Tragic news from the world of comedy this morning. Bernie Mac died today at the age of only 50. Yahoo reports:

Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital," his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles.

"The most unfair thing about life is the way it ends. I mean, life is tough. It takes up a lot of your time. What do you get at the end of it? A Death! What's that, a bonus? I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, get it out of the way. Then you live in an old age home. You get kicked out when you're too young, you get a gold watch, you go to work. You work forty years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement. You do drugs, alcohol, you party, you get ready for high school. You go to grade school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a little baby, you go back into the womb, you spend your last nine months floating...and you finish off as an orgasm! "
- George Carlin

Actor Heath Ledger has died in NYC. Ledger was found in bed at his Soho apartment. TMZ reports:

He was found dead in his bed in one of his residences in Soho by his housekeeper at 3:35 PM ET today. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ they believe it was not a crime, adding that prescription pills were found near his body.

According to NYPD a masseuse arrived at Ledger's apartment and was let in by a housekeeper. When Ledger didn't answer his bedroom door, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened it and found him unconscious. They attempted to wake him; when they couldn't, they called 911.

We're told when paramedics responded, the actor was in full cardiac arrest. They attempted to perform CPR on him, but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The NY Times has just updated the story saying Heath was found dead in the apartment of Mary-Kate Olsen and that his death appears to be a suicide.

The actor Heath Ledger was found dead this afternoon in an apartment in Manhattan inhabited by the actress Mary-Kate Olsen, according to the New York City police. Signs pointed to a suicide, police sources said. Mr. Ledger was 28.

Ledger was born in Perth, Western Australia on April 4, 1979.

Ledger received "Best Actor of 2005" awards for Brokeback Mountain from both the New York Film Critics Circle and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. In the same year, Ledger played a fictionalized version of Giacomo Casanova in Casanova.

On July 21, 2006, Ledger was officially confirmed to play iconic comic book villain The Joker in The Dark Knight, the sequel to the 2005 film Batman Begins, opposite fellow I'm Not There star Christian Bale. The film is set to debut on July 18, 2008.
He was filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus at the time of his death.

Ledger had a relationship with Naomi Watts, whom he met in 2002 during the filming of Ned Kelly. They started dating in August 2002. The couple ended their relationship in April 2004. Previously, he had dated actresses Lisa Zane and Heather Graham.

Ledger was engaged to actress Michelle Williams, whom he met on the set of Brokeback Mountain. They have a daughter, Matilda Rose, who was born on October 28, 2005. The child's godparents are Ledger's Brokeback costar Jake Gyllenhaal and Williams' Dawson's Creek castmate Busy Phillips.

[via Wikipedia]

 

Inspiring a generation of people to do insane stunts that result in them being thrown around like spineless rag dolls, Evel Knievel has died at the age of 69.

Knievel's death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for years, suffering from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs

Evel managed to break nearly 40 bones before retiring and was inducted into the Smithsonian Institute as "American's Legendary Daredevil". Pretty cool honor for basically doing crazy stuff and hurting youself as a career choice. Try and top that Steve-O. Classic Evel Knievel video after the jump.


Source

Legendary Los Angeles news anchor Hal Fishman has died. The longest running anchor in TV history, Fishman was a fixture at KLTA since the 1960s. I grew up watching Hal. And despite my categorical disdain for local TV news I thought Hal was a good guy. Watching him anchor the 10 o'clock news followed by Cheers re-runs at 10:30 - those were the days. RIP.

Bob Denver, star of Gilligan's Island died Friday at the age of 70. Denver had been undergoing treatment for cancer and also received a quadruple heart bypass surgery earlier this year. R.I.P. Gillian.

Browse Gilligan's Island DVDs at Amazon

File under Gillian, Bob Denver.