Bernie Mac, who rose from playing standup gigs on Chicago's South Side to perfect his cool, outsized persona in Hollywood blockbusters as well as creating his own sitcom, has died. He was 50.The comedian died Saturday morning from complications due to pneumonia, his publicist announced, shocking family, friends and fans who had expected him to recover. "The world just got a little less funny," his Ocean's Eleven co-star George Clooney told E! Online . "He will be missed dearly."Born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, Mac started performing on Chicago's stages in 1977, at the age of 20. But he had been telling jokes in front of a crowd since he was a child, entertaining people at church, in parks and even on trains.When he was 32, he won the Miller Lite comedy search, which soon led to regular appearances on shows like HBO's Def Comedy Jam and the start of his film career.He first played a bit part as a club doorman in the Damon Wayans movie Mo' Money in 1992. Over the next decade he turne...
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This fall, audiences can see the other Rock family talent in his own show: MyNetworkTV's The Tony Rock Project, a reality-comedy series. Also known as Chris Rock's younger brother, Tony has appeared in a number of shows and movies, but he's getting center stage with the new gig.In the Project, Tony Rock will conduct man-on-the-street interviews, use hidden cameras and other types of segments to shed some light, Borat-style, on society's quirks, hang-ups and stereotypes. The series comes from MyNetwork vets C to the B (who brought us Flavor Flav's Under One Roof) and Langley Productions (Jail, COPS), and will air Wednesdays at 8:30 pm/ET. Will the younger Rock keep audiences laughing? Does the format have potential, or sound played-out? — Anna Dimond
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Question: I'm really enjoying Aliens in America, and I worry that people are missing the boat on this surprisingly funny half-hour of television. The second episode was one of the highlights of the week! The ratings are abysmal, and so few people are talking about this show that I'm worried it'll be pulled before others have the opportunity to give it a chance. What do you think about Aliens in America — does it have a fighting chance? Does the fact that it's on the CW work against it? Would its ratings be higher if it had been picked up by NBC or CBS?
Answer: If Aliens were airing anywhere but the CW (except perhaps on cable), its ratings probably would be higher, but given the sorry state of the CW's overall ratings this season, it's probably just as well that a show this offbeat is airing on a network that's likely to let it ride. Despite the low ratings, Aliens in America has had generally good media buzz, which should help keep it around. I like the show, and I especially like the
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On tonight's Everybody Hates Chris (8 pm/ET, CW), Chris Rock, playing a guidance counselor, asks his student, "What do you want to do when you get out of school?" Not an unfair question, right? But if you can't hear the vague menace behind the concern, then you've never been an unfocused, troubled kid. And you've definitely never been Chris Rock.
The comic turned sitcom producer, whose rocky school days inspired the semiautobiographical Everybody Hates Chris, makes his first-ever guest appearance on the CW series. Rock is Mr. Abbott, the counselor assigned to Chris (Tyler James Williams) after the kid all but blows his eighth-grade exams. Actually, Mr. Abbott is more of a misguidance counselor. Jaded, disinterested and a bit prejudice
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On Wednesday night, CW's top-rated series, America's Next Top Model, showed double-digit growth last season and was the No. 1 show in its time slot with women 18-34. Next season, America's Next Top Model will stay in its 8-9 pm berth, followed by the new drama Gossip Girl from 9-10 pm. From The O.C. producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, Gossip Girl is based on the best-selling young-adult book series of the same name. The show features an ensemble cast of new and veteran actors, including Blake Lively (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) and Leighton Meester (Surface), and chronicles the struggle for social supremacy among teens in a posh Manhattan prep school. The fun, sexy and dramatic hour is a perfect companion piece for Top Model's strong female audience, making Wednesday "Girls Night In" on The CW. On Thursday — television's most competitive night — Smallville and Supernatural deliver a solid mix of male and female viewers. On Friday, the wildly popular ...
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