Please Rewind Talent Wall

Bernie Mac

Bernie Mac took the long road to the screen, and that journey remained part of his appeal. Born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough in Chicago on October 5, 1957, he was raised by his mother and grandparents on the city’s South Side. Before comedy became his full-time career, he worked jobs ranging from janitor and cook to bus driver and delivery man, performing at clubs and parties on weekends. Influenced by the Three Stooges, Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx, Mac began his stand-up career at Chicago’s Cotton Club. Winning the Miller Lite Comedy Search at 32 helped build his profile, while a fearless 1992 appearance on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam pushed him into the national spotlight. Early film appearances followed in Mo’ Money, House Party 3 and Friday. He later joined Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and D. L. Hughley on the Kings of Comedy tour, captured in the 2000 concert film The Original Kings of Comedy. Mac’s screen persona worked because he could be stern, exasperated and playful without sanding down the force of his stand-up voice. The Bernie Mac Show, which began in 2001, cast him as a fictional version of himself suddenly caring for his sister’s three children. Its fourth-wall breaks gave him room to address viewers directly, turning private frustration into part of the joke. The series received an Emmy for Outstanding Writing, a Peabody Award and a Humanitas Prize before its finale aired in 2006. Television success ran alongside a busy film career. Mac co-starred in the Ocean’s trilogy, Head of State, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and Bad Santa, and took starring roles in Mr. 3000 and Guess Who. Later appearances included Transformers and Pride. He voiced Zuba in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and co-starred with Samuel L. Jackson in Soul Men; both films were released after his death in 2008. His final film role, Jimmy Lunchbox in Old Dogs, reached screens in 2009. Across stand-up, television and film, Mac carried the directness of a live performer into every format.