Bernie Mac, the famed actor/comedian, died Saturday at Northwestern Hospital at age 50. The cause of death was complications of pneumonia.
"Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital," his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles.
Bernie Mac, whose real name was Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs. However, his sarcoidosis went into remission in 2005, according to his publicist. He recently was hospitalized and treated for pneumonia.
Mac was born Oct. 5, 1957 and raised in the South Side of Chicago, where he lived with his mother and grandparents. His grandfather was the deacon of a Baptist church.
Mac began his comedy career at age 8, with a standup performance at a church dinner. In 1977, at age 20, he took that act to comedy clubs in Chicago.
His film career started with a small role as a club doorman in the Damon Wayans movie "Mo' Money" in 1992. He then acted in such movies as "Player's Club," "Bad Santa," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Transformers." He was also featured in the "Ocean's Eleven" trilogy.
Mac was nominated for a Grammy award for best comedy album in 2001 along with his "The Original Kings of Comedy" co-stars, Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric The Entertainer, a show that catapulted Mac into national stardom.
Mac then starred in his own Fox television series "The Bernie Mac Show," which aired more than 100 episodes from 2001 to 2006. The show garnered Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Mac.
Mac was number 72 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.
Mac is survived by his wife of 31 years, Rhonda McCullough, their daughter Je'Neice, and a granddaughter Jasmine.
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