Aug.10.08
Bernie Mac
October 5, 1957 - August 9, 2008

The actor and comedian who teamed up in the casino heist caper "Ocean's Eleven" and gained a prestigious Peabody Award for his sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show," died Saturday, August 9th, 2008 at age 50.

Mac suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005

On July 24, 2008, Mac was hospitalized with an infection, that was later identified as pneumonia. The news of his hospitalization would not be announced for over a week, when his publicist claimed that Mac had pneumonia. The next day, responding to rumors that the actor was in "very, very critical condition," his publicist said that he was responding well to treatment, and should be released soon. On August 9, his publicist announced that Mac had died from complications of pneumonia unrelated to sarcoidosis.

The 2008 Bud Billiken Parade in Chicago, on the day he died, was dedicated to his memory.

Mac's funeral was held on August 16 at the House of Hope megachurch. More than 6,000 people attended his funeral.

At the time of his death, Bernie Mac had finished working on the film Soul Men with Isaac Hayes, who, coincidentally, died the next day.