Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008), known professionally as Bernie Mac, was an American stand-up comedian, actor and film producer. His most noted film roles were as Frank Catton in the Ocean's film series from 2001 through 2007 and as the title character of Mr. 3000. Mac joined Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L. Hughley as one of the "Big Four" comedians in the film The Original Kings of Comedy. After briefly hosting the HBO show Midnight Mac, Mac appeared in several films in smaller roles. He was the star of The Bernie Mac Show, which ran from 2001 through 2006, earning him two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. His other films included starring roles in The Players Club, Head of State, Bad Santa, Guess Who, Pride, and Soul Men. Mac died at age 50 on August 9, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois from complications of pneumonia.
Early life and education
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough was born on October 5, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois. Mac was the second child of Mary McCullough and Jeffrey Harrison. Mac was raised by his single mother and his grandparents on the city's south side.
Mac began his high school career at Chicago Vocational High School. During 1973, Mac moved to Tampa, Florida, to attend Jesuit High School following the death of his mother during his sophomore year.Savoy Magazine May 2002 Shortly afterward, Mac's older brother and his estranged father both died. Mac later returned to Chicago and graduated from Chicago Vocational in 1975. During his 20s and through his early 30s, Mac worked in a variety of jobs, including janitor, coach, professional mover, cook, bus driver, Wonder Bread delivery man, furniture mover, and UPS agent, while doing comedy on the weekends at clubs and parties.
Career Early years Mac's influences were from the Three Stooges and listening to stand-up comedians Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx. Mac started as a stand-up comedian in Chicago's Cotton Club. After he won the Miller Lite Comedy Search at the age of 32, his popularity as a comedian began to grow. In 1992, a performance on the 3rd episode of HBO's Def Comedy Jam thrust him into the spotlight; after Martin Lawrence was unable to calm an increasingly hostile crowd, Mac went onstage and told the audience "I ain't scared o' you mothafuckas" and that he "didn't come here for no foolishness." His early film appearances include Mo' Money (1992), House Party 3 (1994) and Friday (1995). Mac eventually joined Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L. Hughley as one of the "Big Four" comedians performing on the popular Kings of Comedy tour, which led to the film The Original Kings of Comedy (2000).
The Bernie Mac Show In 2001, the Fox network gave Mac his own television sitcom called The Bernie Mac Show portraying a fictional version of himself. In the show, he suddenly becomes custodian of his sister's three children after she enters rehab. Mac broke the fourth wall to tell his thoughts to the audience. The show contained many parodies of events in Bernie's actual life. Mac, who grew up on Chicago's South Side, was a fan of the Chicago White Sox, and would often sneak a reference to his favorite team in episodes, including enlisting then-White Sox pitcher Jon Garland to make a guest cameo appearance. In the 2005 season he wore a White Sox jacket and cap, and congratulated his hometown Chicago White Sox and their staff members on their recent World Series championship. The show was not renewed after the 2005–2006 season. The series finale aired on April 14, 2006. Among other awards, the show won an Emmy for "Outstanding Writing", the Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting, and the Humanitas Prize for television writing that promotes human dignity.Bernie Mac obituary His character on The Bernie Mac Show was ranked No. 47 in TV Guide list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time".June 20, 2004 issue During his run on the show, Mac had co-starring roles in the Ocean's trilogy (2001–2007), Head of State (2003), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) and Bad Santa (2003), as well as starring roles in the baseball-themed film Mr. 3000 (2004) and Guess Who? (2005), a remake of the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
Later years On March 19, 2007, Mac told David Letterman on the CBS Late Show that he would retire from his 30-year career after he finished shooting the comedy 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 told Letterman. "I missed a lot of things, you know. I was a street performer for two years. I went into clubs in 1977 and was on the road 47 weeks out of the year." During this time, Mac was having success as a popular film actor, starting with an appearance in the 2007 film Transformers as the car salesman "Bobby Bolivia", and serving as the voice of Zuba, Alex the Lion's long-lost father in the 2008 animated film Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. He co-starred with Terrence Howard in the biograhical film Pride and Samuel L. Jackson in the 2008 musical comedy Soul Men. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Soul Men were released months after his death. His final film role was as Jimmy Lunchbox in the 2009 film Old Dogs, which was released a year after his death.
Personal life, health and death Mac married his high school sweetheart Rhonda Gore on September 17, 1977, and together they had a daughter in 1978. In the last 20 years of his life, Mac publicly disclosed that he had severe sarcoidosis, a disease of unknown origin that causes inflammation in tissue. On July 19, 2008, Mac was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in his hometown of Chicago. After being treated in the ICU for three weeks for pneumonia, Mac went into cardiac arrest and subsequently died during the early morning hours on August 9, at the age of 50. However, the complications were not attributed to his sarcoidosis, according to his publicist. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Soul Men were released posthumously and dedicated to his memory.
