It was less than two months ago when I felt compelled to honor comedian George Carlin after his passing. Now, once again, I stare at my autographed movie poster from Ocean's Eleven (right next to the Dogma poster that has Carlin's signature on it) and see the name Bernie Mac boldly signed right in the middle. The news of the actor/comedian's sudden passing due to pneumonia complications is very sad. Here is a link to an article discussing this heartbreaking turn of events.

I definitely consider myself a fan of Bernie Mac. I remember first noticing him on HBO's Def Comedy Jam and then in some bit roles in movies. He really seemed to break out after the 2000 release of the movie The Original Kings of Comedy where he performed stand-up comedy along with three other black comedians (Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley). This is an extremely funny film though it does often contain cursing and very explicit language. That does not bother me and cannot overshadow what a comedy genius Bernie Mac or the other three are. Here is a link to a short hilarious part from this show, but I do warn you that it contains a curse word used repetitively during it.

Then in 2001, Bernie Mac was given his own television sitcom on Fox called The Bernie Mac Show. This was a very funny and underrated show that won Mac the prestigious Peabody Award for excellence in radio and television. The show was loosely based on Mac's own life where he takes custody of his sister's three children when she has to enter drug rehab. Mac's character was impressively ranked #47 on TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dad's of All Time" which was published back in 2004. The show had a nice run, but was cancelled after the 2006 season. Here is a link to a portion of the very first episode of The Bernie Mac Show and you can tell how funny it is from just this short glimpse.  That is definitely worth watching.

In 2001, Mac also was given the opportunity to crossover into the mainstream with his role in the movie Ocean's Eleven. He would also appear in both of the sequels, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen. The original is one of my very favorite movies of all time. In 2004, Mac would star in the baseball movie Mr. 3000. Much of this movie was actually filmed here in Milwaukee using Miller Park where the Brewers play for the baseball scenes (similar to 1989's Major League which was filmed at Milwaukee County Stadium). Some of the filming was open to the public to be the crowd in the stands and I was able to attend one evening of shooting. I specifically remember being impressed with how charming and personable Bernie Mac was and how he took time to interact with the crowd despite the fact he was working. It was not what you would expect from a big time television and movie star and it made me an even bigger fan from that point on. I actually enjoyed Mr. 3000 very much and here is a link to watch the movie's trailer which is very well done as far as trailers go.

Bernie Mac was an Old School kind of guy. He was only 50 years old and had a lot more comedy to give us. Unfortunately we will not get to see it, but we have his stand-up comedy, movies and television show to remember him. I felt obliged to at least honor his work in this small way here on Kickin' it.  Here is one more link worth checking out to a Vibe list of Bernie's 10 Most Hilarious Moments and that includes videos for each moment.

So that will wrap up this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks, as always, for reading. If you have missed any previous issues, please check the Archives located in the upper left hand column organized by month. If you are in search of a specific topic, please check out the search box in the right hand column. Type your word or topic in that box and it will give you a list of all issues of Kickin' it that include those words. Peace and much love.

Check this out: I saw these pictures on another blog here at Tblog and thought I would share them with you because I thought they were cool. Hope you enjoy them and I recommend you check out Justcool's blog for other cool pictures and the like.

Quote of the day: "What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal." -Albert Pike

Download this: "Where Is The Love?" by Black Eyed Peas