Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, better known by his stage name Bernie Mac, was an American comedian and actor.
26 Facts About Bernie Mac
2.
Bernie Mac's most noted film roles were as Frank Catton in the 2001 remake of Ocean's 11 and as the title character of Mr 3000.
3.
Bernie Mac 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.
4.
Bernie Mac was the second child of Mary McCullough and Jeffrey Harrison.
5.
Bernie Mac was raised by his single mother and his grandparents on the city's south side.
6.
Bernie Mac began his high school career at Chicago Vocational High School.
7.
Bernie Mac's mother died in 1973 when he was 16 years old.
8.
Bernie Mac later graduated from Chicago Vocational High School in 1975.
9.
Bernie Mac's influences were from The Three Stooges and listening to stand-up comedians Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx.
10.
Bernie Mac started as a stand-up comedian in Chicago's Cotton Club.
11.
Bernie Mac opened for Dionne Warwick, Redd Foxx and Natalie Cole.
12.
Bernie Mac played a small role in 1994's House Party 3 as Uncle Vester.
13.
Bernie Mac had a short-lived talk show on HBO titled Midnight Mac.
14.
Bernie Mac had his first starring role as "Dollar Bill", a silly, slick-talking club owner in 1998's The Players Club.
15.
Bernie 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.
16.
In 2001, the Fox network gave Mac his own television sitcom called The Bernie Mac Show portraying a fictional version of himself.
17.
Bernie Mac broke the fourth wall to tell his thoughts to the audience.
18.
Bernie 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.
19.
On March 19,2007, Bernie 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 Bernie Mac.
20.
Bernie Mac co-starred with Samuel L Jackson in the 2008 musical comedy Soul Men.
21.
On July 19,2008, Bernie Mac was admitted to the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in his hometown of Chicago.
22.
The 2008 Bud Billiken Parade, which was held in Chicago on the day of Bernie Mac's death, was dedicated to his memory.
23.
Bernie Mac married his high school sweetheart Rhonda Gore on September 17,1977, and together they had a daughter, Je'Niece, born in 1978.
24.
Bernie Mac later admitted that he had hated the North Side's Cubs his whole life, being a die-hard fan of the South Side's White Sox, and was seen during the White Sox' 2005 World Series victory at US Cellular Field.
25.
Bernie Mac had a history of health problems before he went public with his health struggles.
26.
The first occurred in the summer of 2004, when Bernie Mac was filming both Ocean's Twelve and Guess Who while promoting Mr 3000.