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Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday — all this past week, V-103's Wanda Smith was telling listeners that the rumors about comedian Bernie Mac's passing weren't true.

Then Saturday morning her co-announcer Frank Ski called her at home and told her it had actually happened. Born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, the popular 50-year-old comedian died at a hospital in his hometown of Chicago, from complications due to pneumonia.

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Bernie Mac died Saturday at a hospital in his hometown of Chicago, from complications due to pneumonia.
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Bernie Mac (with Camille Winbush) drew critical and popular acclaim with "The Bernie Mac Show," including a 2002 Peabody Award.
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Bernie Mac used his success as c"Head of State."omedian to break into film roles, including starring opposite Chris Rock in
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RELATED LINKS: • Bernie Mac dies at age 50 | Video | Guestbook • Family expected comedian to pull through • Blog: A true comedian • Photos: His career

And on Saturday afternoon, Smith was in the station putting together a radio montage in tribute of the movie and television star, whom she'd known since 1992. She met Bernie Mac when she was hosting a comedy show in her native Miami, before he was famous, she said.

He once introduced her in Chicago as "dirty" and "raw," "but she's going to bring it to you real."

"Then he told me, 'Now go out there and kick [expletive],' " Smith recalled with a laugh. "And I did. And afterwards he gave me his approval; his thumbs-up. And him doing that helped give me the courage to take my comedy to the next level. He was one of the greats."

Smith and others reacted Saturday afternoon to the news of Bernie Mac's death.

Atlanta resident and radio host Steve Harvey worked with Bernie Mac for four years on the groundbreaking, hugely successful "Kings of Comedy" tour. He said the quartet (which also included D.L. Hughley and Cedric the Entertainer) earlier this year had talked about a 10-year reunion tour, but Bernie Mac wasn't up for it, healthwise.

"I am just numb," Harvey said Saturday after doing a succession of interviews to CNN and other media while in Chicago. On the tour, "B Mac killed every night. Every night! He would close the show. He was the go-to guy."

His best memory of Bernie Mac on the tour? "At the end, he'd take off his handkerchief, wipe the sweat off his brow, throw it in the audience and open his arms wide open," Harvey said. "That is the image I'll always remember."

Harvey plans to spend his entire syndicated show, which airs mornings in Atlanta on Grown Folks 102.5, sharing memories with listeners about Bernie Mac. "Right now," he said, "I'm flying back to Atlanta and I'm going to hug my family."

Fellow comedian and radio personality A.D. "Griff" Griffin, of Hot-107.9's A-Team Morning Show, said "I tried to make myself cry when I heard the news today."

After all, Griff had opened for Bernie Mac and the fellow Kings of Comedy when they performed record-breaking shows at Philips Arena and the Georgia Dome. "And he was always real cool," Griffin said. "Always the same way. He would chop it up with the new cats like me, made us laugh, and encourage us to keep it coming.

"But I couldn't bring a tear to my eyes because, you know, as comedians, we bring life to everybody else. We're everybody else's medicine. And he did his job well. So I told my kids this morning, 'Jesus Christ is cracking up as we speak. Right now he is in heaven rolling!' "

Griffin added that he was certain he would show appreciation for Bernie Mac on Wednesday, at his weekly "Notes & Jokes" with Mr. Jonz, at Back Stage in College Park. And early Saturday Uptown Comedy Corner owner Gary Abdo plans a tribute there on Friday, when V-103's Smith hosts at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

"When I met [Bernie Mac] he was well past the comedy club stage," Abdo said. "But he wasn't a heady person — which is rare for people in this business at that level. He was very humble ... And he had a huge impact on the business. He made these studios realize that funny is funny. And funny sells."

Comedian and V-103 radio personality Ryan Cameron said "for a lot of us, he was like our Robin Harris."

"He was so true. Like, so many comedians today are storytellers; they talk about life experiences. He was a joke teller. Vintage. Old school," said Cameron, who also shared the stage with Bernie Mac at the Georgia Dome, as well as the Atlanta Civic Center.

"People say the notoriety, the fame and especially the money, changes individuals. But it never seemed to phase him," said Cameron. "I remember him saying he was glad he achieved his success later in life. Like, 'I'm glad this happened now, and not when I was 21.' But man, it still seems like he is gone too soon. Too young."

— AJC staff writer Rodney Ho contributed to this article.