Mac, Bernie 1957–
Bernie Mac 1957–
Actor, comedian
From the crime-ridden streets of Chicago’s south side to the red-carpeted runways of Hollywood premieres, comedian Bernie Mac has risen to the top of his game by being true to himself and doing what he loves. “I just get up there and dig deep into my heart and let it go,” he told The Florida Times-Union of his performanees, “That’s what I’m meant to do.” Those are pretty sensitive words from a comic whose raw, in-yourface style prompted the Daytona Beach News Journal to write, “Mac, a maniacally evil glint in his eyes at all times, is a walking, sex-scene-spouting parody of conformity.” However, as raunchy and strong as his comic style has been, Mac has always communicated a definite point. A family man at heart, Mac has also maintained respect for his audience, his community, and himself. He told Jet that, despite his liberal use of four-letter words, “I talk about self-respect.”
Bernie Mac was born in 1957, one of fifteen children, and raised on the South Side of Chicago. Almost from the start he was destined to be a comic. He was just four when he witnessed his mother laughing until she cried as she watched Bill Cosby perform on television. The power Cosby had to elicit such reaction made an impact on Mac. He quickly became the family clown. He told the New York Daily News, “I did two hours at my grandfather’s funeral…. They asked me to say a few words, and I just started doing him. Imitating his walk and his laugh, and repeating his favorite line: Tl kil’yu.’” By the time he graduated high school, his comic reputation was intact, even if he wasn’t ready for it. Voted class clown by his fellow students, Mac turned the title down. “I thought it was an insult,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
Mac’s career started slowly. It’s not that he wasn’t funny enough, he just wasn’t very committed. He worked a series of menial jobs to pay the rent and did impromptu stand-up in the subways, eliciting tips for laughs in between the rush of trains coming and going. Sadly, it took devastating losses to get his career off the platform and on track. An unfortunate series of accidents and illnesses claimed the lives of several close family members. Understandably, he has chosen not to speak in public on these grave personal losses. One thing he has shared is that as a result of the losses he suffered, he finally decided to focus on his first calling—his career as a comic.
Mac quickly became a well-known comic in a town that is well-known for comedy. His fame in Chicago was
At a Glance…
Born in 1957, in Chicago, IL; married Rhonda McCullough; children: J’Neice.
Career: Stand-up comic and actor. Film debut, Mo’ Money, 1992; appeared in over a dozen films; created and starred in HBO show, Midnight Mac, 1995; touring comedy show, The Original Kings of Comedy, founding member, 1997-00; concert film, The Original Kings of Comedy, 2000; television series, The demie Mac Show, 2001.
Addresses: Agent —Marty Bowen, United Talent Agency, 9560 Wilshire Blvd., 5th Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.
enough to score him a spot on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam. Damon Wayans was the host the night of Mac’s appearance. Mac not only won over the audience, but Wayans as well. Before he knew it, he had a role in Wayans’s 1992 film Mo’ Money. The movie was instantly forgettable, but Mac wasn’t. Over the next few years, he would appear in many films. Because he was a comic, he was often cast as a funny sideman. However, he proved himself in dramatic roles as well, most notably as “Flip,” a homeless ex-basketball star in 1994’s Above the Rim. Of that film he told the New York Daily News, “Where you start is where you end up…. So before I got typecast, I wanted to establish that I can go deep.” However, on the small screen, it was comedy all the way. He made appearances on The Arsenio Hall Show, hosted an episode of NBC’s Later, had a recurring role on the teen hit Moesha, and wrote and starred in his own HBO show, Midnight Mac, which was nominated for a Cable Ace Award.
Even as his small and large screen careers were taking off, Mac stepped up his live performance schedule. With his new-found fame, he could now headline at major comedy clubs and theaters across the country. At one point he was touring almost forty weeks out of the year. This was the early and mid-1990s when black comedians were the talk of the entertainment world. In a 1994 article Jet noted that black comics “are among the hottest on the comedy circuit.” In Living Color, Showtime at the Apollo, and Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam were drawing massive audiences and black comics were becoming stars.
