Bernie Mac has died at 50

Bernard Jeffrey McCullough passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital.

The comedian had suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, which had been in remission for the last three years. He was hospitalized with pneumonia on August 1, and was listed as being in very critical condition the following day, although recovery was expected.

Mac was born into a poor family on Chicago's south side in 1957, living with his mother and grandparents. In a 2004 memoir, he wrote about having bologna for dinner and a strict, no-nonsense upbringing.

"I came from a place where there wasn't a lot of joy," Mac told the AP in 2001. "I decided to try to make other people laugh when there wasn't a lot of things to laugh about."

He began performing stand up when still a boy, and began his film career with a small role as a club doorman in the Damon Wayans comedy "Mo' Money" in 1992. In 1996, he appeared in the Spike Lee drama "Get on the Bus." He was one of "The Original Kings of Comedy" in the 2000 documentary of that title that brought a new generation of black standup comedy stars to a wider audience, and later starred in the popular "Ocean's Eleven" franchise with Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

Mac also starred in "Guess Who", "Bad Santa," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Transformers", but is famed for his sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show," which aired more than 100 episodes from 2001 to 2006. The show garnered Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Mac, and won a Peabody Award in 2002.

He is survived by his wife Rhonda, daughter Je'Niece, and granddaughter Jasmine.