The comedy field suffered a huge loss today upon the passing of popular standup comic and actor Bernie Mac.

Born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough and a native of Chicago’s South Side, the 50-year-old entertainer died from complications related to pneumonia at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in his hometown. His death came two weeks after his hospitalization on July 24 (not August 1, as widely misreported) for the illness and the numerous rumors about his health that began spreading at the beginning of August.

Mac first became well-known to the masses through his collaboration with fellow comedians Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey, and D.L. Hughley, who were collectively the Original Kings of Comedy in the standup comedy film of the same name. The tagline for the project was “We Got Jokes,” and did they ever, to the tune of almost $40 million raked in at the box office after the comedy showcase’s 2000 release.

Although Mac starred in numerous feature films — Ocean’s Eleven and its two sequels, Mr 3000, and Bad Santa, just to name a few — he’ll probably always be best remembered for his hit Fox sitcom The Bernie Mac Show. Mac’s immense talent allowed him to transform a basic family comedy into a show that resonated with a diverse range of people from all walks of life.

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And to complement all the photos of Comedy Central’s recent roast of Bob Saget, the network has released a bunch of preview videos recorded during the event.

Take a look after the jump at a handful of selections featuring Saget himself, as well as Greg Giraldo, Cloris Leachman, and Jeffrey Ross. Leachman is a particularly huge hoot, in a Sarah Silverman way, which helps explain that kiss.

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At the end of June, Comedy Central announced that Full House, America’s Funniest Home Videos, and How I Met Your Mother comedian Bob Saget would be getting roasted.

The special event, formally titled the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget, was taped on the Warner Brothers Lot last Sunday, August 3, in Burbank, California. Although the resulting 90-minute presentation won’t air until August 17 at 10pm EST, that doesn’t mean fans can’t enjoy photos of what happened right now.

Follow the jump to see Saget and his roasters — fellow funny people Susie Essman, Greg Giraldo, Gilbert Gottfried, Cloris Leachman, Norm MacDonald, Jim Norton, Brian Posehn, and Jeffrey Ross — during the occasion. It looks like a great time was had by all, especially Leachman and Saget’s former Full House co-star John Stamos, who plants a major smooch on the icon’s lips.

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Well, I can’t think of a better way to end this Blog Off than with a little standup from Lewis Black. The comedian stopped by Late Night with Conan O’Brien on June 5 to promote his new book Me of Little Faith. But before he took to the couch, he treated the audience and viewers to a hysterical comedy routine that was relatively clean.

Take a look at the following clip of Black’s appearance to learn things like why it’s not so good for U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama to be so full of hope and the high cost of using corn for fuel. No wonder Comedy Central hurried up and renewed his series Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil for a second season last month — Black is the real deal when it comes to funny.

NOTE: If you require closed captions, you can enable that feature on the video player by clicking the CC symbol in the top right-hand corner.

Really. The host of The Daily Show, decked out in a sharp suit as usual, was none too thrilled when comedian-actor Adam Sandler showed up wearing ratty shorts and an even rattier T-Shirt to promote his then-recent release You Don’t Mess with the Zohan. After what seems like ten minutes of rebuking and then admissions about stealing jeans off the movie set, the conversation finally moves on to the movie.

Stewart has no problem telling Sandler to his face that he usually doesn’t care for his flicks — can’t fault him for that, can we? — but he happened to enjoy Zohan. Sandler’s mother is a different story, however. Check out the interview clip below to see why.

NOTE: If you require closed captions, you can enable that feature on the video player by clicking the CC symbol in the top right-hand corner.

I know, I know — Kung Fu Panda opened a couple of weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean the interviews star Jack Black went on aren’t still entertaining.

That was definitely the case when he dropped by the New York City studio of Live with Regis and Kelly earlier this month, where he started the conversation by describing his second son, born just days before, as looking like an alien. The discussion only got more offbeat from there, with Black even taking the time to demonstrate a so-called Spinning Panda Barrel Roll.

Check out the two-part chat below.