It was a great time for comedy, but some critics noted that it was also a time of the re-segregation of comedy. Few whites were in the audience. “Segregated comedy is sad,” Mac told The Florida Times-Union, “People are missing out. The world isn’t all black or all white.” He reiterated that view in a later interview with Jet, “I don’t consider myself a Black Comic, I don’t consider myself a White Comic. I consider myself a comedian…. I can make them all laugh.”
In 1997 Mac joined four other comics and began the tour that would propel him into the realm of comedic royalty. Along with Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, and Cedric the Entertainer, Mac embarked on the comedy tour, The Original Kings of Comedy. The show, created by promoter Walter Latham, was two and a half hours of gut-splitting, howling good laughter. “It reminds you of when you were a kid and someone jumped on you to tickle you,” Harvey told Jet. “After a while you just want him to stop. You can’t take no more. That’s what coming to see this show is like.”
Audiences across the country could take more, a lot more, and Kings was the first comedy show ever to move from headlining theaters and small arenas to commanding full houses at rock concert-sized coliseums. Within months after forming, the troupe started selling out 11,000 seat stadiums and went on to become the highest grossing comedy tour in history, drawing over $40 million since its inception. In considering the tour’s success, Mac offered a sociological reason. “We’re doctors. We’re medicine. We’re something a lot of people wish they could be,” he told Jet. “People come and can forget about their hardships. The world is hurting. Most of the people who come may be crying and arguing, but they come to get away and to laugh for a couple of hours.”
The show’s success drew the attention of director Spike Lee, and in February of 2000 he headed to the Charlotte, North Carolina show with 12 cameras, producing one of Hollywood’s most unexpected hits, the film The Original Kings of Comedy. The film provided Mac with a much wider—and whiter—audience and poised him for even greater success.
His fame has spread like spring fever since his stand-up days on the Chicago subway. In 2001, Mac was busy filming the much anticipated re-make of Ocean’s Eleven with heavy-hitters Matt Damon, George Clooney, and Brad Pitt. Mac’s first book, I Ain’t Scared of You, was scheduled for publication in the fall of 2001. Also that fall, FOX planned to launch The Bernie Mac Show. Mac has been fortunate to gain immense success while working in a career he loves. In an interview posted on the theparamount.com website Mac said, “I’m not in it for the ego or any other selfish reasons. I do it because I love it. This is what I chose to do. I’m in it to win it.”
Selected fimography
Films
Mo’ Money, 1992.
Who’s the Man, 1993.
Above the Rim, 1994.
The Walking Dead, 1995.
Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, 1996.
Get on the Bus, 1996.
Booti; Call, 1997. BAPS, 1997.
How to Be a Player, 1997.
The Player’s Club, 1998.
Life, 1999.
The Original Kings of Comedy, 2000.
What’s the Worst That Could Happen?, 2001.
Ocean’s Eleven, 2001.
Television
Midnight Mac, HBO Variety Special, 1995.
The Bernie Mac Show (Pilot), 2001.
Selected Writings
I Ain’t Scared of You!, MTV Books, Fall 2001
Sources
Periodicals
Daytona Beach News Journal, August 18, 2000
Entertainment Weekly, August 11, 2000, p42
The Florida Times-Union, June 4, 1999
Interview, August 2000, p57
Jet, September 5, 1994, p34; September 20, 1999, p58
New York Daily News, March 28, 1994
Online
http://www.kingsofcomedymovie.com
http://www.theparamount.com/artist/mac/bernie/html
—Candace LaBalle
Mac, Bernie
Mac, Bernie
1958—
Actor, comedian
From the crime-ridden streets of Chicago's South Side to the red-carpeted runways of Hollywood premieres, comedian Bernie Mac has risen to the top of his game by being true to himself and doing what he loves. "I just get up there and dig deep into my heart and let it go," he told The Florida Times-Union of his performances, "That's what I'm meant to do." Those are pretty sensitive words from a comic whose raw, in-your-face style prompted the Daytona Beach News Journal to write, "Mac, a maniacally evil glint in his eyes at all times, is a walking, sex-scene-spouting parody of conformity." However, as raunchy and strong as his comic style has been, Mac has always communicated a definite point. A family man at heart, Mac has also maintained respect for his audience, his community, and himself. He told Jet that, despite his liberal use of four-letter words, "I talk about self-respect." He solidified that particular point from 2001 to 2006 during his five-season run as a tough-loving father on The Bernie Mac Show. From stand-up stage and television, Mac's popularity grew so much that by the early 2000s he had become a full-fledged film headliner.
