Bernie Mac

Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008), better known by his stage name Bernie Mac, was an American comedian and actor.

Born and raised on Chicago's South Side, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian.

He joined fellow comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L. Hughley in the film The Original Kings of Comedy.

After briefly hosting the HBO show Midnight Mac, Mac appeared in several films in smaller roles.

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.

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.

Bernie 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.

"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."

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."

Mac opened for Dionne Warwick, Redd Foxx and Natalie Cole.

He played a small role in 1994's House Party 3 as Uncle Vester.

He also had a short-lived talk show on HBO titled Midnight Mac.

Later, Mac also acted in minor roles, playing Mr. Johnson the no-nonsense owner of a grille and diner in the movie B.A.P.S., and "Pastor Clever" in Ice Cube's 1995 vehicle Friday.

Following that role, Mac was chosen to play the title role in the 1995 Apollo revival of The Wiz.

Mac had his first starring role as "Dollar Bill", a silly, slick-talking club owner in 1998's The Players Club.

His most noted film roles were as Frank Catton in the 2001 remake of Ocean's 11 and as the title character of Mr. 3000.

He was the star of his eponymous show, which ran from 2001 through 2006, earning him two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

Mac's other films included starring roles in The Players Club, Head of State, Bad Santa, Guess Who, Pride, and Soul Men.

Mac was able to break from the traditional "black comedy" genre, having roles in the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven and becoming the new Bosley for the Charlie's Angels sequel, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.

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.

His character on The Bernie Mac Show was ranked No. 47 in TV Guide list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time".

During his run on the show, Mac had co-starring roles in Bad Santa and Head of State, as well as starring roles in the baseball-themed film Mr. 3000, and Guess Who?,a remake of the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

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.