Legacy and tributes Mac's public memorial was held a week after his death at the House of Hope Church, with nearly 7,000 people in attendance. Notable mourners at Mac's funeral were Chris Rock, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Samuel L. Jackson, Ashton Kutcher, Don Cheadle, the cast members from The Bernie Mac Show, and his Kings of Comedy fellows D. L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Steve Harvey. The first two of Mac's posthumous films, Soul Men and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, were released three months after his death and dedicated to him. Mac's third posthumously released and final film, Old Dogs, was released a year after his death; it too was dedicated in part to Mac. The 2008 Bud Billiken Parade, which was held in Chicago on the day of Mac's death, was also dedicated to his memory. On the day of Mac's funeral, his hometown's local television station WCIU-TV aired an exclusive television special, A Tribute to Bernie Mac, and had interviews with his former colleagues including Camille Winbush, Chris Rock, Joe Torry, Cameron Diaz, Don Cheadle, and some of his family members and close friends. During Steve Harvey's television show which aired November 14, 2016, Harvey read a proclamation from Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emanuel proclaiming November 14 as "Bernie Mac Day". Steve Harvey's guests included Bernie's wife Rhonda, their daughter Je'Niece, granddaughter Jasmine, and Bernie's The Original Kings of Comedy co-stars D. L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Guy Torry (who was the original host at the beginning of the tour). Mike Epps, appearing via satellite, along with the principal of Bernie and Rhonda's alma mater Chicago Vocational High School (CVS), revealed and unveiled the renaming of CVS Auditorium to the "Bernie Mac Auditorium". On February 14, 2017, Rolling Stone named Bernie Mac #41 of the 50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1992 Mo' Money Club doorman 1993 Who's the Man? G-George 1994 House Party 3 Uncle Fester 1994 Above the Rim Flip 1995 The Walking Dead Ray Friday Pastor Clever 1996 Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood Officer Self Hatred Cameo Get on the Bus Jay 1997 Booty Call Judge Peabody B*A*P*S Mr. Johnson Def Jam's How to Be a Player Buster 1998 Dollar Bill 1999 Life Jangle Leg 2000 Himself Documentary 2001 What's the Worst That Could Happen? Uncle Jack Ocean's Eleven Frank Catton 2003 Head of State Mitch Gilliam Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Jimmy Bosley Bad Santa Gin Slagel 2004 Mr. 3000 Stan Ross Ocean's Twelve Frank Catton 2005 Guess Who Percy Jones Lil' Pimp Fruit Juice (voice) Inspector Gadget's Biggest Caper Ever Gadgetmobile (voice) 2007 Pride Elston Ocean's Thirteen Frank Catton Transformers Bobby Bolivia 2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Zuba (voice) Posthumous release; dedicated in memory Soul Men Floyd Henderson 2009 Old Dogs Jimmy Lunchbox
+ Television Year Title Role Notes 1996–1999; 2000 Moesha Uncle Bernie 9 episodes 1997 The Wayans Bros. Shank 1 episode 1997 Don King: Only in America Bundini Brown Television film 2001–2006 Bernie "Mac" McCullough 104 episodes, fictionalized version of himself 2003 King of the Hill Mack Voice, 1 episode Saturday Night Live Himself/host
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2005 BET Comedy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series The Bernie Mac Show 2005 Black Reel Awards Best Actor, Musical or Comedy Mr. 3000 2002Emmy AwardsOutstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy SeriesThe Bernie Mac Show rowspan=2 2003 2003Golden Globe AwardsBest Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy rowspan=2 2004 2003Kids Choice AwardsFavorite TV Actor rowspan=4 2004 2005 2006 2002NAACP Image AwardsOutstanding Actor in a Comedy Series 2003 2004 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Head of State Outstanding Actor in a Comedy SeriesThe Bernie Mac Show 2005 2006 2007 2003 PRISM Awards Performance in a Comedy Series 2003Satellite AwardsBest Performance by an Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical 2004 2005 2002 Television Critics Association Awards Individual Achievement in Comedy
Books I Ain't Scared of You: Bernie Mac on How Life Is (with Darrell Dawsey), MTV Books, 2001. Maybe You Never Cry Again, HarperEntertainment, 2003. I Don't Care If You Like Me, I Like Me: Bernie Mac's Daily Motivational (with Rhonda R. McCullough), Permuted Press, 2022. (Published posthumously)
References
External links
Bernie Mac Foundation