Thousands Show Up to Honor Bernie Mac

By Prescott Carlson in News on Aug 17, 2008 1:57PM

Over 7,000 people showed up yesterday at the House of Hope church on the South Side for a memorial service for comedian Bernie Mac, who died last week while hospitalized for pneumonia. The crowd ranged from celebrities, friends, city politicians, and just plain fans. As befitting a celebration of Mac's life, several tried to keep the mood light such as opening speaker Cedric the Entertainer:

"This dude," said the comedian and actor, "is a very, very popular guy. You know y'all were like, 'Let me get four tickets to the funeral!' He's still the hottest ticket in town!"