Developed Natural Comic Talent
Bernie Mac was born on October 5, 1958, and raised on the South Side of Chicago. Almost from the start he was destined to be a comic. He was just four when he witnessed his mother laughing until she cried as she watched Bill Cosby perform on television. The power Cosby had to elicit such reaction made an impact on Mac. He quickly became the family clown. He told the New York Daily News, "I did two hours at my grandfather's funeral…. They asked me to say a few words, and I just started doing him. Imitating his walk and his laugh, and repeating his favorite line: ‘I'l kil'yu.’" By the time he graduated high school, his comic reputation was intact, even if he wasn't ready for it. Voted class clown by his fellow students, Mac turned the title down. "I thought it was an insult," he told Entertainment Weekly.
Mac's career started slowly. It's not that he wasn't funny enough, he just wasn't very committed. He worked a series of menial jobs to pay the rent and did impromptu stand-up in the subways, eliciting tips for laughs in between the rush of trains coming and going. Sadly, it took devastating losses to get his career off the platform and on track. An unfortunate series of accidents and illnesses claimed the lives of several close family members. He lost his mother, both of his brothers, his grandmother, and a close personal friend. He often pointed to his losses as the trigger that made him finally decide to focus on his first calling—his career as a comic.
Mac quickly became a well-known comic in a town that is well known for comedy. His fame in Chicago was enough to score him a spot on HBO's Def Comedy Jam. Damon Wayans was the host the night of Mac's appearance. Mac not only won over the audience, but Wayans as well. Before he knew it, he had a role in Wayans's 1992 film Mo' Money. The movie was instantly forgettable, but Mac wasn't. Over the next few years, he would appear in many films. Because he was a comic, he was often cast as a funny sideman.
However, he proved himself in dramatic roles as well, most notably as "Flip," a homeless ex-basketball star in 1994's Above the Rim. Of that film he told the New York Daily News, "Where you start is where you end up….So before I got typecast, I wanted to establish that I can go deep." However, on the small screen, it was comedy all the way. He made appearances on The Arsenio Hall Show, hosted an episode of NBC's Later, had a recurring role on the teen hit Moesha, and wrote and starred in his own HBO show, Midnight Mac, which was nominated for a Cable Ace Award.
Even as his small and large screen careers were taking off, Mac stepped up his live performance schedule. With his newfound fame, he could now headline at major comedy clubs and theaters across the country. At one point he was touring almost forty weeks out of the year. This was the early and mid-1990s when black comedians were the talk of the entertainment world. In a 1994 article Jet noted that black comics "are among the hottest on the comedy circuit." In Living Color, Showtime at the Apollo, and Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam were drawing massive audiences and black comics were becoming stars.
It was a great time for comedy, but some critics noted that it was also a time of the re-segregation of comedy. Few whites were in the audience. "Segregated comedy is sad," Mac told The Florida Times-Union, "People are missing out. The world isn't all black or all white." He reiterated that view in a later interview with Jet, "I don't consider myself a Black Comic, I don't consider myself a White Comic. I consider myself a comedian…. I can make them all laugh."
Became an Original King of Comedy
In 1997 Mac joined four other comics and began the tour that would propel him into the realm of comedic royalty. Along with Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, and Cedric the Entertainer, Mac embarked on the comedy tour, The Original Kings of Comedy. The show, created by promoter Walter Latham, was two and a half hours of gut-splitting, howling good laughter. "It reminds you of when you were a kid and someone jumped on you to tickle you," Harvey told Jet. "After a while you just want him to stop. You can't take no more. That's what coming to see this show is like."
Audiences across the country could take more, a lot more, and Kings was the first comedy show ever to move from headlining theaters and small arenas to commanding full houses at rock concert-sized coliseums. Within months after forming, the troupe started selling out 11,000 seat stadiums and went on to become the highest grossing comedy tour in history, drawing over $40 million since its inception. In considering the tour's success, Mac offered a sociological reason. "We're doctors. We're medicine. We're something a lot of people wish they could be," he told Jet. "People come and can forget about their hardships. The world is hurting. Most of the people who come may be crying and arguing, but they come to get away and to laugh for a couple of hours."
