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More than 6,000 fans, friends, family members and famous colleagues of comedian Bernie Mac gathered at Chicago's House of Hope megachurch Saturday to mourn his passing.
With traffic outside of the South Side venue tied up for blocks, and vendors on hand selling memorial T-shirts for $10 a pop outside, fellow comedian Cedric the Entertainer cracked that Mac was "still the hottest ticket in town."
The service included the reading of condolence letters from children; from Democratic presidential candidate and Illinois senator Barack Obama; and from Mac's hometown White Sox baseball team. Also, Mac's comedy bits were played on large video screens with off-color words bleeped out, reports the Associated Press.
Mayor Richard Daley said Mac had visited his office recently inquiring about ways to help curb violence in the city.
"He wanted to help get children away from a life of crime and violence," Daley said during the service. "That's why he's the king of comedy. He never lost his soul in Chicago."
Samuel L. Jackson, who co-stars with Mac in the upcoming movie "Soul Men," spoke at the service, saying he knew Mac "was having some health issues, but he always said to me every morning that he was always good."
Jackson also said Mac always made time for his fans. "He never turned that kid down for an autograph," Jackson said. "He always had time to shake a hand. He was always that kid from Chicago who wanted to make everybody happy and everybody laugh."
The music of Isaac Hayes, who died the day after Mac, and co-starred in "Soul Men," played during the service.
Cedric The Entertainer, Steve Harvey and D.L. Hughley, co-stars with Mac in the documentary "The Original Kings of Comedy," took the stage together to remember their fellow comic. Hughley told the crowd that he and others always looked forward to seeing Mac's stage attire each night during the famed comedy tour. He said: "Bernie would wear colors that crayons hadn't even thought of yet."
Mac died Aug. 9 at age 50 of what his publicist said were complications from pneumonia. He had been at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital since the middle of July.
