Bernie Mac - Biography

By Patrick Bromley, About.com Guide

Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

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Born:

October 5, 1957

Died:

August 9, 2008

Quick Bernie Mac Facts:

Mac was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, IL.
He began his professional stand-up career at age 19.
He had his own sitcom, The Bernie Mac Show, from 2001 to 2006.
He appeared in several hit films, including Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, the Ocean's 11 franchise and Transformers.
Mac suffered from sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease that affects body tissue including the lungs.
He died of complications from pneumonia in August of 2008.

Bernie Mac Overview:

For many years, Bernie Mac was one of the best-kept secrets in comedy. A comic in the tradition of Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx, Mac's style was intense, confrontational and profane, using stories from his life (often painful ones) as the source for humor. When he finally hit it big in 2000 as part of the Original Kings of Comedy, the country quickly embraced the honesty and pathos he injected into his rapid-fire verbal assaults. He told the truth and he made it funny.

A Hard Knocks Life:

Bernie Mac, born Bernard Jeffrey McCullogh, was born on the South Side of Chicago on October 5, 1957. The son of a single working mother, Mac and family struggled through his childhood; it was this upbringing that would provide much of the inspiration for his comedy later in life. He found comedy early, putting on shows in parks and for neighborhood kids during high school. At 16, his mother died of cancer. Three years later in 1977, Mac began his comedy career with his first professional gig at Chicago's Cotton Pickin' Club. A new comedy star was born -- though the rest of the world still had to catch up.

Becoming Bernie Mac:

The same year that Mac entered the comedy circuit, he married his wife, Rhonda, who he remained with for 31 years. He and Rhonda moved to Tampa so he could pursue a comedy career, with Mac working a series of odd jobs to support himself during those years. An intense and sometimes profane performer, Mac refused to change his image for film and television work. As such, he struggled to find acting jobs throughout most of the 1980s. It wasn't until the next decade that audiences would begin to become familiar with Bernie Mac.

Breaking Out:

In 1992, Mac got his first big break when he landed a small role in the Damon Wayans comedy Mo' Money'. That led to a series of supporting roles in films like Who's the Man?(1993), House Party 3(1994) and, most notably, the Chris Tucker/Ice Cube comedy Friday in 1995. That same year, Mac got his own late-night series on HBO, called Midnight Mac. The show, however, lasted only a month.

Mac continued to work in films through the rest of the '90s, and got a recurring role on the sitcom Moesha. His stand-up career continued to build as well, with appearances on Def Comedy Jam bringing him attention. By the end of the decade, his career was ready to explode.

The Original Kings of Comedy

In 2000, Mac joined forces with fellow comics Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric the Entertainer to form The Original Kings of Comedy. The result became the most successful comedy tour of all time, with the four comedians selling out theaters across the country.

The same year, director Spike Lee directed a tour documentary/concert film of The Original Kings of Comedy, called, appropriately enough, The Original Kings of Comedy. Mac, who performed last in the film, stole the show from the other comics with his intense delivery and stories about his family.

The Original Kings made Mac a superstar. Soon, he was getting roles in high profile Hollywood films like Charlie's Angels 2 and the Ocean's 11 series opposite George Clooney and Brad Pitt. In 2001, he got his own FOX sitcom, The Bernie Mac Show. The show was a hit and ran for five seasons.

Bernie Mac: Leading Man:

By 2004, Mac was no longer stuck in supporting parts. He played his first leading role in the baseball comedy Mr. 3000. The next year, he took the lead opposite Ashton Kutcher in the racially-reversed remake of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, simply called Guess Who.

Saying Goodbye

In 2007, Mac announced plans to retire from comedy after 30 years in the business, instead hoping to focus on films, producing and enjoying life. In August of 2008, however, Mac was hospitalized in his hometown of Chicago with pneumonia. Though he battled the illness for a week, he finally died of complications on August 9 of that year. He was 50 years old when he died.

Additional Bernie Mac Facts

Mac was nominated for two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for his work on The Bernie Mac Show. He won four NAACP Image Awards for the series on was nominated for two more.
He won the Miller Lite Comedy Search in 1990.
Early in his career, he opened for Redd Foxx, Natalie Cole and Dionne Warwick.
He was ranked number 72 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-up Comics of All Time.