The show's success drew the attention of director Spike Lee, and in February of 2000 he headed to the Charlotte, North Carolina, show with 12 cameras, producing one of Hollywood's most unexpected hits, the film The Original Kings of Comedy. The film provided Mac with a much wider—and whiter—audience and poised him for even greater success.
Fame Spread
His fame spread like spring fever since his stand-up days on the Chicago subway. In 2001, Mac filmed the much-anticipated remake of Ocean's Eleven with heavy-hitters Matt Damon, George Clooney, and Brad Pitt. The heist film was such a hit that Mac later participated in Ocean's Twelve in 2004 and Ocean's Thirteen in 2007. The third sequel, Mac confided to Kali N. Gross of Blackfilm.com, was "the best movie I've ever done in my life. No question." The sequels, along with Mac's appearance as Bosley in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle in 2003, marked an important transition for Mac, from comedian and actor enjoyed by mainly black audiences to a broadly liked popular entertainer.
Yet as he developed a film career, Mac remained an active comedian, wrote books, and landed his own television show. Mac's first book, I Ain't Scared of You, released in 2001. In it he shared his opinions about family, his comedy and film career, marriage, and sports. He followed this book with a memoir in 2004 entitled, Maybe You Never Cry Again, in which he shared the role his family and his faith played in his rise to fame.
At a Glance …
Born on October 5, 1958, in Chicago, IL; married Rhonda McCullough, 1977; children: Je'Niece.
Career:
Stand-up comic, 1976-2007; actor, 1992-.
Awards:
Peabody Award, 2002, for The Bernie Mac Show; ShoWest, Comedy Star of the Year, 2005.
Addresses:
Home—Chicago, IL.
What perhaps spread Bernie Mac's fame into households across the country most, however, was The Bernie Mac Show. Launched on the FOX network in 2001, the show featured Mac as the head of a household in which he and his wife raise his sister's kids. The scenario came straight out of Mac's real life; he and his wife raised his sister's children while she was in drug rehabilitation. Mac's blustery, hardheaded parenting style featured on the program made him stand out at a time when kinder, gentler parenting styles were in fashion. Mac never expressed regret for his unfashionable approach and in so doing endeared himself to viewers. "The Bernie Mac Show is my life. It's the truth, and I'm not ashamed of a minute, an hour or a second of my life," Mac told Television Heaven reviewer Mike Spadoni. The show earned two Emmy nominations and won a Peabody award during its five-season run, which ended in 2006.
Star Rose
Mac's star continued to rise. Mac's first starring role in a feature film came in 2004's Mr. 3000, a comedy about a baseball player who retires from his team after making what he thought was his 3000th hit to capitalize on his fame by creating a merchandising empire. When three he discovers that three of his hits did not qualify, he must return to baseball to restore his reputation and save his business. Director Charles Stone picked Mac for the role because, as he told About.com's Rebecca Murray, "This role is about a larger than life figure who displays raw candor and humor—and nobody exudes those like Bernie."
Mac landed a variety of other comedic roles in films during the first years of 2000. But by 2007, he navigated a new course for his career. He landed his first dramatic role in Pride, a film about a financially threatened inner-city recreational center that is saved by the development of a boys' swim team. Mac predicted his success in drama to Kali N. Gross of Blackfilm, saying "People say that comedians make the best actors in the business because they have the funny bones to make you and then flip their game around and make you cry. It's worked successfully for a number of gifted performers such as Robin Williams, Jim Carey, and Eddie Murphy, most recently. Now it's Bernie Mac's turn." At the same time he forecast his rise as a dramatic actor, Mac announced his retirement from stand-up comedy, marked by the release of his 2007 comedy performance film, The Whole Truth, Nothing But the Truth, So Help Me Mac. "I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit," Mac explained on The David Letterman Show, according to E!Online.
Selected filmography
Books
I Ain't Scared of You: Bernie Mac on How Life Is, MTV Books, 2001.
Maybe You Never Cry Again, HarperCollins, 2003.
Films
Mo' Money, 1992.
Who's the Man, 1993.
Above the Rim, 1994.
