His memorial service, held Saturday, August 16 at The House of Hope church in Chicago, was a star-studded event as thousands of fellow celebs and fans gathered to give their last honor.
- Aug 18, 2008
AceShowbiz - The memorial service for the celebrated Bernie Mac was held Saturday, August 16 at The House of Hope church in Chicago. Thousands of mourners, including family, friends and fans, came out for the funeral, giving their last honor for the late actor-comedian, who died on August 9 due to complications from pneumonia. He was 50.
Seen attending the star-studded tribute among others were Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Harvey, and Cedric the Entertainer. Jackson, who co-stars with Mac in the upcoming comedy-drama movie "Soul Men," spoke at the church, remembering Mac as a strong and good-spirited person. He "was having some health issues, but he always said to me every morning that he was always good," Jackson said in a statement.
Fellow celebrities, Oprah Winfrey and Andy Garcia sent written condolences, so did Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Mac's favorite baseball team White Sox presented his widow Rhonda McCullough with a No. 1 jersey bearing his name.
The memorial service was kicked off shortly after noon and ended at about 4 P.M. The ceremony was filled with various music, including a tribute from Mac's favorite singer Rachelle Ferrell and an audio tribute to Mac and Isaac Hayes, a fellow actor who also died last weekend. Mac's family requests that donations be made to the Bernie Mac Foundation for Sarcoidosis, 40 E. Ninth St., Suite 601, Chicago IL 60605.
All details of Mac's memorial service and some photos taken from the event are on Chicagotribune.com.
