Thousands Join Family, Friends at Bernie Mac Memorial

Getty

Family, friends and thousands of fans gathered at Chicago's House of Hope church on Saturday to attend the public memorial for actor-comedian Bernei Mac, who died one week ago due to complications from pneumonia. He was 50.

The star-studded tribute featured emotional speeches from comedian Chris Rock, Rev. Jesse Jackson and actor Samuel Jackson, Mac's costar in the upcoming flick Soul Men.

Mac's fellow Original Kings of Comedy—Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey and DL Hughley—sat next to each other, breaking down in tears during the service. When they took the stage, however, they mixed their tears of sadness with laughter as they remembered the Mac Man.

"This dude is a very popular guy," said Cedric, according to the Chicago Tribune. "You know y'all were like, 'Let me get four tickets to the funeral!' He's still the hottest ticket in town."

Hughley joked about Mac's well-known taste in clothes. "Bernie would wear colors that crayon hadn't even invented," he said.

Oprah Winfrey, Sen. Barack Obama and actor Andy Garcia (Mac's Ocean's 11 costar) sent written condolences, while the Chicago White Sox, Mac's home team, sent his wife of 30 years, Rhonda, a jersey with his name on it.

Also honored at the memorial was another of Mac's Soul Men costars, Isaac Hayes, who died one day after Bernie, at the age of 65. A montage of photos and sound clips from Mac's life and career were set to some of Hayes' best-known songs.

Loyal fans arrived by caravans or chartered buses, waiting hours in line for a spot in the 10,000-seat church; some even camped out overnight. Inside the church, the city's mayor, Richard Daley, addressed the large crowd, hailing Mac as a man devoted to making Chicago a safer place.

"He wanted to do something personally to get children away from the life of violence," said Daley. "He had a heart and passion...That's why as the king of comedy, he never lost his soul in Chicago."

by E!

Bernie Mac's Wife: 'I Knew This Could Be It'

Photo by: Ed Geller / Globe

When Bernie Mac was admitted last month into a Chicago hospital with a fever and trouble breathing, his wife, Rhonda, thought he'd get treatment and would be home in a week. But after no signs of improvement, she faced her biggest fear.

"He didn't look good to me and I knew this could be it," Rhonda, his wife of 30 years, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue.

The 50-year-old comedian – who suffered from sarcoidosis, an immune system disorder that can affect the lungs – died Aug. 9 of complications due to pneumonia.

The couple had their last exchange a day before his death, as Rhonda stood vigil by his bedside. "I said, 'Hey Bernard. How are you?' and I kissed his forehead," she recalls. "He shrugged his shoulders, like 'I'm tired' and I said, 'I know you're tired.' Later on that night, it took a turn for the worse."

Rhonda and the couple's daughter, Je'Niece, 30, were ushered into a waiting room, where they received the grim news. "[The doctor] came in and I said, 'He's gone, isn't he?' and she said 'yes,' " Rhonda recalls.

The family now prepares for Mac's memorial service, to be held at noon Saturday, Aug. 16 at the 10,000-seat House of Hope in Chicago. His wife says she's comforted by the support of her family and memories of the man she met when she was a 16-year-old junior and he was a 17-year-old senior at Chicago Vocational High School. She was immediately charmed by his humor.

Memories of Courtship

"He said, 'You never seen a black man as pretty as me.' And I said, 'No, I sure haven't.' And he said, 'Girl, you know I'm so beautiful,'" she remembers.

A few months later, on Valentine's Day, he asked her to come to his shop class so he could give her something. When she got there, "I said, 'What do you have for me?' And he kissed me. That was our first kiss." The couple wed in 1977 when both were 19-years-old. Daughter Je'Niece was born the following year.

Now facing her life without Mac, Rhonda says her devastation "comes in waves," adding she still feels her husband's presence. The day after his death, she listened to the song "Thoughts and Wishes" by Hamilton Bohannon, a tune the couple considered "our song," Rhonda says.

"I was singing it and a chill just came over me and I knew it was him," she said. "I get through because I know he's in a better place now."

by People.

Bernie Mac's Death: What Happened?

Photo by: Robert Pitts / Landov

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 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, 30, 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.

Lung Disease Contributed

The sister-in-law says Mac's inflammatory lung disease contributed to his death. "He had sarcoidosis, but it was in remission," she says. "But because he had it, his immune system was compromised. He had an infection ... He was on a new medication that suppresses the immune system, and that's where the pneumonia came from."