The Walking Dead, 1995.
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, 1996.
Get on the Bus, 1996.
Booty Call, 1997.
BAPS, 1997.
How to Be a Player, 1997.
The Player's Club, 1998.
Life, 1999.
The Original Kings of Comedy, 2000.
Ocean's Eleven, 2001.
What's the Worst That Could Happen?, 2001.
Bad Santa, 2003.
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, 2003.
Head of State, 2003.
Mr. 3000, 2004.
Ocean's Twelve, 2004.
Guess Who? 2005.
Pride, 2007.
Ocean's Thirteen, 2007.
Transformers, 2007.
The Whole Truth, Nothing but the Truth, So Help Me Mac, 2007.
Television
Midnight Mac, HBO Variety Special, 1995.
The Bernie Mac Show, Fox, 2001-06.
Sources
Books
Mattern, Joanne, Bernie Mac, Mitchell Lane, 2006.
Periodicals
Daytona Beach News Journal, August 18, 2000.
Ebony, June 2003.
Entertainment Weekly, August 11, 2000, p. 42.
The Florida Times-Union, June 4, 1999.
Interview, August 2000, p. 57.
Jet, September 5, 1994, p. 34; September 20, 1999, p. 58.
New York Daily News, March 28, 1994.
On-line
"America's New Family Man," USA Weekend Magazine,www.usaweekend.com/02_issues/020414/020414berniemac.html (June 6, 2007).
"Bernie Mac Talks about Mr. 3000," About.com,http://movies.about.com/od/mr3000/a/mr3000bm090204.htm (June 6, 2007).
"The Bernie Mac Show: A Television Heaven Re- view," Television Heaven,www.televisionheaven.co.uk/berniemac.htm (June 6, 2007).
"Bernie Mac to Stand Down; Letterman Loses a Friend," E!News,www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=5ca64aca-0ea1-43a8-a9dd46e1ecd78ab8 (June 5, 2007).
"March 2007: Pride: An Interview with Bernie Mac," Blackfilm,www.blackfilm.com/20070316/features/berniemac.shtml (June 6, 2007).
Mac, Bernie
Bernie Mac
1957–
Comedian, actor
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, better known as Bernie Mac, garnered acclaim as a stand-up comic, actor, and the co-creator and star of a popular television series.
Bernie Mac was born on October 5, 1957 in Chicago's South Side. He was the son of Mary McCullough and Bernard Harrison. Mac grew up in a household with his mother, a personnel supervisor at Evangelical Hospital; his grandfather, a janitor at General Motors; his grandmother; aunt; and older brother. The family lived in at least four homes in Chicago during Mac's youth.
In his first book, I Ain't Scared of You (2001), Mac recalls that his family ate cereal with forks. His grandfather would pour milk in Mac's bowl, and after Mac ate the cereal, he would pour the milk in Darryl's bowl; after Darryl ate, he would pour the milk for the next person. Other weekday food staples included bologna, potted meat, and beans. The best meals of the week were served on Sundays; after church, the family dined on roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, macaroni and cheese, rolls, and cake. In his second book, Maybe You Never Cry Again, Mac puts his childhood in perspective: "When I think back on it, I think about all the good things I had, not the hardships. I had the luxury of being a little boy, and that's really something. Lots of kids today don't have that luxury. Grow up too fast. Don't have time to have their kid thoughts and dream their kid dreams and use their imagination."
Announces His Career Goal
In both of his books, Mac recounts an important childhood incident. When he was approximately four years old, he noticed that although his mother was crying, she started laughing when she saw an African American male on television. As she continued to laugh, Mac realized the man had the power to make Mac's mother laugh despite her woes. He asked his mother who the man was, and when she responded that he was Bill Cosby, a comedian, Mac decided that he would become a comedian so he would never have to see his mother cry again. In I Ain'tScared of You, he elaborates: "That's a true story, man. That's what made me want to do this, even after my mother passed. That's what inspires my humor. I don't want nobody to cry."
