Celebrity Biographies
Bernie Mac
African-American comedian Bernie Mac passed away prematurely on August 9, 2008, at the age of 50. Apparently the actor, more popular in the United States than in the rest of the world, suffered from pneumonia, for which he had been admitted to a Chicago hospital for some time. Mac had suffered from a disease known as sarcoidosis, which had weakened his lungs.
Born in Chicago in 1957, Bernard Jeffery McCullough –his real name– comes from a very humble family. Since he was a child he was interested in acting, and humorous performances. At the age of 19, he decided to try his luck as a comedian, performing in the bars of his hometown. Although success resisted him, he never gave up, and at the age of 35 he began a career as a secondary in cinema, after his appearance in the comedy Más pelas , where he had a brief presence as a nightclub doorman. He was also cast in a minor role by Spike Lee in The Million Man March , and he appeared opposite Eddie Murphy in Ted Demme ‘s Condemned Escape .
Since the year 2000, Mac began to succeed on the small screen, with the program “The Original Kings of Comedy”, and various appearances on the most famous American programs, such as “Saturday Night Live”. He then starred in the series Moesha and went on to have his own show, “The Bernie Mac Show.” In cinema, his great opportunity was given to him by Steven Soderberg, who made him one of the members of the gang of robbers in Ocean’s Eleven , his most popular film. Mac reprized his role as Frank Catton, a master of the game, in the sequels, Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen . Mac also had prominent roles in Bad Santa , Transformersand it was Jimmy Bosley, director of the detective agency where the protagonists of Charlie’s Angels worked. To the limit , and that he was some kind of liaison for the girls with his boss. He also starred opposite Ashton Kutcher in the comedy Guess Who , an underrated version of the classic Guess Who ‘s Coming Tonight .
“Wherever I go, I have to put on a good show,” the actor said on several occasions. Known for his enormous capacity for verbiage, however, he had caused enormous controversy in recent months, after his appearance at an event to raise funds for Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Apparently, Mac included tasteless jokes, on sensitive topics such as menopause and infidelity, which were heavily criticized by the public, apparently made up of select people who had paid a great deal of money to attend.
Bernie Mac was married since 1977 to Rhonda McCullough, who accompanied him until his death. The marriage had a daughter