Comedian Bernie Mac hospitalized for pneumonia

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian Bernie Mac has been hospitalized for pneumonia in Chicago but is expected to be released soon, his publicist said on Friday.

Mac, 50, suffered from sarcoidosis, a tissue inflammation, but his publicist, Danica Smith, said his illness has been in remission since 2005 and the bout of pneumonia is unrelated.

"Mr. Mac is responding well to treatment and will be released soon," Smith said in a statement.

"He asked that his privacy and that of his family is respected while he gets well," she said.

Mac, a comedian who has always stayed close to his native Chicago, starred last year in the films "Ocean's Thirteen" and "Transformers," and in "The Bernie Mac Show" on the U.S. television network Fox from 2001 to 2006.

Mac was nominated for two Emmys and two Golden Globes for his performances in "The Bernie Mac Show."

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; editing by Bob Tourtellotte)