A King of African-American Comedy Passes On....

I cannot believe one of the Kings of African-American comedy, Bernard Jeffrey McCullough AKA Bernie Mac is dead. How did he die? What exactly happened? Those are the questions that have been going through the mind of many people. One minute someone is bubbling with life, the next minute he is gone. I guess life is really short.

Wonder what would have been going through his mind as he was on that hospital bed, hanging onto his life. Wonder what his wife, Rhonda McCullough or 30 year old daughter, Je'Niece would be thinking as they watched the one they loved, struggling with life. It must have been very painful.

I look at life from a different perspective. Anything can happen at any time. It is best we live our lives, looking at the big picture, taking each day at a time while we strive to be the best we can be in every area of our lives. We should try as much as possible to live the life God has called us to live because anytime, any second, any moment; He can call us back home and we will give account of our lives. He will want to know if we fulfilled our destiny.

I feel so sad that Bernie Mac is dead. I pray that his soul would rest in perfect peace and I ask that God will grant his family grace to endure the loss.

Bernie Mac (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008 was an American actor and comedian. He was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. He was known alongside fellow comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley as The Original Kings of Comedy.

He is popular for his movie role as Frank Catton in the remake of Ocean's Eleven and the sequels. Other movies are Get On The Bus, Bad Santa, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Guess Who, Mr. 3000 and Transformers. He had a recurring role on UPN’s sitcom Moesha, Starring Brandy and was also the star and executive producer of The Bernie Mac Show, which ran from 2001-2006, and earned two Emmy Award nominations.

He has recently been working on the TV series "Starting Under," as well as several films, including the Samuel L. Jackson flick "Soul Men" (slated for release later this year) and the John Travolta comedy "Old Dogs," which is scheduled for a 2009 release.

Bernie 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 August 1, 2008, Mac was hospitalized with what his publicist claimed was pneumonia. The next day, responding to rumours 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 his previous diagnosis of sarcoidosis.

He is survived by his wife, Rhonda McCullough, 30 year old daughter, Je'Niece and granddaughter, Jasmine.

NOTE:

Sarcoidosis, also called sarcoid (from the Greek sarx, meaning "flesh") or Besnier-Boeck disease, is an immune system disorder characterized by non-caseating granulomas (small inflammatory nodules) that most commonly arises in young adults. The cause of the disease is still unknown. Virtually any organ can be affected; however, granulomas most often appear in the lungs or the lymph nodes. Symptoms can occasionally appear suddenly but usually appear gradually. The clinical course generally varies and ranges from asymptomatic disease to a debilitating chronic condition that may lead to death.

Courtsey: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcoidosis