Born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough in Chicago, Illinois, Mac was the second child of Mary McCullough and Jeffery Harrison. Mac was raised by his single mother (who died of cancer when he was sixteen years old) and his grandparents on the city\'s south side. Mac began his high school career at Chicago Vocational High School. During 1973, Mac moved to Tampa, Florida to attend Jesuit High School after the death of his mother during his sophomore year. Mac later returned to Chicago and graduated from Chicago Vocational in 1975. Mac married his high school sweetheart Rhonda Gore on September 17, 1977 and together they had a daughter Ja\'Niece Childress (née McCollough) born in 1978. During his 20s through his early 30s, Mac worked in a variety of jobs, including janitor, coach, professional mover, cook, bus driver, Sears Delivery man, furniture mover and a UPS agent while doing comedy on the weekends at funerals, clubs, and parties.\n', '

Bernie Mac\'s influences were from The Three Stooges and listening to stand-up comedians Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx. Mac started as a stand-up comedian in Chicago\'s Cotton Club. After he won the Miller Lite Comedy Search at the age of 32, his popularity as a comedian began to grow. A performance on HBO\'s Def Comedy Jam thrust him into the spotlight; after Martin Lawrence was unable to calm an increasingly hostile crowd, Mac went onstage and famously said, "I ain\'t scared o\' you mothafuckas", telling the audience that he "didn\'t come here for no foolishness". Mac\'s comedy and fearlessness on stage cemented his reputation with fans and colleagues. Mac opened for Dionne Warwick, Redd Foxx and Natalie Cole. He played a small role in 1994\'s House Party 3 as Uncle Vester. He also had a short-lived talk show on HBO titled Midnight Mac. Later, Mac also acted in minor roles and got his big break as "Pastor Clever" in Ice Cube\'s 1995 film Friday. Following that role, Mac was selectively chosen to play the title role, The Wiz in the 1995 Apollo Revival of The Wiz. Mac had his first starring role as "Dollar Bill", a silly, slick-talking club owner in The Players Club. Mac was able to break from the traditional "black comedy" genre, having roles in the 2001 remake of Ocean\'s Eleven and becoming the new Bosley for the Charlie\'s Angels sequel, Charlie\'s Angels: Full Throttle. In 2003 he gave an impressive performance in a supporting role as the villain "Gin Slagel, The Store Dick" in Bad Santa. He also starred in Guess Who?, a comedic remake of the film Guess Who\'s Coming to Dinner, and made an appearance in the 2007 film Transformers as the car salesman "Bobby Bolivia". In his later years, he hosted the reality television talent show Last Comic Standing. He also served as the voice of Zuba, Alex the Lion\'s long lost father in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. He co-starred with Samuel L. Jackson in the 2008 musical comedy Soul Men as "Floyd Henderson". His final film role was as Jimmy Lunchbox in the 2009 Disney film Old Dogs which was released a year after his death. He starred alongside John Travolta and Robin Williams in that film.\n', '

In 2001 the Fox network gave Mac his own television sitcom called The Bernie Mac Show portraying a fictional version of himself. In the show, he suddenly becomes custodian of his sister\'s three children after she enters rehab. It was a success, in part because it allowed Mac to stay true to his stand-up comedy roots, breaking the fourth wall to communicate his thoughts to the audience. The show contained many parodies of events in Bernie\'s actual life. Bernie, who grew up on Chicago\'s South Side, was a fan of the Chicago White Sox, and would often sneak a reference to his favorite team in his episodes, including enlisting then White Sox pitcher Jon Garland to make a guest cameo appearance. Bernie Mac\'s "fourth wall" technique allowed him a moment of heartfelt sincerity during the sitcom\'s 2005 season when, sitting in his customary easy chair and facing the audience before the start of an episode, Bernie unabashedly donned a White Sox jacket and cap, and congratulated his hometown Chicago White Sox and their staff members, on their recent World Series championship.\n', '

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