Mac grew up watching many comedic stars on television: Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Bill Cosby, Redd Foxx, Stu Gilliam, Jackie Gleason, Harpo Marx, Richard Pryor, Red Skelton, The Three Stooges, and Flip Wilson. He also saw such talents as Moms Mabley and Pigmeat Markham perform their stand-up routines at Chicago's Regal Theater. As early as his childhood years, Mac displayed a talent for being able to hold an audience's attention. In 1966, when he was eight years old, Mac told jokes at a church banquet. Although Mac's jokes generated much laughter, his grandmother berated him for telling family business, and dragged him from the banquet by his ears. Mac's ability to entertain extended to his public school classrooms. Miss Ford, one of Mac's teachers, allowed him to narrate stories to his classmates on Friday afternoons. Mac was so successful that when his classmates misbehaved and Ford threatened to cancel Mac's Friday session, the students behaved.
While in high school, Mac performed his Michael Jackson impression during open mike at the Regal and was unsuccessful. The emcee told him to return when he was funny. Yet a few weeks later, Mac performed his impressions of James Brown and The Dick Van Dyke Show's husband and wife as African Americans, and told jokes about the elderly at the High Chaparral's Amateur Night. When Mac left the stage, the audience was still laughing. Consequently he won the $50 prize. Mac writes in Maybe You Never Cry Again that after his performance at the High Chaparral, he could not get the audience's laughter out of his head and that he wanted to hear it for the rest of his life. He adds that comedy was not a career or a choice; it was a "calling."
Faces the Unexpected
Chicago Vocational High School's graduation day for Mac was bittersweet because his mother was not in the audience. Mary McCullough, the person Mac acknowledges who believed in him before he believed in himself and who worked overtime while she was battling breast cancer to provide a better life for her family, died in August 1974. One year later, on the anniversary of his mother's death, Mac's brother died at the age of twenty-seven. Still later, Billy Staples, who was more like Mac's brother than a friend, was murdered.
On September 17, 1977, less than a month before his twentieth birthday, Mac married his high school sweetheart, Rhonda, and on January 21, 1978, their daughter, Je'Niece, was born.Rhonda McCullough, a former nurse, became vice president of her husband's production company.
Establishes Career as Comedian
After Mac earned his high school diploma, he held a variety of low-paying jobs and attended Kennedy-King Community College in Chicago. However, he remained focused on fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a comedian. In his quest to establish himself in the entertainment industry, he told jokes on the subway and continued to participate in amateur night contests at local clubs. After a successful weekend and a paycheck from Chicago's Cotton Club, Mac called a local agency looking for representation and sent a demo tape only to be told he was out of style and not good enough. He continued to perform at the Cotton Club and started performing at such venues as the Comedy Cottage.
During the early stage of his career, Mac and his wife vacationed in Las Vegas and purchased tickets to see Redd Foxx. They met the legendary entertainer before the show, and he offered to let Mac perform for five minutes in his show. Mac went on stage and made people laugh. After five minutes, Foxx motioned for him to continue, and Mac performed for at least another ten minutes. Afterwards, Foxx complimented him and told Mac what he already knew; Foxx advised him that he should not worry about being liked, failing, or taking risks as a comedian.
Mac entered the 1990 Miller Lite Comedy Search held at the Regal, hosted by Damon Wayans. Mac won the contest and deposited the entire $3,000 in a bank account in his daughter's name. Mac then gained greater exposure by appearing as an opening act for such entertainers as Gladys Knight and the Pips, the O'Jays, and the Temptations. Mac appeared in two HBO series: Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam (1992), and his own series, Midnight Mac (1995), which was nominated for a Cable Ace Award. From 1998 to 2000, Mac appeared as Uncle Bernie in the television sitcom Moesha.
