Photograph by Glenn Harris / PR Photos.

I am so sorry to report that Bernie Mac died early today (Saturday) at the too-young age of 50.

“Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital,” said his publicist, Danica Smith, in a statement from Los Angeles.

Mac suffered from a condition known as sarcoidosis, which is an inflammatory lung disease that produces small lumps of cells in the body’s organs. He said his condition went into remission in 2005. His deadly pneuonia, for which he was hospitalized and treated on August 1st, was apparently unrelated to the disease.

Mac is best known for his hugely successful series The Bernie Mac Show, as well as his performance alongside Brad Pitt and George Clooney in the Ocean’s Eleven movies.

He was nominated for a Grammy for his 2001 comedy album The Original Kings of Comedy, with Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric The Entertainer. The Original Kings of Comedy (2000), for those of you who don’t know, was documentary that brought a new generation of black standup comedians to the mainstream.

Mac had a bunch of movies forthcoming, which we can look forward to, including Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa with Ben Stiller, Soul Men with Samuel L. Jackson, and Old Dogs with Robin Williams.

His plans for the future involved taking it easy and simply enjoying life…. As he said to David Letterman in a 2007 interview, “I’m going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit…. I missed a lot of things, you know. I was a street performer for two years. I went into clubs in 1977.”

Mac leaves behind his wife Rhonda McCullough (married since 1977), their daughter Je’Niece, and their granddaughter, Jasmine.

He will be greatly missed….