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Bernie Mac--I haven't forgot
09 Aug 2008 03:38 pm
I really just don't know what to say. Mac never rose to the levels of Chappelle or Rock, but I think his show was a great take on the modern black family--or just the modern family in general rendered through a black lens. I'm sorry he's gone. It's not fair that some people's last memory will be stories of him being scolded by Barack. He was better and smarter than that.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
Correction: [b]lack lens.
Mr. Coates: I'd just like mention how much I'm enjoying the blog. Kudos.
You never know what's going to catch you off guard. Boy, I liked Bernie Mac and I'm not ready to see him go. My heart goes out to his family.
Rest in peace ...
I really don't think the memory of him will have anything to do with the Barack thing. First of all, he didn't really "scold" him and second of all, *I* - political obsessed as I am - had already forgotten about that so i doubt many people will.
Sad indeed. He had been in bad health for a long time though. But still stunningly sad.
Been a rough summer for comedians with Bernie Mac and George Carlin passing.
Why does he have to rise to the level of two more successful black comics for deserved praise? And the Barack thing was a two-hour story. I watched his tv show a couple of times and just thought it was pretty funny.
I am also very sorry to see him go. he had the only funny line in that otherwise worthless movie Charlie's Angels. Supposedly busted helping the Angels infiltrate an Irish mob (trust me, there's not much of a plot), he tells the guy who's caught him: "what, you never heard of the black Irish?"
Honestly, I'd forgotten about the whole Obama incidient with Bernie Mac. I'll always remember him for his really funny role in Bad Santa (one of my greatest guilty pleasures)
I didn't even think about the Obama thing. I was just glad that he got to be recognized, and he definitely was. His family can be proud as can be.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005170/awards
I'll celebrate his life rather than mourn his death.
A big loss. The guy was just FUNNY. It's hard to explain but he was one of those comics who had alive, intelligent EYES that let you know when he was on a roll that would lead to something hilarious. These guys are precious natural resources and he was one of them.
I just wish these guys would stop dying young.
I can't believe that he's gone. He was so young. Apparently, he was in stable condition and doctors expected him to recover, so this was a shock to everyone who was close to the situation. My thoughts and prays go out to his wife.
R.I.P. Bernie.
I didn't know how sick he was. It's a tough loss.
Very sad. He was a funny dude. If you don't know how funny he was, watch him as Chris Rock's running mate in "Head of State", hilarious.
Let me express my condolences to you Mr. Coates, as a representative of black folks.
One of the best things about the show, was how generous he was with the other principal actors and even the minor characters. I always loved standup-based sitcoms that didn't focus exclusively on the standup. Bernie let the other members of the cast get the good lines and plenty of screen-time apart from Bernie.
My favorite minor character was the dour, chain-smoking irish priest. When he invoke Abraham sacrificing Issac to encourage Bernie to let his son play football. You could tell that Bernie and his co-writers were interested in creating a great show, not just showcasing Bernie. RIP.
Why does he have to rise to the level of two more successful black comics for deserved praise?
The more I think about this, the less accurate it seems. While Bernie's career never hit the presidential-level peaks Chris Rock reached, if you look at their entire body of work, I think Bernie's oeuvre is substantially more solid.
And in the fucked-up-but-funny dept: http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/8231/soulmenrs2.jpg
Bernie Mac just didn't hit the political satire as hard as the other two, that's all.
Him Upstairs.
That's all I have to say.