Bernie Mac

In 2000 THC and THC Jr went to see The Original Kings of Comedy, a concert film directed by the often irritating, frequently infuriating, and occasionally brilliant (sometimes all at the same time) director, Spike Lee (for the brilliance, see Do The Right Thing, Malcolm X, He Got Game, Inside Man, 25th Hour), which showcased four comedians, none of whom THC was familiar with at the time.

THC came away, and remains, a fan of Steve Harvey and Cedric The Entertainer but the guy who, for me, towered over everyone was the closing act, Bernie Mac.  When he started THC was a bit taken aback by the language but then got into the character he was playing and the laughs started coming.  Both in his live act and in The Bernie Mac Show, a wonderful TV series which ran for 5 seasons (2001-6) on Fox, much of his humor was based around his raising of two young nieces and a nephew abandoned by his drug-addled sister (though the language was cleaned up for TV!).  No matter, how rough and tough he blustered you knew that love was behind it. Like Ralph Kramden but with kids.

Bernard Jeffrey McCullough was born on the South Side of Chicago in 1957 and raised by a strict mother until she died of cancer when Bernie was 16.  In 1977 he married his high-school sweetheart, Rhonda (and stayed married to her) and they had a daughter.  Bernie worked a lot of jobs while pursuing his dream of a career in comedy, finally beginning to achieve some success in his early 30s.  With growing success at comedy clubs, at Def Comedy Jam and with the Kings of Comedy his career took off and expanded to movies (appearing in 30, including Ocean's Eleven and its sequels and one of my favorites, Guess Who, in which Bernie plays a father who is horrified to find his daughter has brought home a white boyfriend) and TV.  Chicago remained his home throughout.

Unfortunately, Bernie Mac had a chronic lung disease, sarcoidosis, which was in remission for several years before returning and he died of complications from the disease and pneumonia in 2008, at the age of 50.  The death of entertainers, even those THC is a fan of, rarely effects me, but I was greatly saddened by Bernie Mac's early passing.  There was something very warm, very sincere and very human about him.

Here's a little taste of Bernie from I Ain't Scared Of You:

Below are some clips from The Original Kings of Comedy, The Bernie Mac Show, Ocean's 11 and we'll start with Bernie's appearance on the Chris Rock Show.

From The Original Kings of Comedy:
In the Bernie Mac Show, Bernie would close by talking directly with America.  You can watch here, here and here.
And finally,  a little Ocean's Eleven, that is, if it doesn't interfere with your social agenda.