NEWS

Bernie Mac’s Comedy Lives Forever

Bernie Mac, one of the most successful and beloved black comedians ever, passed away Saturday at age 50 from complications due to pneumonia. Complex will always remember the Chicago native for his foul mouth and absolute realness when dealing with touchy subjects like child abuse. Like many of his early fans, we first discovered Mac when he was doing stand-up on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam in the early ’90s.

Through the rest of the decade, there was hardly a noteworthy “urban” or “hip-hop” comedy that he didn’t make a cameo in—from Mo’ Money and Who’s the Man? to Friday and Booty Call. A more mainstream audience discovered Mac in his 2001 Fox sitcom The Bernie Mac Show, as well as in theatrical gems like Ocean’s Eleven and Bad Santa. Reminisce over some of his most memorable clips below.

STAND-UP COMEDY

Many people first discovered Mac’s raunchy comedy when he appeared on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam in the early ’90s. Though he broke into movies, he continued to perform on stage, and director Spike Lee captured him doing his thing for the 2000 documentary The Original Kings of Comedy.

FILM

Mac made regular cameos in “urban” comedies like House Party 3 in the ’90s and later enjoyed more mainstream success in movies like Bad Santa and the Ocean’s Eleven series.

TELEVISION

The Bernie Mac Show, which ran on Fox from 2001-2006, was inspired by the comedian’s own life experiences and earned him the rank of #47 on TV Guide’s “50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time” list.