Sunday, September 21, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Monday, September 08, 2008
horse shit
MSNBC says Olbermann, Matthews won't anchor
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer Mon Sep 8, 2:22 PM ET
NEW YORK - MSNBC is replacing Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as co-anchors of political night coverage with David Gregory, and will use the two newsmen as commentators.
The change reflects tensions between the freewheeling, opinionated MSNBC and the impartial newsgatherers at NBC News. Throughout the primaries and summer, MSNBC argued that Olbermann and Matthews could serve as dispassionate anchors on political news nights and that viewers would accept them in that role, but things fell apart during the conventions.
Gregory, the veteran Washington hand, will anchor MSNBC's coverage of the presidential and vice presidential debates and election night, network spokesman Jeremy Gaines said Sunday. The change was first reported by The New York Times.
The tipping point appears to have come during the GOP convention when Olbermann criticized MSNBC for showing a Sept. 11-themed video prepared by the Republicans.
MSNBC executives, who had publicly defended their anchors' roles while privately monitoring them throughout the political season, made the change over the weekend after discussions with Olbermann. Despite the controversy around him, Olbermann has been a hero with left-leaning viewers and keyed MSNBC's growth among coveted young viewers.
During her acceptance speech last week, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin talked about the "Washington elite" not accepting her qualifications for the job. Some delegates on the convention floor began chanting, "N-B-C, N-B-C."
Olbermann began to have difficulty keeping his opinions in check, or simply stopped trying.
He sarcastically dismissed GOP pundit Pat Buchanan on the air after Buchanan said the Republicans had been enlivened by the entrance of a conservative Republican.
"Those reading US Weekly with the picture of her and her youngest daughter with the word `scandal' written across it won't be so happy," Olbermann said.
He expressed little sympathy at another point when GOP anger at rumors over the Internet about Palin were being discussed.
"We'll see if people feel sorry for unfounded rumors on the Internet," he said. "If that's the case, Senator Obama's probably standing up and cheering and waiting for people to feel sorry for him."
Perhaps most embarrassing, Joe Scarborough was discussing positive developments in John McCain's campaign at one point when Olbermann was heard on an offstage microphone saying: "Jesus, Joe, why don't you get a shovel?"
Scarborough, a former Republican congressman and host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," got in another nasty on-air exchange with MSNBC reporter David Shuster, and Matthews snapped at Olbermann on-air when it appeared Olbermann was criticizing him for talking too much.
All the drama made MSNBC a punch line when top NBC anchor Brian Williams appeared on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" last week. "Is there no control?" host Jon Stewart asked him. "`Is it `Lord of the Flies?'"
A sheepish Williams said that every family has a dynamic of its own.
"But does MSNBC have to be the Lohans?" Stewart said.
Olbermann was in Denver during the Democratic national convention, but performed his co-hosting duties for the GOP convention in a New York studio. NBC President Steve Capus said the decision was not political, that Olbermann had been sent back to anchor coverage of Hurricane Gustav.
MSNBC's decision comes just before Olbermann's "Countdown" show is set to air, on Monday, his interview with Barack Obama. That will put Olbermann in direct competition with his nemesis, Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, who interviewed Obama last week and is airing a portion of it Monday in the same 8 p.m. EDT time slot.
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer Mon Sep 8, 2:22 PM ET
NEW YORK - MSNBC is replacing Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as co-anchors of political night coverage with David Gregory, and will use the two newsmen as commentators.
The change reflects tensions between the freewheeling, opinionated MSNBC and the impartial newsgatherers at NBC News. Throughout the primaries and summer, MSNBC argued that Olbermann and Matthews could serve as dispassionate anchors on political news nights and that viewers would accept them in that role, but things fell apart during the conventions.
Gregory, the veteran Washington hand, will anchor MSNBC's coverage of the presidential and vice presidential debates and election night, network spokesman Jeremy Gaines said Sunday. The change was first reported by The New York Times.
The tipping point appears to have come during the GOP convention when Olbermann criticized MSNBC for showing a Sept. 11-themed video prepared by the Republicans.
MSNBC executives, who had publicly defended their anchors' roles while privately monitoring them throughout the political season, made the change over the weekend after discussions with Olbermann. Despite the controversy around him, Olbermann has been a hero with left-leaning viewers and keyed MSNBC's growth among coveted young viewers.
