Tag: Bernie Mac

Bernie Mac’s Memorial Service Draws Thousands

The late Bernie Mac’s public memorial service was held today at Chicago’s House of Hope church on Chicago’s South Side. Bernie died from complications of pneumonia at only 50 years old.

Many celebrities joined the public, and eulogized Bernie with emotional speeches. Chris Rock, Rev. Jesse Jackson and actor Samuel L. Jackson, Mac’s costar in the upcoming flick Soul Men were among them. Eonline reports that Mac’s fellow Original Kings of Comedy : Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey and DL Hughley sat beside each other, breaking down in tears during the service. When they took the stage, however, they mixed their tears with laughter as they remembered Bernie.

Isaac Hayes, who died one day after Bernie at the age of 65 was also honored. A montage of photos and sound clips from Mac’s life and career were set to some of Isaac’s best-known songs.

Many fans arrived by chartered buses and waited hours in line for a spot in the 10,000 seat church; some even camped out overnight. Samuel L. Jackson, co-stars with Bernie and Isaac in “Soul Men,” spoke, saying he knew Mac “was having some health issues, but he always said to me every morning that he was always good.” Isaac Hayes, who died Sunday, also stars in the movie, and Hayes’ music was played during the service.
Jackson said that Bernie didn’t mind the loss of privacy that came with his fame.

“He never turned that kid down for an autograph. He always had time to shake a hand. He was always that kid from Chicago who wanted to make everybody happy and everybody laugh.

The service included the reading of condolence letters from children; from Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, an Illinois senator; and from Mac’s beloved White Sox baseball team. Mac’s comedy routines were played on large video screens with off-color words bleeped out.

Outside, traffic was tied up for blocks, vendors sold memorial T-shirts for $10, and Chicago waiter Timothy Strickland manned a makeshift shrine featuring photos, including Mac’s 1971 eighth-grade basketball team picture. A sign read: “Thank you, Bernie, for showing that good people do come from Englewood.”

Mac grew up on the South Side in the Woodlawn and Englewood neighborhoods.

“This shows support … from the whole Chicago area and how much he will be missed,” said Pamela Gordon of Chicago, one of hundreds of people who lined up hours before the memorial started. “He was a good man, a beautiful husband and he was real,” she added. “And he was handsome, honey.” Vera Gordon said she came to pay tribute to the comedian who made her mother, who suffers from dementia, laugh. “She watched the `Bernie Mac Show’ every night,” Vera Gordon said of her mother, Margaret Berston, 79. “She would just sit there and laugh. You could see the sadness when I told her. I came here to represent my mother.”

Inside the church, Chicago’s mayor, Richard Daly, addressed the huge crowd, praising Mac as a man devoted to making Chicago a safer place.

“He wanted to do something personally to get children away from the life of violence. He had a heart and passion… That’s why as the king of comedy, he never lost his soul in Chicago.

The family requests that donations be made at www.berniemacfoundation.org, which aims at finding a cure for sarcoidosis.

Rest In Peace, Bernie Mac.

Breaking: Isaac Hayes Dead At Age 65

UPDATE-UPDATE: Isaac Hayes’ Funeral is to be held at 11a.m. Monday, August 18th at Hope Presbyterian Church, on Walnut Grove in Memphis.

USA Today is reporting that Shelby County (Memphis) Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Shular said Tuesday that paperwork filed by Hayes’ family physician, Dr. David Kraus, lists the cause of death as a stroke. Those who wish to send their condolences can mail them to 926 E. McLemore Ave. Memphis, TN. 38106-3338. This is the former location of Stax Records, now the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the Soulsville Foundation, and they have promised to get them to the Hayes family.

UPDATE: Hayes was about to begin work on a new album for Stax, the soul record label he helped build to legendary status. And he had recently finished work on a movie called “Soul Men” in which he played himself, starring Samuel Jackson and Bernie Mac, who died on Saturday.

Wow. First Bernie Mac, and now “Shaft” and “Chef” from South Park icon Isaac Hayes has died at the age of 65. Fox News is reporting that at approximately 1pm Central Time, Shelby County (Memphis, Tennessee) Sheriff’s department received a call from Isaac Hayes’ wife, who found him lying unresponsive next to a treadmill at 9280 Riveredge in Shelby County.

Shelby County Sheriff’s Department arrived on the scene and C.P.R. was performed. Hayes was unresponsive, and Shelby County Fire Department and Rural Metro arrived on the scene where they took him straight to Baptist East Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:10pm. Central Time.

Family members say he had recently been treated for some medical issues, high blood pressure and possibly other problems. The treadmill was still running when Isaac was found. At this time officials do not believe foul play was involved, and everything at the scene so far indicated that Hayes’ death was natural.

Isaac performing “Shaft” live in 1973 is below.

Hayes made headlines when he left his role as Chef on South Park when the show aired the infamous episode about Tom Cruise “coming out of the closet”- a biting jab at Scientology. Isaac was a Scientologist. The soul-man was a Grammy winner for the classic theme from the movie Shaft.

Hayes was one of the main creative forces behind southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served as both an in-house songwriter and producer with partner David Porter during the mid-1960s. In the late 1960s, Hayes became a recording artist, and recorded successful soul albums such as Hot Buttered Soul (1969) and Black Moses (1971) as the Stax label’s premier artist.

