Late comedian Bernie Mac signalled 'he was too tired to survive'

New York, Aug 12 : Late comedian Bernie Mac's wife pleaded her dying husband not to go, but the entertainer signalled that he was too tired to survive, according to reports.

The comic, real name Bernard McCullough, died on Aug 9 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois from complications from pneumonia.

Mary Ann Grossett, Mac's sister in law, said that her sister Rhonda McCullough begged the 'Ocean's Eleven' star, saying "Don't leave me....I'm waiting for you to come back."

However, Mac could only shrug his shoulders, communicating to his wife and daughter that the end was near.

"She said that's when she knew he was tired. He signalled to her that his body was tired," The New York Post quoted Grossett, as saying.

He also said that Mac's immune system had been compromised by a previous bout of sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease.

Mac's 30-year-old daughter, Je'Niece Childress, said they were expecting him to recover when he first fell ill in mid-July.

"But as the weeks went on, I kind of knew," said Childress.

She said that her only regret is that her 1-year-old daughter will never know how much her grandpa loved her.

"He was a hard man and he made no apologies for that. When it came to me and my mother and my daughter, he was the softest," said Childress.

Mac's publicist said that a memorial service will be held for him on Saturday at The House of Hope in Chicago.

ANI