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King of Comedy Bernie Mac, Dead at Age 50
By
Billy Parker
Published Aug 9, 2008
Modified Aug 9, 2008
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By
Billy Parker
Published Aug 9, 2008
Modified Aug 9, 2008
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Comedian Bernie Mac died in Chicago's Northwestern Memorial hospital this morning at the age of fifty. It was reported first by the Chicago Sun-Times after receiving a call from his publicist earlier this morning. Mac had been hospitalized earlier this week for pneumonia. Just last year, he had been talking to David Letterman on the Late Show about his hopes to retire soon, "I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit. I missed a lot of things, you know". Mac was a road comedian for years and then built a formidable film career with memorable roles in the Ocean's Eleven series, Bad Santa, and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Gothamist will most fondly remember being directly addressed as "America" during the regular testimonials he would give throughout the Bernie Mac Show.
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