Bernie Mac Died Of Pneumonia Complications
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008), better known by the stage name Bernie Mac, was an American actor and comedian. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley as The Original Kings of Comedy.
After briefly hosting the HBO show Midnight Mac, Mac appeared in several movies in smaller roles. His most notable movie role was as Frank Catton in the remake of Ocean’s Eleven and its two sequels. Mac also starred in several movies, including Mr. 3000. He was the star of The Bernie Mac Show, which ran from 2001-2006, and earned two Emmy Award nominations.
Bernie Mac’s wife and daughter were with him until the very end, says the late comic’s sister-in-law in a personal and touching interview with PEOPLE magazine that took place Saturday.
Speaking of a heartbreaking moment between her younger sister, Rhonda, and the 50-year-old actor-comedian – who succumbed to complications from pneumonia in a Chicago hospital at 2 a.m. Saturday – Mary Ann Grossett says that the night before Mac died, “He struggled for his life. He couldn’t breathe.
“He opened his eyes on his own and looked at Rhonda. She called his name, and he opened his eyes and nodded to her. She smiled at him and told him, ‘Don’t leave me … ‘I’m waiting for you to come back.’ He shrugged his shoulders, and she said that’s when she knew he was tired. He signaled to her that his body was tired.”
Rhonda, Mac’s wife since 1977, and their 30-year-old daughter, Je’Niece, were with him when he died. “[The doctors] were working on him,” says Grossett. “They tried to resuscitate him two times. One time he came back for about an hour. Then he went into cardiac arrest the second time.”
Prior to that, the couple had last communicated on July 31. “He told his wife [non-verbally] that he could breathe on his own, and he wanted the ventilator out. He motioned that he wanted it out,” says Grossett.
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