Two American Legends Slip Into That Good Night

This weekend the world became a little less funny and lost a little bit of its soul.

Comedian/Actor Bernie Mac and Singer/Actor Issac Hayes passed away this weekend within two days of each other. Bernie Mac died of complications arising from pneumonia. The cause of death for Issac Hayes is still unknown.

Bernie Mac, born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, is best known as his role as the put upon father in the hit television series “The Bernie Mac Show”. The show earned him two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Bernie Mac began his career young, putting on comedy shows for friends, family and schoolmates. He was quoted as saying in a 2001 Associated Press article, “I came from a place where there wasn’t a lot of joy. I decided to try to make other people laugh when there wasn’t a lot of things to laugh about.” A goal which he achieved many times over in his long career.

Bernie Mac’s popularity as a comedian soared after he performed on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam. He also had his own talk show on HBO for a short while called Midnight Mac. Afterwards he began a career in acting that included movies such as Friday, Charlie’s Angels and the Oceans Eleven series. He was working on a new movie called Soul Men when he passed away. Bernie leaves behind his wife Rhonda McCullough, his daughter Je’Neice and a granddaughter.

To the current generation, Issac Hayes is most well known for his role on South Park as Chef. However right around the time the founders of the politically incorrect animated show were born, Issac Hayes had established himself as a successful singer, songwriter and musician. Issac Hayes’ music career spans over four decades and includes twenty studio albums and two soundtracks. He also wrote the theme song for the movie Shaft for which he won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Grammy.

Hayes came from humble beginnings. He was born in Covington, Tennessee where he grew up picking cotton. At five years old, he began singing at the local church and taught himself how to play the piano, the saxophone and the electric organ. Hayes is best known for his music style of long, orchestral songs and deep bass vocals. Popular artists, such as Barry White, have cited Hayes as being a major influence in their style of music. In 2002 Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Hayes has also been seen in television shows such as The Rockford Files, Girlfriends and Stargate SG-1 as well as movies such as Truck Turner, Escape from New York and I’m Gonna Git You Sucka. Oddly enough, Issac also stared in the upcoming movie Soul Men alongside Bernie Mac. Issac Hayes leaves behind his wife Adjowa Hayes, 12 children, 14 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

To learn more about these two great men, follow the links:

Issac Hayes Website

Bernie Mac Biography

Wikipedia Article: Bernie Mac

Wikipedia Article: Issac Hayes

Issac Hayes tribute site

Bernie Mac tribute site