very critical condition.” Bernie Mac’s publicist, Danica Smith, calls it a “very horrible rumor,” saying that there is no truth to it at all.
Mac was admitted to a Chicago hospital (his hometown) on August 1, but Smith said he was responding well and was expected to be released soon. Mac had previously been diagnosed with sarcoidosis, a chronic inflammatory disease, in his lungs, but Smith said this bout with pneumonia is not related to that disease. Mac’s sarcoidosis has been in remission for about three years.
Mac, who started out his career as a stand-up comedian, was the star of his own sitcom, “The Bernie Mac Show,” for five years (from 2001-2006). In addition, he appeared on the stand-up comedy tour “The Kings of Comedy” with Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D.L. Hughley. Mac has also appeared on the big screen in such films as “Bad Santa,” “Ocean’s Thirteen,” “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” and “Transformers.”
Over six months after his death, Mary-Kate Olsen has thought about talking to federal investigators about Heath Ledger’s death. I say, “thought” because reports are that she will not talk unless she is giving immunity, according to the New York Post. When Mary-Kate’s masseuse found Ledger unresponsive in his room on January 22, 2008, she was the first person he called – even before 911.
The Post said that Mary-Kate’s lawyer had rebuffed several attempts by federal investigators to ask her questions about Ledger’s death. I think up until his death, no one had even heard the names Heath Ledger and Mary-Kate Olsen mentioned together, so it all just seems odd, as does her refusal to speak about the situation. The Post says that a grand-jury subpoena may be issued, in which case she would be forced to tell all she knew about Ledger’s life and death.
Meanwhile, Ledger becomes an even bigger star in death as The Dark Knight has earned over $400 million so far and there is Oscar buzz about Ledger being nominated for his part as the Joker.