Bernie Mac was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough on Oct. 5, 1957, in Chicago. 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. He was raised by his mother, who died of cancer when he was 16, and then by his grandparents. "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." He was doing comedy acts from age 8 at a church dinner, and was doing standup in Chicago clubs by age 20.