She reveals that Mac – having trouble breathing and running a fever – was actually hospitalized on July 24, eight days before the date given for his admittance. The actor was diagnosed with pneumonia and immediately placed on a ventilator.

"He was critically ill when he was in the hospital," says Gossett. "He was in intensive care the whole time."

She adds that doctors kept the star sedated, although he was conscious at times and he contracted a second strain of pneumonia while in the hospital.

His Wife's Reaction

Of her widowed sibling (like Mac, Rhonda is 50), Grossett says, "She’s devastated. However, she's at peace about his transition because of her faith in God. Her faith is what is sustaining her."

She says of the couple's enduring union, "They had 30 years of marriage. That's unprecedented in today's time, particularly for celebrities. That brings joy to her. They loved each other and respected each other on a daily basis. She was by his side to the very end."

Recalling the couple's early years, when they were still in their teens, Grossett says, "When they started dating, he said, 'Girl, you better come on board this train, because I'm going to be rich.' And her response was, 'Okay,' and they were married. That's how he charmed her, with his sense of humor."

She adds, "When they got married they were kids. He was 20 and she was 19. They both grew up together, and they both matured in this marriage.

'She's Going to Miss Him Dearly'

"What she will treasure the most is the fact that she was his wife for 30 years – and not only was she his wife, but she was his best friend. She's going to miss him dearly."

Mac’s funeral is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 15, at an undisclosed location. The family requests that donations be made to the Bernie Mac Foundation for Sarcoidosis, 40 E. Ninth St., Suite 601, Chicago IL 60605.

by People.

Friends and Costars Remember Bernie Mac

Photo by: Daniele Venturelli / WireImage; Scott Gries / Getty; Brian Zak / Sipa Press

In the wake of the untimely death of Bernie Mac Saturday morning at age 50, fellow entertainers fondly remember the standup comic and actor as a quintessential funnyman – and a warm guy.

George Clooney, who starred with Mac in 2001's casino caper Ocean's Eleven and its two sequels, says, "The world just got a little less funny. He will be missed dearly."

Said fellow Ocean's colleague Brad Pitt, "I lament the loss of a ferociously funny and hardcore family man. My thoughts are with Rhonda and their family. Bernie Mac, you are already missed."

Mac, who died at Chicago hospital of complications from pneumonia, will be seen this fall in the comedy feature Soul Men opposite pal Samuel L. Jackson, who says, "It goes without saying that Bernie was one of the preeminent comedians of our generation."

The actor added, "He was also an attentive husband, a great father and loving grandfather. I feel blessed to have shared years of friendship with Bernie Mac, and I'm honored to have finally co-starred with him in what I consider to be his finest cinematic acting achievement.

"My sincere prayer is that his family will be comforted by the warmth of love from all of us who knew and respected this man."

George Lopez, Luke Wilson Remember

To fellow comedian George Lopez, "He was one of those comics that was unique because of his approach, his look, his voice [and] the content of his material."

Admitting that at times Mac's material might have sounded a little rough, especially to the ears of younger people, Lopez, during the press junket for Henry Poole Is Here, told PEOPLE, "Bernie fell into that category of people who were inherently different like when you saw them, you knew they were different and when they spoke, you knew they were different ."

Admiring Mac's gifts, Lopez also said, "As comics, we're all brothers. and I’ll miss him a lot. He was a good friend of mine."

Henry Poole star Luke Wilson, Mac's costar in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, told PEOPLE, "He couldn't have been a nicer guy. He just seemed like a real family man and just a nice guy on the set, just very kind of normal guy."

Actress-comedienne Niecy Nash, who played Mac's sister on The Bernie Mac Show, recalls his knack for making fellow actors feel at home on the set.

"When I showed up to work, he said something to me that had never been said to me on a set before," she says. "He said, 'Baby girl, the script here is not the Bible. Do you, and I'll follow. I got mine, you get yours.' When he said that, I knew everything was going to be all right. I was happy to have the freedom to make up some funny with him. It was simply delicious."

Adds Nash, "My working experiences with Bernie were so amazing, that from that point on, I wouldn't have cared if he called me in the middle of the night to come and be in a scene where I didn't have anything to do but sit in the background and eat cereal. I would've just done it because I loved him like that."

by People