During her acceptance speech last week, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin talked about the "Washington elite" not accepting her qualifications for the job. Some delegates on the convention floor began chanting, "N-B-C, N-B-C."
Olbermann began to have difficulty keeping his opinions in check, or simply stopped trying.
He sarcastically dismissed GOP pundit Pat Buchanan on the air after Buchanan said the Republicans had been enlivened by the entrance of a conservative Republican.
"Those reading US Weekly with the picture of her and her youngest daughter with the word `scandal' written across it won't be so happy," Olbermann said.
He expressed little sympathy at another point when GOP anger at rumors over the Internet about Palin were being discussed.
"We'll see if people feel sorry for unfounded rumors on the Internet," he said. "If that's the case, Senator Obama's probably standing up and cheering and waiting for people to feel sorry for him."
Perhaps most embarrassing, Joe Scarborough was discussing positive developments in John McCain's campaign at one point when Olbermann was heard on an offstage microphone saying: "Jesus, Joe, why don't you get a shovel?"
Scarborough, a former Republican congressman and host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," got in another nasty on-air exchange with MSNBC reporter David Shuster, and Matthews snapped at Olbermann on-air when it appeared Olbermann was criticizing him for talking too much.
All the drama made MSNBC a punch line when top NBC anchor Brian Williams appeared on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" last week. "Is there no control?" host Jon Stewart asked him. "`Is it `Lord of the Flies?'"
A sheepish Williams said that every family has a dynamic of its own.
"But does MSNBC have to be the Lohans?" Stewart said.
Olbermann was in Denver during the Democratic national convention, but performed his co-hosting duties for the GOP convention in a New York studio. NBC President Steve Capus said the decision was not political, that Olbermann had been sent back to anchor coverage of Hurricane Gustav.
MSNBC's decision comes just before Olbermann's "Countdown" show is set to air, on Monday, his interview with Barack Obama. That will put Olbermann in direct competition with his nemesis, Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, who interviewed Obama last week and is airing a portion of it Monday in the same 8 p.m. EDT time slot.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
crazy eh?
The 1.52 million students who took the test is a slight increase from last year but a jump of nearly 30 percent over the past decade. Minority students accounted for 40 percent of test-takers, and 36 percent were the first in their families to attend college. Nearly one in seven had a low enough family income to take the test for free.
"More than ever, the SAT reflects the face of education in this country," said Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, which owns the test and released the results Tuesday.
The class of 2008 scored an average of 515 out of a possible 800 points on the math section of the college entrance exam, a performance identical to graduating seniors in the previous year.
Scores in the critical reading component among last spring's high school seniors also held steady at 502, but the decline over time has been more dramatic: the past two years represent the lowest reading average since 1994, when graduating seniors scored 499.
By comparison, the highest average reading score in recent decades was 530 by the class of 1972, although that score dropped dramatically within five years to near present levels. The latest math average is just five points below the 35-year high of 520, reached three years ago.
Those historical highs are tempered by the test's more selective reach a generation ago, said Jim Hull, a policy analyst for the Center for Public Education, which is affiliated with the National School Boards Association.
"You only had the best of the best taking the test," he said. "The SAT has become far more inclusive."
Average scores also remained constant on the writing portion of the SAT, which was added to the entrance exam in 2006. For the second year in a row, the average score was 494 — a three-point drop from its debut year.
The writing test is still a work in progress, with many colleges waiting for several years of data before factoring that portion into admissions decisions.
But the College Board released data Tuesday suggesting that scores on the newest portion of the exam are the most accurate gauge of first-year success in college. Studies by the University of Georgia and the University of California support the group's findings, it reported.
Males on average scored four points higher than females on the reading section (504 vs. 500) and 33 points higher on the math test (533 vs. 500), but females on average outscored their counterparts on the writing test, 501 to 488.
Average ACT scores released earlier this month showed a slight decrease, for the class of 2008 — 21.1 compared to 21.2 a year ago, on a scale of 1 to 36. With 1.42 million test-takers, the rival exam still lags behind the more-entrenched SAT, but is growing at a faster rate.
That trend is only likely to continue, said SAT critic Bob Schaeffer of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, who called the new three-part SAT a "flop." Nearly 800 colleges now consider the SAT an optional test for admissions, according to the group.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
really??
