Bernie Mac Dies, Age 50

Comedian Bernie Mac died this morning in Chicago after a long hospitalization from pneumonia.

Mac, whose real name is Bernard McCullough, passed away early this morning at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He was 50 years old.

“Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital,” his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles.

She said no other details were available and asked that his family’s privacy be respected.

The comedian suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body’s organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005. He recently was hospitalized and treated for pneumonia, which his publicist said was not related to the disease.

The day before he died, Mac’s rep insisted he was stable, in no danger and expected to be released within the week, even though it was clear Mac was on his death bed.