As the family of Oscar-winning singer/songwriter Isaac Hayes prepare to officially say goodbye to the man affectionately known as "Black Moses", 1000's gathered at the House of Hope in Chicago for Bernie Mac's memorial service. Details after the jump.
Bernie Mac's Recent Jet Cover
Bernie’s fellow King of Comedy and very good friend Steve Harvey arrived with his wife Marjorie.
Bernie's TV family Dee Dee Davis, Camille Winbush, Jeremy Suarez and Kellita Smith came as a group.Some fans slept outside overnight in hopes of securing a seat inside the House of Hope church on the city's South Side, the Chicago Tribune reports.
In an emotional service, photos from the comedian's career were shown on projectors and the White Sox organization presented Mac's widow Rhonda with a No. 1 jersey bearing his name, the paper reports.
Comedian George Wallace
Rev. Jesse Jackson and Chris Rock
King of Comedy's Cedric the Entertainer and Steve Harvey
Samuel L. Jackson and wife Latoya
Fly Jock Tom Joyner and Don Cheadle
During the service, Mayor Richard Daley remembered Mac as someone with "a heart and passion." Daley, who met with Mac a few weeks ago, added: "He knew the street, he knew the people, and that's why he was a king of comedy. He wanted to do something personally to get children away from the life of violence. . . . He never lost his soul in Chicago."
Mac, who suffered from the autoimmune disease sarcoidosis, passed away last Saturday from complications relating to pneumonia.
Of their final exchange a day before his death, Rhonda told PEOPLE: "I said, 'Hey Bernard. How are you?' and I kissed his forehead. He shrugged his shoulders, like 'I'm tired' and I said, 'I know you're tired.' Later on that night, it took a turn for the worse."
Rest In Peace Bernie Mac, And Keep Heaven Smiling