Biden is Democratic favorite for Obama's No. 2
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
44 minutes ago
CHICAGO - Sen. Joe Biden has emerged as the favorite among Democrats to be Barack Obama's running mate for his understanding of foreign policy in grave global times and his fighting spirit against the rival Republican ticket.
Obama is keeping his decision quiet, but his staff in Chicago and party activists who await a decision are buzzing about Biden in large part because he can address two of Obama's biggest weaknesses — his lack of experience, especially on world affairs, and his reluctance to go on the attack. The speculation is less of an indicator of whether Biden will ultimately be Obama's pick, and more of a recognition of the challenges their candidate faces at this pivotal moment in the race.
Obama plans to appear with his newly selected running mate Saturday, with the pick announced via text message to supporters. Obama also is widely thought to be considering Govs. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana.
Biden, 65, was first elected to represent Delaware in 1972, when Obama was 11 years old and half the people living in the United States today weren't born yet. He is a curious front-runner for running mate for a candidate who won the primary by arguing he would be a fresh outsider who could bring change to Washington.
Biden is a charismatic and hard-charging campaigner with a compelling personal story — his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident a few weeks after he was first elected, but two sons survived serious injuries in the same crash. Biden commuted home to Wilmington from each day in the Senate to care for them, a practice he still continues to this day. The oldest son, Beau, is now Delaware's attorney general and a National Guard member whose unit is being deployed to Iraq in October.
Biden got another scare 10 years ago, when two brain aneurysms kept him out of the Senate for several months.
Biden returned Monday from a trip to Georgia at the invitation of the embattled country's president, a well-timed reminder of the value he could bring to Obama's ticket.
Fighting between Georgia and Russia has only increased the sense that Americans will turn to a leader who will be a strong international leader. McCain brings a military background and leadership on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Obama only has served three years in Washington, but Biden is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he has served on for 33 years.
Also, polls show the race between Obama and GOP rival John McCain tightening, and Obama is responding by stepping up his attacks in speeches and commercials targeted to key states. Obama has never been entirely comfortable going negative, a move that threatens his call for civility in politics, but Biden has never shied from a fight.
"He's passionate, he's articulate and he's persuasive," said Democratic consultant Steve McMahon, among those who consider Biden Obama's smartest pick. "I think he would do for Senator Obama what Lyndon Johnson did for John Kennedy. He's got serious foreign policy experience, a long and distinguished Senate resume and he is one of the most effective surrogates that Senator Obama has right now who can go toe-to-toe with any Republican on any issue at any time."
Obama could have been describing Biden when he said in a speech Tuesday that he wants his running mate to be "somebody who is mad right now" about the state of the economy, an independent who will speak out when he's wrong and help him through major issues.
During the Democratic primary when he also ran for the presidential nomination, Biden often made the most memorable impression in debates even though he was barely registering in the polls. He got big laughs for accusing Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani for mentioning three things in every sentence — "a noun, a verb, and 9/11" — and also leveled barbs at Obama.
He said he didn't think Obama was ready to be president yet, saying it's "not something that lends itself to on-the-job training." He offended some blacks when on the first day as an official presidential candidate he tried to compliment Obama as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean." He dropped out of the race after a poor showing in Iowa.
Republicans would be sure to revive Biden's criticisms of Obama and already envision a line of attack that says Obama is so inexperienced he needs a running mate who has been in Washington longer than McCain.
Biden is famous for being able to talk at length — sometimes a mind-numbing length — on any topic, but he has enhanced his standing in the vice presidential race by avoiding discussion of it.
Obama's running mate contenders have been instructed to be mum — a trait that is not considered Biden's strong suit. But he has played by Obama's rules, denying that he was being vetted when he most likely was. He bluntly acknowledged he'd take the job if asked, while jokingly warning Obama might not want him.
"I made it clear to him and everybody else, I never worked for anybody in my life," he told reporters last month. "I got here when I was 29. I never had a boss. I don't know how I'd handle it."
He gave nothing away Wednesday, as reporters staked out his home in anticipation of the pick. The senator took a load of brush in the bed of a white Ford pickup truck to the dump. He returned about 2 1/2 hours later, saying he was going to be working on his property throughout the day and would have no further comment.
