Saturday, August 09, 2008

Bernie Mac Dead At 50

Shocking news out of Chicago where I'm spending the weekend. Comedian Bernie Mac died this morning at Northwestern Memorial Hospital at the age of 50. The cause of death is unknown at this time according to the Sun-Times, although the paper reports that Mac had recently been hospitalized for pneumonia. A fellow South Sider of Sen. Barack Obama, Mac recently created a stir with a number of off-color jokes he made during a fundraiser for Obama in Chicago. He is best known for his FOX TV show, "The Bernie Mac Show."

5 comments:

artfuggins said...

I am not sure why in this time of grief it is necessary to attempt to revisit and link Bernie Mac with Barack Obama. They were friends and Bernie used bad judgement but why would anyone bring it up on the day he died.

Jon E. Easter said...

Talk about shocking. This is awful news. I'd always liked Bernie. Gone too soon!

Gary R. Welsh said...

Art, Get over it. The controversial appearance was widely reported. It's mentioned in the Sun-Times article today because the jokes drew a rebuke from the Obama campaign at the time. It would be poor journalism to omit a very public event like that which occurred so recently.

artfuggins said...

Advance Indiana, I do dispute your facts of the incident at the time that it happened. Obama did rebuke the content of some of his jokes. My point which you missed was that it was tasteless to bring it up on the day that the died.

Gary R. Welsh said...

No, it wasn't tasteless. It was factual reporting. Neither the Sun-Times nor the Tribune backed off on that point in their first reporting on his death. Journalists shouldn't be in the business of writing press releases for people, dead or alive.