Chronology
- 1957
- Born in Chicago, Illinois on October 5
- 1974
- Mother dies in August
- 1977
- Marries his childhood sweetheart, Rhonda, on September 17
- 1978
- Becomes a father
- 1990
- Wins the Miller Lite Comedy Search
- 1992
- Makes film debut in Mo' Money
- 1995
- Stars in the HBO series Midnight Mac
- 1997
- Begins The Original Kings of Comedy tour with Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L. Hughley
- 1998–2000
- Has reoccurring role on the television sitcom Moesha
- 2000
- Stars with Harvey, Cedric, and Hughley in Spike Lee's film The Original Kings of Comedy
- 2001
- Stars in the sitcom The Bernie Mac Show; publishes I Ain't Scared of You
- 2003
- Publishes Maybe You Never Cry Again
- 2005
- Announces in February that he was diagnosed with sarcoidosis in 1983
- 2006
- Celebrates the one hundredth episode of The Bernie Mac Show
Mac made his film debut as a club doorman in Mo' Money (1992), a film written by its star, Damon Wayans. He then appeared in House Party 3 (1994), Above the Rim (1994), Friday (1995), Get on the Bus (1996), and Life (1999). Mac, along with Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L. Hughley began the Original Kings of Comedy tour in 1997. The show, which was initially booked in smaller venues, soon moved to larger arenas and stadiums as more than forty million people saw what became the highest grossing comedy tour. When Spike Lee filmed the show and released the highly successful movie, The Original Kings of Comedy (2000), Mac gained even greater exposure.
Celebrates Sitcom's One Hundredth Episode
Mac, enjoying the success of the tour and Lee's film, appeared in additional movies, including Ocean's Eleven (2001); Head of State (2003); Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003); Mr. 3000 (2004), which was Mac's first starring role; Bad Santa (2003); Ocean's Twelve (2004); and Guess Who (2005), which is a remake of the 1967 classic Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
In 2001, The Bernie Mac Show debuted on the Fox television network, and five years later on February 3, 2006, the one hundredth episode aired. Mac's show was one of the few African American sitcoms to appeal to crossover audiences since The Cosby Show. In the show, Mac plays a successful comedian who lives in Los Angeles with his wife. The childless couple becomes responsible for Mac's nieces and nephew when his sister enters rehab. The Bernie Mac Show is another example of art imitating reality because in the 1990s, Mac and his wife allowed his sixteen-year-old niece and her two-year-old daughter to move into their home. Since its inception, the show has consistently won awards, including an Emmy for outstanding writing in a comedy series (2002), and BET and NAACP awards for outstanding comedy series (2004 and 2005). Mac is the recipient of outstanding actor in a comedy series awards from BET in 2004 and 2005 as well as the NAACP from 2003 to 2006.
In February 2005, Mac announced that he had sarcoidosis, which is a rare autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the body's tissues. Mac revealed that he was diagnosed with sarcoidosis in 1983. Although the disease is sometimes life-threatening, Mac asserted that he has not altered or limited his lifestyle and that he planned to establish the Bernie Mac Foundation in order to provide funds for sarcoidosis organizations.
Many years have gone by since Bernie Mac was a little boy who realized that comedy could uplift people's spirits, yet he has consistently remained true to what he views as his calling—making people laugh. He continues to enjoy the adoration of fans as he performs his comedic routines, acts in films, and stars in his critically acclaimed television show.
REFERENCES
Books
"Bernie Mac." In Who's Who Among African Americans.18th ed. Ed. Katherine Nemeh. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale, 2005.
Periodicals
Norris, Chris. "Bernie Mac Smacks a Nerve." New York Times Magazine, 12 May 2002.
Linda M. Carter
Mac, Bernie 1957-2008 (Bernard Jeffrey McCullough)
Mac, Bernie 1957-2008 (Bernard Jeffrey McCullough)
OBITUARY NOTICE—
See index for CA sketch: Born October 5, 1957, in Chicago, IL; died of complications from pneumonia, August 9, 2008, in Chicago, IL. Comedian, actor, and author. Bernie Mac began his career with an audience of one—his mother—and ended it with an international audience of loyal fans. He claimed that he viewed comedy as a gift to people who had very little to laugh about, and he knew their world well. Mac grew up in Chicago with a single mother who died young, as did his two brothers and other family members. Mac survived vocational school and several odd jobs before he attempted to earn a living with his sense of humor. It was a slow climb from poverty to success, which began in stand-up comedy on Chicago subway trains and led to Las Vegas in 1989. A year later Mac toured with the black ensemble Def Comedy Jam, and in 1997 he was a member of the Original Kings of Comedy tour, which placed him in the company of headliners D.L. Hughley, Steve Harvey, and Cedric the Entertainer. His sarcastic, profanity-laced routines all but ensured a perfect fit. The performances were filmed by Spike Lee in 2000 and later featured in television specials broadcast by the cable network Home Box Office, which eventually led to a career in television. In 2001 Mac debuted in the situation comedy The Bernie Mac Show, the ongoing story of a comedian saddled with raising three nieces who routinely tempt his patience. His trademark profanity was tempered for television and replaced with a parenting style and social commentary that was, to some viewers, politically incorrect, and to others wickedly delicious. The series ended in 2006, but by then Mac had already moved on to film roles, following small roles in films of the nineties with solid appearances in several other films such as Ocean's Eleven and its sequels, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, in 2007 a serious drama, Pride, the story of a mostly black Philadelphia swim team in the early 1970s, and in 2008 the musical comedy Soul Men. Mac announced his retirement from stand-up comedy in the year before his death, but he had already accumulated a lifetime of awards for his contributions to uniting people in laughter. The awards include a Screen Actors Guild Award, Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Award nominations, a Peabody Broadcasting Award, a Television Critics Association Award, and several coveted Image Awards from the American Association for the Advancement of Colored People, among others, for The Bernie Mac Show, and a long list of other film and television honors. Mac also published two volumes of autobiography, I Ain't Scared of You! (2001) and Maybe You Never Cry Again (2003).
OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:
BOOKS
Mac, Bernie, and Darrel Dawsey, I Ain't Scared of You!, MTV Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Mac, Bernie, and Pablo F. Fenjves, Maybe You Never Cry Again, Regan Books (New York, NY), 2003.
PERIODICALS
Los Angeles Times, August 10, 2008, p. B10.
New York Times, August 10, 2008, p. B10.
Times (London, England), August 11, 2008, p. 49.
Mac, Bernie 1957-2008 (Bernard Jeffrey McCullough)
Mac, Bernie 1957-2008 (Bernard Jeffrey McCullough)
PERSONAL
Full name, Bernard Jeffrey McCullough; born October 5, 1957, in Chicago, IL; died of complications associated with pneumonia, August 9, 2008, in Chicago, IL. Actor and comedian. Born in Chicago's crime-ridden south side, Mac was able to parlay success as a stand-up comedian into a film and television career that would crown him one of the Original Kings of Comedy. Raised by a single mother who died when he was sixteen, Mac knew early that being a comedian was what he wanted to do. After high school he worked various jobs, including as a janitor, school bus driver, Wonder Bread truck driver, and mover, before finding a job at a General Motors plant. Meanwhile, he continued to hone his comic skills, performing for tips in Chicago subways and at clubs and other venues in Chicago. Mac's big break came in 1990, when he won the national Miller Lite Comedy Search. He was then invited to join the Def Comedy Jam tour, which featured young black comedians. The tour was filmed for cable television's HBO channel and has been credited with the launch of many black comedians' careers. Mac followed his successful appearance on the tour with small roles in films such as Mo' Money and Who's the Man in 1992, House Party 3 in 1994, and an HBO special, Midnight Mac, in 1995. In 1995 he was also cast as Pastor Clever in Friday, a bit part that earned him a cult following and proved to be a pivotal role in his career. Mac joined the Original Kings of Comedy tour featuring popular black comedians in 2000. The tour was a smash hit, generating huge revenues, several television specials, and a film of the same name directed by Spike Lee. After several guest spots as Uncle Bernie on television's Moesha, Mac was offered his own show, and in 2001 The Bernie Mac Show made its debut, with Mac playing a tough-loving uncle who is raising his sister's kids. The show was an instant ratings and critical success, garnering numerous awards, including two Emmys for Mac. He juggled his television schedule with numerous films, landing roles in hit after hit, including What's the Worst That Could Happen (2001) with Martin Lawrence; the star-studded heist series Ocean's Eleven (2001), Ocean's Twelve (2004), and Ocean's Thirteen (2007); Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003); and Guess Who (2005) with Ashton Kutcher. In 2006, as ratings dropped and Mac received more lucrative film offers, The Bernie Mac Show left the air. In 2005 Mac disclosed that he had been battling sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease, since 1983 but that the disease had gone into remission and was not affecting his daily life. He announced in early 2007 that he was ending his stand-up career to focus more on his films and on his family; his death at age fifty was unexpected.
PERIODICALS
New York Times, August 9, 2008.
Chicago Tribune, August 9, 2008.