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
44 minutes ago
CHICAGO - Sen. Joe Biden has emerged as the favorite among Democrats to be Barack Obama's running mate for his understanding of foreign policy in grave global times and his fighting spirit against the rival Republican ticket.
Obama is keeping his decision quiet, but his staff in Chicago and party activists who await a decision are buzzing about Biden in large part because he can address two of Obama's biggest weaknesses — his lack of experience, especially on world affairs, and his reluctance to go on the attack. The speculation is less of an indicator of whether Biden will ultimately be Obama's pick, and more of a recognition of the challenges their candidate faces at this pivotal moment in the race.
Obama plans to appear with his newly selected running mate Saturday, with the pick announced via text message to supporters. Obama also is widely thought to be considering Govs. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana.
Biden, 65, was first elected to represent Delaware in 1972, when Obama was 11 years old and half the people living in the United States today weren't born yet. He is a curious front-runner for running mate for a candidate who won the primary by arguing he would be a fresh outsider who could bring change to Washington.
Biden is a charismatic and hard-charging campaigner with a compelling personal story — his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident a few weeks after he was first elected, but two sons survived serious injuries in the same crash. Biden commuted home to Wilmington from each day in the Senate to care for them, a practice he still continues to this day. The oldest son, Beau, is now Delaware's attorney general and a National Guard member whose unit is being deployed to Iraq in October.
Biden got another scare 10 years ago, when two brain aneurysms kept him out of the Senate for several months.
Biden returned Monday from a trip to Georgia at the invitation of the embattled country's president, a well-timed reminder of the value he could bring to Obama's ticket.
Fighting between Georgia and Russia has only increased the sense that Americans will turn to a leader who will be a strong international leader. McCain brings a military background and leadership on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Obama only has served three years in Washington, but Biden is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he has served on for 33 years.
Also, polls show the race between Obama and GOP rival John McCain tightening, and Obama is responding by stepping up his attacks in speeches and commercials targeted to key states. Obama has never been entirely comfortable going negative, a move that threatens his call for civility in politics, but Biden has never shied from a fight.
"He's passionate, he's articulate and he's persuasive," said Democratic consultant Steve McMahon, among those who consider Biden Obama's smartest pick. "I think he would do for Senator Obama what Lyndon Johnson did for John Kennedy. He's got serious foreign policy experience, a long and distinguished Senate resume and he is one of the most effective surrogates that Senator Obama has right now who can go toe-to-toe with any Republican on any issue at any time."
Obama could have been describing Biden when he said in a speech Tuesday that he wants his running mate to be "somebody who is mad right now" about the state of the economy, an independent who will speak out when he's wrong and help him through major issues.
During the Democratic primary when he also ran for the presidential nomination, Biden often made the most memorable impression in debates even though he was barely registering in the polls. He got big laughs for accusing Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani for mentioning three things in every sentence — "a noun, a verb, and 9/11" — and also leveled barbs at Obama.
He said he didn't think Obama was ready to be president yet, saying it's "not something that lends itself to on-the-job training." He offended some blacks when on the first day as an official presidential candidate he tried to compliment Obama as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean." He dropped out of the race after a poor showing in Iowa.
Republicans would be sure to revive Biden's criticisms of Obama and already envision a line of attack that says Obama is so inexperienced he needs a running mate who has been in Washington longer than McCain.
Biden is famous for being able to talk at length — sometimes a mind-numbing length — on any topic, but he has enhanced his standing in the vice presidential race by avoiding discussion of it.
Obama's running mate contenders have been instructed to be mum — a trait that is not considered Biden's strong suit. But he has played by Obama's rules, denying that he was being vetted when he most likely was. He bluntly acknowledged he'd take the job if asked, while jokingly warning Obama might not want him.
"I made it clear to him and everybody else, I never worked for anybody in my life," he told reporters last month. "I got here when I was 29. I never had a boss. I don't know how I'd handle it."
He gave nothing away Wednesday, as reporters staked out his home in anticipation of the pick. The senator took a load of brush in the bed of a white Ford pickup truck to the dump. He returned about 2 1/2 hours later, saying he was going to be working on his property throughout the day and would have no further comment.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Saturday, August 09, 2008
shocked and sadden
By F.N. D'ALESSIO, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 47 minutes ago
CHICAGO - Bernie Mac, the actor and comedian who teamed up in the casino heist caper "Ocean's Eleven" and gained a prestigious Peabody Award for his sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show," died Saturday at age 50. "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.
