Bernie Mac dies at 50

Bernie Mac was born in Chicago in 1957, Bernard Jeffrey McCollough. He grew up in Chicago, in a rougher neighborhood than most others, with a large family living under one roof. This situation provided him with a great insight into his comedy, as his family, and the situations surrounding them would be what dominated his comedy.

Mac was married to Rhonda McCullough in 1977. They had one daughter, Je'Niece (born 1978), who attended Xavier University of Louisiana where she received both her bachelors degree in Psychology and Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling. She has been married for three years and has one daughter, Jasmine, making Bernie Mac a grandfather.

Bernie Mac was hospitalized with pneumonia on August 1, 2008 and the following day, a source close to the family said that Mac was in "very, very critical" condition.[4] He was recovering from pneumonia, most likely brought on by his sarcoidosis, in a Chicago hospital. His publicist, Danica Smith, said that he was expected to make a full recovery and that he was responding well to treatment.[5]
On August 9, 2008 it was reported by the Chicago Sun-Times that Bernie Mac had died,[6][7] with confirmation by the Associated Press about the cause of his death.[8][9]

sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005. He recently was hospitalized and treated for pneumonia, which his publicist said was not related to the disease.
Recently, Mac's brand of comedy caught him flack when he was heckled during a surprise appearance at a July fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate and fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama.
Toward the end of a 10-minute standup routine, Mac joked about menopause, sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude language. Obama took the stage about 15 minutes later, implored Mac to "clean up your act next time," then let him off the hook, adding: "By the way, I'm just messing with you, man."
Even so, Obama's campaign later issued a rebuke, saying the senator "doesn't condone these statements and believes what was said was inappropriate."
But despite controversy or difficulties, in his words, Mac was always a performer.
"Wherever I am, I have to play," he said in 2002. "I have to put on a good show."
Mac worked his way to Hollywood success from an impoverished upbringing on Chicago's South Side. He began doing standup as a child, telling jokes for spare change on subways, and his film career started with a small role as a club doorman in the Damon Wayans comedy "Mo' Money" in 1992. In 1996, he appeared in the Spike Lee drama "Get on the Bus."
He was one of "The Original Kings of Comedy" in the 2000 documentary of that title that brought a new generation of black standup comedy stars to a wider audience.
"The majority of his core fan base will remember that when they paid their money to see Bernie Mac ... he gave them their money's worth," Steve Harvey, one of his co-stars in "Original Kings," told CNN on Saturday.
Mac went on to star in the hugely popular "Ocean's Eleven" franchise with Brad Pitt and George Clooney, playing a gaming-table dealer who was in on the heist. Carl Reiner, who also appeared in the "Ocean's" films, said Saturday he was "in utter shock" because he thought Mac's health was improving.
"He was just so alive," Reiner said. "I can't believe he's gone."
Mac and Ashton Kutcher topped the box office in 2005's "Guess Who," a comedy remake of the classic Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn drama "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" Mac played the dad who's shocked that his daughter is marrying a white man.
Mac also had starring roles in "Bad Santa," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Transformers."
But his career and comic identity were forged in television.
In the late 1990s, he had a recurring role in "Moesha," the UPN network comedy starring pop star Brandy. The critical and popular acclaim came after he landed his own Fox television series "The Bernie Mac Show," about a child-averse couple who suddenly are saddled with three children.
Mac mined laughs from the universal frustrations of parenting, often breaking the "fourth wall" to address the camera throughout the series that aired from 2001 to 2006. "C'mon, America," implored Mac, in character as the put-upon dad. "When I say I wanna kill those kids, YOU know what I mean."
The series won a Peabody Award in 2002, and Mac was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy. In real life, he was "the king of his household" — very much like his character on that series, his daughter, Je'niece Childress, told The Associated Press on Saturday.
"But television handcuffs you, man," he said in a 2001 Associated Press interview before the show had premiered. "Now everyone telling me what I CAN'T do, what I CAN say, what I SHOULD do, and asking, `Are blacks gonna be mad at you? Are whites gonna accept you?'"
He also was nominated for a Grammy award for best comedy album in 2001 along with his "The Original Kings of Comedy" co-stars Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric The Entertainer.
Chicago music producer Carolyn Albritton said she was Bernie Mac's first manager, having met him in 1991 at Chicago's Cotton Club where she hosted an open-mike night. He was an immediate hit, Albritton said Saturday, and he asked her to help guide his career.
"From very early on I thought he was destined for success," Albritton said. "He never lost track of where he came from, and he'd often use real life experiences, his family, his friends, in his routine. After he made it, he stayed a very humble man. His family was the most important thing in the world to him."
In 2007, Mac told David Letterman on CBS' "Late Show" that he planned to retire soon.
"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."
Mac was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough on Oct. 5, 1957, in Chicago. He grew up on the city's South Side, living with his mother and grandparents. His grandfather was the deacon of a Baptist church.
In his 2004 memoir, "Maybe You Never Cry Again," Mac wrote about having a poor childhood — eating bologna for dinner — and a strict, no-nonsense upbringing.
"I came from a place where there wasn't a lot of joy," Mac told the AP in 2001. "I decided to try to make other people laugh when there wasn't a lot of things to laugh about."
Mac's mother died of cancer when he was 16. In his book, Mac said she was a support for him and told him he would surprise everyone when he grew up.
"Woman believed in me," he wrote. "She believed in me long before I believed."
Mac's death Saturday coincided with the annual Bud Billiken Parade in Chicago, a major event in the predominantly black South Side that the comedian had previously attended.
"It's truly the passing of one of our favorite sons," said Paula Robinson, president of the Black Metropolis National Heritage Area. "He was extremely innovative in putting his life experiences in comedic form and doing it without vulgarity.
"He was an ambassador of Chicago's black community, and the national black community at large."

