He gained popularity as a comedian and won the 2002 Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy for The Bernie Mac Show .
Born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, he worked as a furniture mover and a UPS agent while in his 20s.
He teamed up with Steve Harvey , D.L. Hughley , and Cedrick the Entertainer to film The Original Kings of Comedy in 2000.
He was raised by a single mother, Mary, who died of cancer when he was 16 years old. He married Rhonda McCullough in 1977 and they had a child named Je'neice McCullough together.
He provided the voice of Zuba in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa alongside Ben Stiller .