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.
Recently, Mac's brand of comedy caught him flack when he was heckled during a surprise appearance at a July fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate and fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama.
Toward the end of a 10-minute standup routine, Mac joked about menopause, sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude language. The performance earned him a rebuke from Obama's campaign.
But despite controversy or difficulties, in his words, Mac was always a performer.
"Wherever I am, I have to play," he said in 2002. "I have to put on a good show."
Mac worked his way to Hollywood success from an impoverished upbringing on Chicago's South Side. He began doing standup as a child, and his film career started with a small role as a club doorman in the Damon Wayans comedy "Mo' Money" in 1992. In 1996, he appeared in the Spike Lee drama "Get on the Bus."
He was one of "The Original Kings of Comedy" in the 2000 documentary of that title that brought a new generation of black standup comedy stars to a wider audience.
"The majority of his core fan base will remember that when they paid their money to see Bernie Mac ... he gave them their money's worth," Steve Harvey, one of his co-stars in "Original Kings," told CNN on Saturday.
Mac went on to star in the hugely popular "Ocean's Eleven" franchise with Brad Pitt and George Clooney.
Comedian Carl Reiner, who also appeared in "Ocean's Eleven" and its two sequels, said Saturday he was "in utter shock" because he thought Mac was improving. "He was just so alive. I can't believe he's gone," he said.
Reiner told KNX-AM in Los Angeles that other comics had talked to the audience as Mac did on "The Bernie Mac Show," but "he took it to a new level."
"It was such a popular show because of his bigger-than-life persona," Reiner said.
His turn with Ashton Kutcher in 2005's "Guess Who" topped the box office. It was a comedy remake of the classic Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn drama "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" — with Mac as the black dad who's shocked that his daughter is marrying a white man.
Mac also had starring roles in "Bad Santa," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Transformers."
The comedian drew critical and popular acclaim with his Fox television series "The Bernie Mac Show," which aired more than 100 episodes from 2001 to 2006.
The series about a man's adventures raising his sister's three children, won a Peabody Award in 2002. At the time, judges wrote they chose the sitcom for transcending "race and class while lifting viewers with laughter, compassion — and cool."
In real life, he was very much like his character on that series, his daughter, Je'niece Childress, told The Associated Press on Saturday.
"He was the king of his household," Childress said in Chicago, describing Mac as "a loving grandfather" to her daughter, his only grandchild.
"The Bernie Mac Show" garnered Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Mac.
"But television handcuffs you, man," he said in a 2001 Associated Press interview. "Now everyone telling me what I CAN'T do, what I CAN say, what I SHOULD do, and asking, `Are blacks gonna be mad at you? Are whites gonna accept you?'"
He also was nominated for a Grammy award for best comedy album in 2001 along with his "The Original Kings of Comedy" co-stars, Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric The Entertainer.
Chicago music producer Carolyn Albritton said she was Bernie Mac's first manager, having met him in 1991 at Chicago's Cotton Club where she hosted an open-mike night.
"From very early on I thought he was destined for success," Albritton said Saturday. "He never lost track of where he came from, and he'd often use real life experiences, his family, his friends, in his routine. After he made it, he stayed a very humble man. His family was the most important thing in the world to him."
In 2007, Mac told David Letterman on CBS' "Late Show" that he planned to retire soon.
"I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit," Mac told Letterman. "I missed a lot of things, you know. I was a street performer for two years. I went into clubs in 1977."
Mac was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough on Oct. 5, 1957, in Chicago. He grew up on the city's South Side, living with his mother and grandparents. His grandfather was the deacon of a Baptist church.
In his 2004 memoir, "Maybe You Never Cry Again," Mac wrote about having a poor childhood — eating bologna for dinner — and a strict, no-nonsense upbringing.
"I came from a place where there wasn't a lot of joy," Mac told the AP in 2001. "I decided to try to make other people laugh when there wasn't a lot of things to laugh about."
Mac's mother died of cancer when he was 16. In his book, Mac said she was a support for him and told him he would surprise everyone when he grew up.
"Woman believed in me," he wrote. "She believed in me long before I believed."
