“I ain’t scared at ya!” was one of Bernie Mac’s catchphrases. He surely wasn’t scared and he definitely was amusing. Funnyman Bernie Mac passed away on Saturday. He was 50 years old.

Born in Chicago, Bernie, whose real name was Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, was determined to make people laugh. His comedian career started when he was 19 and appeared on Chicago’s L-train platforms, telling jokes. He also performed as a stand-up comedian.

Bernie pulled his dream off when he became a member of the Def Comedy Jam.  Russell Simmons welcomed him in the ‘family’ in 1992. It was the same path Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock or Chris Tucker took on their way to fame.  

Bernie Mac earned even more recognition when his own show made its TV debut. The sitcom, “The Bernie Mac Show” cheered up its viewers from 2001 to 2006. Ice Cube’s 1995 movie “Friday” opened up the gates of cinematography to Bernie.

His professional achievements were augmented with several other roles in high-profile movies. There were “Ocean’s” trilogy in 2001, 2004, respectively 2007, 2003’s “Bad Santa” and “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” and 2005’s “Guess Who” starring Ashton Kutcher. His cinematographic credits include more than 25 movies he starred in.

 Eve though Bernie Mac became a famous person, he remained a humble and sweet personality off-stage. He sometimes seemed like encompassing two different persons,  very sociable, full of jokes on stage and  tempered in the back of the curtain. His death saddened family members and friends, but also millions of fans and a large number of acting fellows. “I lament the loss of a ferociously funny and hardcore family man. My thoughts are with [his wife] Rhonda and their family. Bernie Mac, you are already missed,” “E!Online” quoted Brad Pitt as saying.

Bernie has been married with Rhonda for more than 30 years; they have been together since high school. The two have a daughter together and later “adopted” their teenage niece and her toddler baby.

Looking back in Bernie’s past, one might understand the comic roots. Faced with the losses of his beloved - firstly his mother died of breast cancer when he was 16, then his grandmother and two brothers and his best friend was murdered, Bernie probably found comedy a means of catharsis.

The cause of Bernie Mac’s death is pneumonia, as his publicist stated. The artist had also been suffering from an inflammatory disease, Sarcoidosis and doctors suspect that it might have played an important role. The condition is a chronic disease that produces the inflammation of any organ, but it usually affects the lungs. The disease usually strikes Afro-Americans and it sometimes has no symptoms, but often causes shortness of breath and chest pains.