Los Angeles (OTL) - Comedian Bernie Mac died early Saturday morning from complications due to pneumonia.
the news was confirmed by his publicist.
“[He] passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital,” his rep, Danica Smith, told PEOPLE. “No other details are available at this time. We ask that his family’s privacy continues to be respected.”
He was only 50-years old.
The “Ocean’s Eleven” star had been hospitalized for about a week.
A few years ago, Mr. Mac disclosed that he suffered from sarcoidosis, a rare autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in tissue, most often in the lungs. However, his reps claimed early on that the bout of pneumonia he was fighting had nothing to do with the sarcoidosis.
He’s survived by his wife Rhonda McCullough, their daughter, Je’Niece, a son-in-law and a granddaughter, Jasmine.