(ct) It's a celebration of family and pride, of education and success, but some attending Chicago's Bud Billiken parade said they were left feeling numb in the wake of Bernie Mac's death. "I knew he was sick, but someone that young, you just don't expect the worst," said Chicagoan Patrick Dennan, 48, as he watched a stream of brightly decorated floats cruise down historic Martin Luther King Drive on Saturday afternoon. "His comedy was based on real life, and I think that's what really brought him a lot of respect. He kept things real and he didn't seem to let success go to his head." Born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough on Oct. 5, 1957, in Chicago, Mac grew up on the city's South Side. His publicist said he died Saturday from complications of pneumonia. He had suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005. He recently was hospitalized and treated for pneumonia, which his publicist said was not related to the disease. Johnnie Blair, the president of the Bronzeville Chamber of Commerce, met Mac in the early 1990s at a local nightclub and said he followed with interest Mac's journey on the road to comedic stardom. Blair said though Mac performed with some of the biggest names in show business, he remained true to his South Side roots. "It's major loss to our community," Blair said. "He never forgot where he came from, and I think his comedy reflected that." Velin Stewart, 39, said Mac's success was a "point of civic pride" for Chicagoans, and not just because of his celebrity. That sense of approachability, of humility, is what led Gary Crawford to introduce himself in 2005 to the comedian at a Chicago White Sox game. Crawford, 51, manages a Chicago-based Web site that benefits surviving Negro League baseball players. In 2004, Mac starred in "Mr. 3000," a movie about an aging baseball player who returns to the game to collect his 3,000th hit. "I've seen a lot of celebrities at baseball games and Bernie wasn't like that, meaning he didn't have an entourage," Crawford said. "We talked for several minutes, baseball mostly. He was excited the White Sox seemed to be poised for a pennant run. All in all, just a very down-to-earth guy."

Join BBN for free to post a comment. If you already have an account, please login here to post a comment. You will be returned to this page after logging in.