Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes Passed Away

Hey everyone,

As you have probably heard, we have lost two great entertainers this past weekend. Bernie Mac (age 50) passed away on Saturday, August 9th, and Isaac Hayes (age 65) passed away on Sunday, August 10^th. Both entertainers are in a movie with Samuel L. Jackson called Soul Men scheduled to be released in November (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1111948/ .)

Here is some information about both entertainers:

About Isaac Hayes:

Isaac Hayes was the second-born child of Isaac Sr. and Eula Hayes, but was raised by his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Wade Sr. The child of a poor family, he grew up picking cotton in Covington, Tennessee. He made his public singing debut in church at the age of 5, and taught himself piano and saxophone before relocating to Memphis and performing with groups there, according to All-Music Guide. In 1964, he began playing with the Mar-Keys, which led to his long stint as a musician, songwriter and producer for Stax, where he worked with Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and many others.

In 1971, Hayes reached the peak of his musical popularity with the single and album Shaft, the score from the film. The song not only was an archetypal slice of funk that garnered Hayes a #1 single and Grammy and Academy Awards, the talk-singing style he employed on it exerted a huge influence on rap music. After the strong albums Black Moses and Joy, Hayes' popularity waned in the coming years, exacerbated by a legal battle with Stax over royalties. He filed for bankruptcy in 1976.

Hayes continued to perform and record over the following years, but he didn't reappear on the mainstream radar until 1997, when he provided the voice for the "South Park" character Jerome "Chef" McElroy. Originally intended to be a one-off appearance, Hayes' character quickly became extremely popular, providing the main children characters with advice and often breaking into comical R&B love songs that parody some of the songs Hayes had written in the first place.

A Scientologist since the mid 1990s, Hayes parted company with the show after a 2005 episode that skewered the religion. A press release announcing his separation from Comedy Central, which airs "South Park," was issued in March 2006. Hayes reportedly suffered a stroke in early 2006, and was occasionally unsteady in public appearances thereafter.

Isaac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 9, 2005 in New York City alongside Robert B. Sherman, Richard M. Sherman, Bill Withers, John Fogerty, Steve Cropper and longtime collaborator David Porter.

Over the years, Hayes and songwriting partner David Porter wrote a reported 200 songs, including such soul classics as Sam & Dave's "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Comin'," Carla Thomas' "B-A-B-Y" and Johnnie Taylor's "I Had a Dream." Otis Redding, Johnnie Taylor, The Bar-Kays and Booker T. Jones (later of Booker T. & the M.G.s fame) were some of the "Memphis Sound" musical luminaries Hayes worked with during his early years as a budding musician and vocalist. He is a multi-talented composer, singer and arranger who plays the piano, vibraphone and saxophone equally well.

A relative found Hayes unconscious on the floor near a treadmill inside his home, according to the station's Web site. Hayes was taken to Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, where he was pronounced dead at 2:08 p.m. Deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff's Department are continuing their investigation into Hayes' death, but they believe no foul play was involved, the report said.

About Bernie Mac:

Bernie Mac was born in Chicago in 1957, Bernard Jeffrey McCollough. He grew up in Chicago, in a rougher neighborhood than most others, with a large family living under one roof. This situation provided him with a great insight into his comedy, as his family, and the situations surrounding them would be what dominated his comedy. Mac worked in the Regal Theater, and performed in Chicago parks in his younger days. He became a professional comedian in 1977, at the age of 19. He refused to change his image for television and films, and therefore was not very well known for most of the eighties. In 1992 he made his film debut with a small part with Mo' Money (1992). This started a string of small parts in a string of movies, mostly comedies, including Who's the Man? (1993), House Party 3 (1994) and The Walking Dead (1995). 1995 proved to be a turning point in his career. He did an HBO Special called "Midnight Mac" (1995), and took a part as Pastor Clever in the Chris Tucker comedy Friday (1995). Bernie Mac developed a cult following due to the movie and had many small parts since. In 1996 he starred in the memorable Spike Lee movie Get on the Bus (1996), and was very funny in Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996). About this time he had a recurring role in the TV series "Moesha" (1996). Bernie Mac's star was slowly rising from this point. His next couple of movie parts were more substantial, including How to Be a Player (1997) and The Players Club (1998). In 1999 Bernie Mac got his most high profile part up to that point in the film Life (1999/I) starring Eddie Murphy.

The new century started a new era for the brash Chicago comedian. He was a featured comedian in The Original Kings of Comedy (2000). This performance made him more of a household name, and led to many more major parts. In 2001 he played Martin Lawrence's uncle in What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001) and later that year, was in the star studded remake of Ocean's Eleven (2001). However his biggest success to this date has been "The Bernie Mac Show" (2001), which debuted in 2001 to instant acclaim. The series won a Peabody Award in 2002, and earned Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Mac.

Mac also appeared in such films as "Ocean's Eleven," "Bad Santa," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and most "Transformers." He had also been working on the TV series "Starting Under," as well as several films, including the Samuel L. Jackson flick "Soul Men" (slated for release later this year), and the John Travolta comedy "Old Dogs," which is scheduled for a 2009 release.

Mac 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.[1]

On August 1, 2008, Mac was hospitalized with what his publicist claimed was pneumonia. The next day, responding to rumors that the actor was in "very, very critical condition," his publicist said that he was responding well to treatment, and should be released soon.[6] On Saturday, August 9, his publicist announced that Mac had died from complications of pneumonia unrelated to sarcoidosis.[1]

The 2008 Bud Billiken Parade in Chicago, on the day he died, was dedicated to his memory. Mac is survived by his wife, Rhonda McCullough, their daughter, Je'Niece, a son-in-law and a granddaughter.