Alongside his work in popular music, Hayes was a film score composer for motion pictures. His best known work, for Shaft in 1971, earned Hayes an Academy Award for Best Original Song (the first Academy Award received by an African-American in a non-acting category) and two Grammy Awards. He received a third Grammy for the album Black Moses.

In 1992, in recognition of his humanitarian work, he was crowned an honorary KING of Ghana’s Ada district! Rest In Peace, Isaac. You will be greatly missed. Say hello to Bernie Mac for us.

Here’s Isaac performing “Shaft” Live in 1973. Snarkista thinks that’s a young Jesse Jackson in the beginning! Enjoy.

New Details On Bernie Mac’s Last Days

New details are emerging about the last days of comedian Bernie Mac, who passed away at age 50 this morning from complications of pneumonia AND sarcoidosis. People Magazine is reporting that his wife of 30 years, Rhonda, and daughter Je’Niece, 30, were with Bernie until the end. Bernie’s sister-in-law Mary Ann Grossett said that:

He opened his eyes on his own and looked at Rhonda. She called his name, and he opened his eyes and nodded to her. She smiled at him and told him, ‘Don’t leave me … ‘I’m waiting for you to come back.’ He shrugged his shoulders, and she said that’s when she knew he was tired. He signaled to her that his body was tired.

The sister-in-law says Bernie’s inflammatory lung disease did contribute to his death, contrary to the statements made by Bernie’s publicist.

“He had sarcoidosis, but it was in remission. But because he had it, his immune system was compromised. He had an infection … He was on a new medication that suppresses the immune system, and that’s where the pneumonia came from.”

She says that Bernie was actually hospitalized on July 24, eight days before the date given to the press for his admittance. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and immediately placed on a ventilator. Mary Ann says he was critically ill while he was in the hospital, and was in intensive care the entire time. Bernie apparently contracted a second strain of pneumonia while in the hospital. “They tried to resuscitate him two times. One time he came back for about an hour. Then he went into cardiac arrest the second time.”

Mac’s funeral is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 15, at an undisclosed location. The family requests that donations be made to the Bernie Mac Foundation for Sarcoidosis, 40 E. Ninth St., Suite 601, Chicago IL 60605.

Bernie Mac Has Died, Only 50 Years Old. Rest In Peace, Bernie.

UPDATE: NEW DETAILS ON BERNIE’S DEATH HERE. Comedian, actor, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Bernie Mac passed away this morning. Bernie worked his way up to success out from a life of poverty on Chicago’s harsh South side, and was an amazing talent. He was only 50 years old.

Snarkista had been searching for updates on Bernie’s condition after he was hospitalized for pneumonia. The net was abuzz with rumors of his death at the time, but Bernie was still alive and being treated. The only status that had been given was that he was in very critical condition. Snarkista worried that no health updates were being reported on Bernie, and that he wasn’t responding to treatment. Thanks to Matt at Hollywood Hills for giving the sad news to me this morning.

Bernie’s publicist Danica Smith gave a statement this morning from L.A.:

Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital,”

She said no other details were available and asked that his family’s privacy be respected.

Bernie was raised by a single mother, Mary, who died of cancer when he was sixteen. He started his career during high school, when he would put on shows for neighborhood kids in Chicago’s South Side until moving to Tampa. During his 20s he worked in a variety of jobs, including furniture mover, UPS agent, and a bread delivery sales rep.

Bernie gained notoriety as a stand-up comedian. He joined comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley as The Original Kings of Comedy.

After briefly hosting the HBO show Midnight Mac, Bernie appeared in several movies in smaller roles. His most notable movie role was as Frank Catton in the remake of Ocean’s Eleven and its two sequels. Bernie Mac also starred in several other movies, including Mr. 3000.

Beginning in 2001, Mac was the star of the popular The Bernie Mac Show on the Fox nexwork, which earned two Emmy Award nominations before the show was cancelled in 2006. Bernie’s role was the gruff uncle and custodian of his rehabbing sister’s son and daughter. He had a heart of gold and a hot wife, and the show was a Snarkista fave. The show was loosely based on Bernie’s life, and allowed him to stay true to his stand-up comedy roots by communicating his thoughts to the audience.

Snarkista’s a HUGE fan of Bernie’s, and her thoughts and prayers go out for Bernie’s family and friends. She suggests that you do the same if you are so inclined. Rest in peace, Bernie Mac.

Bernie Mac Is In Critical Condition With Pneumonia; Still Alive

UPDATE: As of 8:15 pm CT, Bernie’s condition is unchanged from “very, very critical”. Comedian Bernie Mac was rushed to the hospital Friday suffering from complications due to pneumonia. At the time, reports were just that he was in the hospital. Now, it seems Bernie is a in much more dire situation.

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that as of a few hours ago, Bernie Mac was still alive. According to the latest news report. Bernie Mac is in a hospital, in Chicago with pneumonia. The Sun-Times reports that Bernie was in “very, very critical” condition late Saturday at a Chicago hospital, according to a source who knows the comedian’s family. Prank calls to radio stations had news spreading around the net that Bernie had died.

His publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement that the 50-year-old comedian is responding well to treatment. Smith said the pneumonia isn’t related to an inflammatory lung disease, sarcoidosis, that Mac also has. That condition, according to the AP, has been in remission since 2005. Bernie’s most recent gig was a big fundraiser dinner in Chicago for Barack Obama. Snarkista sends her prayers out for Bernie and his family. Get well, Bernie!