Guide Note

Bernie Mac was an Emmy Award-nominated actor and stand-up comedian who starred in a number of successful films, as well the short-lived television show The Bernie Mac Show.

On August 9, 2008, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Mac died. Mac was hospitalized with pneumonia on August 1, 2008. He was 50 years old.

Fast Facts

1. Name: Bernard Jeffrey McCullough
2. Born: October 5, 1958¹
3. Died: August 9, 2008, complications due to pneumonia²
4. Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
5. Spouse: Rhonda McCullough
6. Had autoimmune disease sarcoidosis¹
7. Hospitalized on August 1, 2008, for pneumonia³

On August 9, 2008, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Mac died. Columnist Stella Foster said she received a call from a "close friend" of Mac's family who confirmed his death. Mac was hospitalized in Chicago on August 1, and was diagnosed with pneumonia.

After getting his start as a successful stand-up comic, Mac made the jump to movies with small roles in films such as Friday, Ocean's Eleven and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, as well as a starring role in the 2000 stand-up comedy film The Original Kings of Comedy. In 2001, Mac starred in the critically acclaimed television sitcom The Bernie Mac Show, which lasted until 2006.