RIP Bernie Mac

"I came from a place where there wasn't a lot of joy," ... "I decided to try to make other people laugh when there wasn't a lot of things to laugh about."

The world of comedy mourns it's fallen king. Saturday, August 9, 2008, was a very, very sad day. Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, a.k.a. Bernie Mac, died that day of pneumonia.

Bernie Mac is survived by his wife, Rhonda, and daughter, Je'Niece Childress. Hollywood.com reported that his wife begged him to live, "Don't leave me," she implored as she sat by his bedside...

Mac was born in Chicago, in a pretty rough neighborhood, and lived in a house with his very big family. He became a professional comedian in 1977, at the age of 19. Since Mac refused to change what he stood for, he wasn't very widely accepted and therefore wasn't well known for most of the 80's.

In 1992 he made his silver screen debut in Mo' Money, playing the small part of a club doorman. His next movie was Who's The Man? where he played the character G-George. Since then he has been an icon in comedy films, playing in high grossing films such as The Transformers and Ocean's 11, 12, and 13.

Mr. Mac was also considered one of the Original Kings of Comedy{2000} along with Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, and Cedric the Entertainer.

At least his spirit still lives on in the movies he played in and the TV shows he starred in. If we ever get a craving for a good Bernie Mac laugh, we can just find a rerun of The Bernie Mac Show or check out one of his many hilarious movies.

Bernie Mac, the world is much more empty without you.......