Sad news coming out of Chicago this morning; Bernie Mac has died. Mac had been in the hospital for the past week battling pneumonia. The 50-year-old comedian and star of Fox's The Bernie Mac Show had previously battled sarcoidosis, an immune system disorder that can affect the lungs, but that disease was said to have been in remission.

Rumors regarding the severity of Mac's illness swirled around the internet last weekend when a family member reportedly said that his condition was "very, very critical." However, Mac's publicist came out on Thursday and said that her client's condition was "stable."

In addition to his TV work, Mac was probably best known for co-starring with George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Ocean's 11 and its subsequent sequels. The Bernie Mac show ran for five seasons on Fox before it ended in 2006. I always enjoyed his Cliff Huxtable-as-a-movie-star take on The Bernie Mac Show as well as the different comedic sensibility he brought to the table in the Ocean's movies. Mac had a lot of comedy left in him, and I'm sorry to see him go.