This time, we've lost two black actors.

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BERNIE MAC: 1957 - 2008
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Bernie Mac was an actor who starred in "The Bernie Mac Show". He was born on October 5, 1957, and died yesterday.

Mac started as a stand-up comedian in Chicago's Cotton Pickin' Club. He won the Miller Lite Comedy Search at the age of 32, at which point his popularity as a comedian began to grow. A performance on HBO's Def Comedy Jam thrust him into the spotlight. He opened for Dionne Warwick, Redd Foxx and Natalie Cole. He also had a short-lived talk show on HBO titled Midnight Mac. Later, Mac also began acting in minor roles and received his big break as "Pastor Clever" in Ice Cube's 1995 film Friday. Following that role, Mac also worked in many other movies and had some television appearances in titles including, Booty Call, How to Be a Player, Life and What's the Worst That Could Happen?. Mac was one of the few African American comedic actors to be able to break out of the traditional "black comedy" genre, having roles in the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven and becoming the new Bosley for the Charlie's Angels sequel, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. In 2003, he also turned in an impressive performance in a small but important role as "Gin, The Store Dick" in, Bad Santa. He also starred in, Guess Who?, a comedic remake of the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. He also made an appearance in the 2007 movie, Transformers, as the car salesman, "Bobby Bolivia." He died of complications of pneumonia at a chicago hospital aged 50.

Rest in peace.
In loving memory of
Bernie Mac
October 5, 1957 - August 9, 2008

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ISAAC HAYES: 1942 - 2008
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We lost one of the greatest soul musicians, Isaac Hayes, who died today at the age of 65.

He was born on August 20, 1942 in Covington, Tennessee.

Alongside his work in popular music, Hayes was a film score composer for motion pictures. His best known work, for the 1971 blaxploitation film Shaft, earned Hayes an Academy Award for Best Original Song (the first Academy Award received by an African-American in a non-acting category) and two Grammy Awards. He received a third Grammy for the album Black Moses.

In 1992, in recognition of his humanitarian work, he was crowned an honorary king of Ghana's Ada district. From 1997 to 2006, he provided the voice for the character "Chef" on the Comedy Central animated TV series South Park.

In the 1970s, Hayes featured in the films Shaft (1971) and Truck Turner (1974); he also had a recurring role in the TV series The Rockford Files as ex-con strongman Gandolph Fitch, including one episode alongside duet-partner Dionne Warwick. In the 1980s and 90s, he appeared in numerous films, notably Escape from New York (1981), I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), Prime Target (1991), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), and Johnny Mnemonic (1995), as well as in episodes of The A-Team and Miami Vice. He also attempted a musical comeback, embracing the style of drum machines and synth for 1986s U-Turn and 1988s Love Attack, though neither proved successful.

On March 20, 2006, Roger Friedman of Fox News reported having been told that the statement was made in Hayes' name, but not by Hayes himself, as he suffered a stroke in January. He wrote: "Isaac Hayes did not quit South Park. My sources say that someone quit it for him. ... Friends in Memphis tell me that Hayes did not issue any statements on his own about South Park. They are mystified." Hayes spokeswoman Amy Harnell denied that Hayes had had a stroke, but on October 26, 2006 Hayes himself confirmed that he did.

Hayes' wife found him on the floor near a treadmill inside his home located just east of Memphis, Tennessee. A Shelby County, Tennessee sheriff's deputy responded to Hayes' home. He was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, where he was pronounced dead at 2:08pm, at the age of 65.

Rest in Peace
In loving memory of
Isaac Hayes
August 20, 1942 - August 10, 2008