Bernie Mac: A Tribute

by Brett Parker

Actor/Comedian Bernie Mac passed away on August 9th at the age of 50, after suffering complications from pneumonia. The entertainer first garnered acclaim for his hilarious stand-up comic sets on Def Comedy Jam and, most famously, The Original Kings of Comedy. He would later go on to star in such Hollywood films as Guess Who, Mr. 3000, and the Ocean’s Eleven series. Some would say that his most popular showbiz stint was his sitcom, The Bernie Mac Show, a brutally honest view of a complicated family life.

Bernie Mac may not have been an entertainer who broke new ground. Indeed, he was roaming territory already founded and perfected by Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, and Eddie Murphy. Yet there was no denying how raw, bold, and hysterical an entertainer he was. Mac was the kind of entertainer who would have you hitting the floor with laughter by observing peculiar aspects of everyday life with a viscous raunchiness that made no apologies. Very few comedians of his generation could be so insightful, vulgar, animated, angry, side-splitting, and loveable at the same time. Mac was such a strong stage presence that he eventually made the expected leap into television/films. While most comedians take this leap with the danger of either compromising or inflating their comic personas, Mac was refreshingly true to himself and turned out to be a surprisingly natural screen presence.

Bernard Jeffrey McCullough was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 9th, 1957. Since his high school days, Mac knew he wanted to be a comedian, going so far as to perform in small parks throughout his youth. It was difficult getting started, however, for Mac didn’t come from a great situation. He and his large family lived in one of the rougher neighborhoods of Chicago and his mother, Mary, passed away from Cancer during Bernie’s sophomore year in high school. Throughout his twenties, Mac worked several odd jobs, including furniture mover and sales representative, before finally deciding that he should follow his true passion for comedy. By the time he was 20, Mac had worked comedy club circuits in Chicago and was slowly but steadily building a reputation for himself within the stand-up community.

“I ain’t scared of you motherf-----s!” proclaimed Mac as he took the microphone for the first time on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam. He got this big break in the early 90s and right from the start, the audience dug his comedic frankness and raw attitude. Only Mac could grab his crotch while calling himself “blessed” and make it sound sincere. He was also celebrated for his crazy insights, such as sex being “nothing but 50 pumps. Count it if you ain’t got nothing better to do.” Besides being downright hysterical, Mac’s first set also proved to be very creative; employing a DJ to pump music throughout it and rattle the cages of traditional stand-up structures (this set is available on YouTube and will have you in stitches).

Mac became a frequent performer on Def Comedy Jam throughout the 90s and it started opening major doors for him. He received his first movie role as a Club Doorman in Mo Money and HBO gave him his own late-night talk show entitled Midnight Mac (a very short-lived project). Mac gained momentum by taking on several small roles in films throughout the 90s which included House Party 3, Above the Rim, Booty Call, and The Players Club. His most memorable stints during this era was playing the outlandish Pastor Clever from Friday and the dim-witted Jangle Leg from Life.

Then came the film project that made Bernie Mac a household name, The Original Kings of Comedy. The 2000 film saw Spike Lee documenting a stadium comedy show in which Mac, along with fellow comedians Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, and Cedric the Entertainer, performed for a sold out crowd in North Carolina. All of these comedians were undoubtedly in top form for this show, yet it was Mac’s set that really brought the house down. Not only did the audience find Mac’s insights into marital sex, raising kids, and disrespectful relatives hilarious but they also related to it on a deeper level. Mac’s material strongly focused on everyday family topics almost anyone from any race or class could relate to and it was all the more enjoyable due to Mac’s trademark bluntness. As he himself told the audience, “I say the things y’all are afraid to say!” To this day, very few things have made laugh as hard as I did when I first saw Mac’s bit about his stuttering nephew. I laughed so hard I think I stopped breathing for a good two minutes. He gave us one the funniest faces in the history of funny faces for that bit.

Mac received lots of acclaim for his Kings of Comedy set and it bestowed upon him a newfound clout in Hollywood. Mac used this clout to create The Bernie Mac Show for Fox TV. The show is directly based on the Kings of Comedy bit in which Mac talks about adopting and struggling with his sister’s children. Despite concerns from Fox executives, Mac fought to have a family show that was just as raw and honest as his stand-up comedy (Mac to his nephew: “Shut up before I stab you in the throat!”). Despite its harsh frankness, Mac felt audiences would strongly relate to Mac’s struggles with raising difficult children. The show was a success that stayed on the air for five years, winning several awards and landing Mac on TV Guide’s list of the 50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time.

Mac’s newfound popularity also gained him larger roles on the silver screen. He played funny roles in Head of State and Mr. 3000 while also turning in an efficient dramatic performance in Pride. I especially liked him as Bosley in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. I always found Bosley to be a very cool character (since he got to hang out with the Angels all the time) and Mac did him justice in ways I didn’t think was possible. When most comedians grace the silver screen, they find a frustrating need to go way over the top. They figure since they’re playing at a bigger game, they need to make bigger gestures to keep an audience. What was so special about Mac was the way he kept his starring performances more subtle and believable than expected. He was surprisingly restrained in Bad Santa, in which he played a cynical mall manager. The film swam in comic mayhem, giving Mac perfect opportunities to ham it up, yet he is always subdued and patient in his performance, making it all the more effective. This is especially true in Guess Who, in which he plays a successful father wrestling with the fact that his daughter is dating a white man. Not just any white man, but Ashton Kutcher! We’d expect any comedian to ride off the rails while facing off with Kutcher, yet Mac brings a dignity and conviction to his role and cares more about looking like a concerned father than a wacky comedian.

My favorite on-screen work from Mac would have to be from the Ocean’s Eleven series, in which he plays Frank Catton, a casino card dealer and seasoned con man. Ocean’s Eleven is one of my all-time favorite movies, and its small casting choices like Mac’s that help make it such an exceptional film. Compared to the super cool personas of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon, Mac’s role would almost appear as disposable comic relief. Yet Mac brought the same amount of style and confidence to his role that the other members of the heist brought, helping to make the crew the coolest cats to ever grace the silver screen. The scene where Mac talks about hand moisturizing to catch a deal from a car salesman not only demonstrates Mac’s comedic talents but also how he has the smarts and finesse to be a slick con man like Mr. Ocean himself.

Before Mac’s death, he had already finished work on two film projects to be released in the next coming months. First up is Soul Men, a musical comedy with Samuel L. Jackson (and, ironically, the recently deceased screen legend Isaac Hayes), and then Old Dogs, a family-themed comedy co-starring John Travolta and Robin Williams. Mac’s films may not have been considered high art, but like the man himself, they knew how to spread joy and entertainment to people from all walks of life. In a time when people relish things that are real and direct, Mac embodied both of those things along with a colorful and charming gift for making people laugh. He was fearless in comedy, films, and reportedly, in death. Mac made us realize that in a time when comedians can be cheap and mediocre, we shouldn’t take brutal honesty and great laughter for granted.