HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Comedian Bernie Mac, who made audiences roar in laughter for more than 30 years, died Saturday. He was 50.
"Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital," his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement.
The star was hospitalized at Northwestern Memorial on Aug. 1 for pneumonia, however he was expected to make a full recovery.
Mac suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs. However, he announced in 2005 that the disease had gone into remission.
Born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, he started his comedy career in high school, putting on shows for neighborhood kids in his hometown of Chicago's South Side.
While working odd jobs to pay the bills, Mac was a regular on the Chicago stand-up circuit during his 20's. After winning the Miller Lite Comedy Search at the age of 32, he performed on HBO's Def Comedy Jam, which helped propel his career.
He went on to become a founding member of the popular Kings of Comedy comedy tour. In 2001, Mac and his "Original Kings of Comedy" co-stars, Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric The Entertainer, were nominated for a Grammy award for best comedy album.
The comic had a recurring role on the television series "Moesha" in the late '90s before striking gold with "The Bernie Mac Show" in 2001. The Fox series aired for five seasons, receiving a prestigious Peabody Award along the way.
Mac also appeared on the big screen, most notably in the casino heist caper "Ocean's Eleven." His film career started with a small role in the Damon Wayans comedy "Mo' Money" in 1992. Other notable films included Spike Lee's "Get on the Bus" in 1996 and 2005's "Guess Who," in which he starred alongside Ashton Kutcher. Mac also starred in such films as "Bad Santa," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Transformers."
"The world just got a little less funny," said "Oceans" co-star, George Clooney, after learning of the comedian's death.
"This is a very sad day for many of us who knew and loved Bernie," added fellow co-star Don Cheadle. "He brought so much joy to so many. He will be missed, but heaven just got funnier."
In his 2004 memoir, "Maybe You Never Cry Again," Mac spoke about his poor childhood and his mother's support, despite her death when he was just 16.
"She believed in me long before I believed," he wrote.
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