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That’s right — Mike Myers, yet another Saturday Night Live icon, killed the crowd with laughter when he appeared on Conan O’Brien’s Late Night talk show mere hours ago.

I’d forgotten how funny Myers is since it’s been awhile since I’ve seen him on the chat circuit. He’s making the rounds now in support of his flick The Love Guru, which is probably already screening at a nearby theater if you reside in the United States.

From the very first conversation about a wild night on the road and dinner with Deepak Chopra, Myers had the crowd in stitches. You, too, can share in those very special moments by watching the following pair of clips.

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Saturday Night Live icon Chevy Chase stopped by the daytime talk show The View recently to chat about deep stuff, such as nostalgia and regret. Seriously.

The ladies asked questions like does he regret turning down certain roles in response to Chase’s claim that he intentionally pursued only family-friendly projects until his three daughters, all now in college, reached a certain age. He says his reason was because he didn’t want to be responsible for causing them to grow up with any type of aberrations, which is actually a nice goal for an entertainer to have. If only a few more followed his example.

While not necessarily as funny as you’d expect an interview with a famous comedian to be, the segment does reveal some things about Chase, including how much he loves his wife of 28 years and his three daughters.

All together now: “Awww!”

Take a look at the clip below.

NOTE: If you require closed captions, you can enable that feature on the video player by clicking the CC symbol in the top right-hand corner.

NBC is releasing a comic-book version of the hit spy dramedy Chuck and TV Guide has a first look at five pages from it.

The network reportedly plans to give lead character Chuck Bartowski a little room to broaden his horizons in the print series. As a result, the reluctant government spy with a computer in his brain will travel the world instead of remaining homebound in California and at his Buy More job. Locations mentioned for global Chuck adventures in the comic books include Tokyo, Rio, and Moscow.

Representatives liken the plot to a James Bond caper, which could be fun if done properly. Fans who follow the comics can also look forward to learning more about Chuck and his best friend Morgan when they were kids since the series will include flashbacks to their earlier days, as well as a look at events when Chuck and Bryce were college students and when Bryce and Sarah were partners.

And if that’s not enough, co-writer Peter Johnson — also part of the writing team for The CW’s comic-book adaptation of Supernatural called Supernatural: Rising Son — indicates there will even be Lost-style flash-forwards to give readers an idea of what could have happened if Bryce and Sarah had ended up getting married. It sounds to me like the comics are going to be better than the actual TV show!

The comic book series will have a total of six issues, one partly written by series star Zachary Levi, and will be produced by WildStorm, a DC Comics imprint. Head over to TV Guide for a preview of five pages before the June 11 release date for the first issue. They look a bit on the ordinary side to me, but perhaps the complete books will have a different, better cumulative effect.

After the family sitcom The Bill Engvall Show premiered on cable’s TBS in July 2007, the network and the comedy’s cast and crew were no doubt thrilled about the popularity it quickly gained. The series is heading our way again this summer for a highly anticipated second season that starts on June 12, just a few weeks after the DVD set for the first season is released on May 20.

Comedy Centric recently received the opportunity to interview series star Bill Engvall, whom most fans probably know best through his standup comedy work and membership in the famed Blue Collar Comedy group. As the following Q&A reveals, the comedian-actor is understandably proud of his current TV show, especially its appeal to different age groups.

Read on to learn what’s happening with Engvall and his self-titled series, which also stars Nancy Travis (Becker, Almost Perfect), Jennifer Lawrence, Graham Patrick Martin, and Skyler Gisondo as his TV family, in addition to Steve Hytner (Roswell, Seinfeld) and Tim Meadows (Saturday Night Live) as his friends. There’s also an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip for the sitcom at the end.

You’re coming up now to Season Two of The Bill Engvall Show, which you co-created. How has the show evolved since it started?

Bill Engvall: Well, I think it’s longer and more refined. I think if you have a show for a while, it grows to be more in tune with what you want to do. We’ve taped three episodes so far, and they’ve been great.

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