Isaac Hayes dies at 65

Birth:
Aug. 20, 1942
Death:
Aug. 10, 2008

Musician, Composer, Actor. A legendary artist of soul music during the 1970s, he is best known for the Oscar and Grammy Award winning score "Theme From Shaft" (1971). Born in Covington, Tennessee, he found early success as a session musician with Otis Redding. Along with David Porter, Hayes co-wrote the Sam and Dave hit "Soul Man" (1967). In addition to "Shaft", Hayes contributed to numerous movie soundtracks and showed versatility as an actor in television series such as "The Rockford Files", "The A-Team", "Hunter", "Miami Vice" and provided his voice in the animated series "South Park" as Chef. Among his film credits are "Escape from New York" (1981), "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" (1988) and "Prime Target" (1991). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

US singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes has died at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 65.
Police were called after his wife found him unconscious next to a moving treadmill. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Hayes, a flamboyant, deep-voiced performer, won an Oscar for the 1971 hit Theme From Shaft.
He was perhaps better known to a younger audience as the voice of Chef from the hit cartoon show, South Park.
The cause of death was not immediately known.

"Family members believe at this point it is a medical condition that might have led to his death," a police spokesman said, adding Hayes was being treated for "a number of medical issues".
Hayes suffered a stroke in 2006.
But he was about to begin work on a new album for Stax, the soul record label he helped build to legendary status.
British soul star Jazzie B, who became friends with Hayes after they performed together in the 1990s, described him as "a really nice man" and "as cool as ice".
"He was an equal cornerstone to the evolution of hip-hop, what's come to be known as R&B, and urban music in general," he told BBC News.
"So there's absolutely no doubt that Isaac Hayes will be truly missed and he was a very influential part of music as we hear it today."
Collin Stanback from the Stax label told the Associated Press news agency that the star "embodies everything that's soul music".
He added: "When you think of soul music, you think of Isaac Hayes - the expression, the sound and the creativity that goes along with it."
The showman
Hayes - along with Al Green, James Brown and Stevie Wonder - was one of the dominant black artists of the early 1970s.
The star, a self-taught musician, was hired in 1964 by Stax Records as a pianist and saxophonist, working as a session musician for big names such as Otis Redding.
He established a songwriting partnership with David Porter, and in the 1960s, writing hits for Sam and Dave such as Hold On, I'm Coming and Soul Man.
This success led to a recording contract, and in 1969 he shot to fame with the release of the groundbreaking album Hot Buttered Soul.

In 2002 Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The theme from the film Shaft was a number one hit in 1971. He won an Academy Award for the song and was nominated for another one for the score. The song and score also won him two Grammys.
In a statement released from The Recording Academy, the body behind the Grammys, president Neil Portnow called him a "true renaissance man".
He added: "After laying the groundwork for the Memphis soul sound through his work with Stax Records, his groundbreaking theme song and score for the movie Shaft cemented his status as a musical icon.
"The world has lost a true creative genius and a passionate humanitarian, but his indelible legacy will remain ever present.
"Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends and all who were inspired by the man and his music," added Mr Portnow.
When he was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, he put his success down to good chance.
"I knew nothing about the business, or trends and things like that," he said.
"I think it was a matter of timing. I didn't know what was unfolding."
Hayes was also in several movies, including It Could Happen to You with Nicolas Cage, and Ninth Street with Martin Sheen.
He achieved a different of popularity later in life as the voice of the South Park character, Chef. But he angrily quit the show in 2006 after an episode mocked Scientology, a religious movement to which he belonged.
He was married four times and has 12 children.

Fred Crane, died at 90

Fred Crane died August 21, 2008, he was born March 22, 1918


Fred Crane spoke the first lines in the “Gone With the Wind” movie as one of the red-headed Tarleton twins flirting with Scarlett O’Hara before the Twelve Oaks barbecue.

His line doesn’t compare to Rhett Butler’s “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” but it did provoke one of Scarlett’s signature phrases: “Fiddle-dee-dee.”


Fred Crane, who played Brent Tarleton in ‘Gone With the Wind,’ was the last living, credited male actor in the 1939 film of the Pulitzer Prize novel.

Though shed of his collection, he continued to enjoy his distinction in movie history. “He enjoyed it because he thrived on the fact he spoke the very first line in the movie,” Mr. Bridges said. “It was his claim to fame.”

Mr. Crane was married five times and is survived by four children in California; eight grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.