1 hour, 47 minutes ago
CHICAGO - Bernie Mac, the actor and comedian who teamed up in the casino heist caper "Ocean's Eleven" and gained a prestigious Peabody Award for his sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show," died Saturday at age 50. "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.
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.
Recently, Mac's brand of comedy caught him flack when he was heckled during a surprise appearance at a July fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate and fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama.
Toward the end of a 10-minute standup routine, Mac joked about menopause, sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude language. The performance earned him a rebuke from Obama's campaign.
But despite controversy or difficulties, in his words, Mac was always a performer.
"Wherever I am, I have to play," he said in 2002. "I have to put on a good show."
Mac worked his way to Hollywood success from an impoverished upbringing on Chicago's South Side. He began doing standup as a child, and his film career started with a small role as a club doorman in the Damon Wayans comedy "Mo' Money" in 1992. In 1996, he appeared in the Spike Lee drama "Get on the Bus."
He was one of "The Original Kings of Comedy" in the 2000 documentary of that title that brought a new generation of black standup comedy stars to a wider audience.
"The majority of his core fan base will remember that when they paid their money to see Bernie Mac ... he gave them their money's worth," Steve Harvey, one of his co-stars in "Original Kings," told CNN on Saturday.
Mac went on to star in the hugely popular "Ocean's Eleven" franchise with Brad Pitt and George Clooney.
Comedian Carl Reiner, who also appeared in "Ocean's Eleven" and its two sequels, said Saturday he was "in utter shock" because he thought Mac was improving. "He was just so alive. I can't believe he's gone," he said.
Reiner told KNX-AM in Los Angeles that other comics had talked to the audience as Mac did on "The Bernie Mac Show," but "he took it to a new level."
"It was such a popular show because of his bigger-than-life persona," Reiner said.
His turn with Ashton Kutcher in 2005's "Guess Who" topped the box office. It was a comedy remake of the classic Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn drama "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" — with Mac as the black dad who's shocked that his daughter is marrying a white man.
Mac also had starring roles in "Bad Santa," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Transformers."
The comedian drew critical and popular acclaim with his Fox television series "The Bernie Mac Show," which aired more than 100 episodes from 2001 to 2006.
The series about a man's adventures raising his sister's three children, won a Peabody Award in 2002. At the time, judges wrote they chose the sitcom for transcending "race and class while lifting viewers with laughter, compassion — and cool."
In real life, he was very much like his character on that series, his daughter, Je'niece Childress, told The Associated Press on Saturday.
"He was the king of his household," Childress said in Chicago, describing Mac as "a loving grandfather" to her daughter, his only grandchild.
"The Bernie Mac Show" garnered Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Mac.
"But television handcuffs you, man," he said in a 2001 Associated Press interview. "Now everyone telling me what I CAN'T do, what I CAN say, what I SHOULD do, and asking, `Are blacks gonna be mad at you? Are whites gonna accept you?'"
He also was nominated for a Grammy award for best comedy album in 2001 along with his "The Original Kings of Comedy" co-stars, Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric The Entertainer.
Chicago music producer Carolyn Albritton said she was Bernie Mac's first manager, having met him in 1991 at Chicago's Cotton Club where she hosted an open-mike night.
"From very early on I thought he was destined for success," Albritton said Saturday. "He never lost track of where he came from, and he'd often use real life experiences, his family, his friends, in his routine. After he made it, he stayed a very humble man. His family was the most important thing in the world to him."
In 2007, Mac told David Letterman on CBS' "Late Show" that he planned to retire soon.
"I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit," Mac told Letterman. "I missed a lot of things, you know. I was a street performer for two years. I went into clubs in 1977."
Mac was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough on Oct. 5, 1957, in Chicago. He grew up on the city's South Side, living with his mother and grandparents. His grandfather was the deacon of a Baptist church.
In his 2004 memoir, "Maybe You Never Cry Again," Mac wrote about having a poor childhood — eating bologna for dinner — and a strict, no-nonsense upbringing.
"I came from a place where there wasn't a lot of joy," Mac told the AP in 2001. "I decided to try to make other people laugh when there wasn't a lot of things to laugh about."
Mac's mother died of cancer when he was 16. In his book, Mac said she was a support for him and told him he would surprise everyone when he grew up.
"Woman believed in me," he wrote. "She believed in me long before I believed."
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