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CHICAGO (CBS) ― There were many tears Saturday for the man who brought so much laughter as friends and fellow performers remembered Bernie Mac.

Thousands of people gathered at the House of Hope, on the South Side, for a memorial service.

The list of speakers was a Who's Who of top comedians and actors, like Samuel L. Jackson, Cedric the Entertainer, and Steve Harvey, as CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports.

Outside the church, comedian Steve Harvey found that his sorrow was too much for words. And inside, the tears flowed as Harvey and thousands of others remembered Bernie Mac, the man beyond the stage.

"He was a great man, so that's why everybody's here in droves, school buses – everybody's here…old, young, black, white, Latino," said Chicago radio personality Ramonski Luv.

"He knew the streets, and he knew the people, and that's why he is the king of comedy," said Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

"He was kind and warm to all he met. His warmth and spirit is something that will forever remain with me," said Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.

Everyone was there, including a string of celebrities like comedians Chris Rock and Bruce Bruce.

"I met Bernie 21 years ago and we worked together and he just took me up under his wing and just made things happen so it was just straight total love," Bruce Bruce said.

"To me, Bernie was more than a TV uncle. He was a mentor and someone I truly looked up to. He was the embodiment of kindness, professionalism and generosity," said Jeremy Suarez, who played Jordan, Mac's nephew, on television's "The Bernie Mac Show."

"He went from 103rd Street and (Martin Luther) King Drive to Beverly Hills. From the wheel of a Wonder Bread truck to a world of wonder. He had plans to do one more tour, but somebody must have told God that he was good," said Ali Leroi, Mac's longtime joke writer.

"One of the hardest things for a black man is to be an individual. Bernie Mac was a man. He stood alone," said comedian D.L. Hughley.

"Bernie said he always walked alone, we've heard it a thousand times. But I don't think he walked alone. He walked with Jesus," said comedian Steve Harvey.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson encouraged Mac's wife, Rhonda, and her family.

"Today's celebration is a great celebration of Bernie's life," Jackson said. "We'll miss his jokes, but we'll also miss his living style."

"We're just honored for all the people to come out and support him. He certainly will be missed and we just want to thank everybody," said Mac's mother-in-law, Mary Simmons.

The funeral was a homecoming celebration Bernie Mac's friends and loved ones say they'll smile about for years to come.

"Bernie, if you're listening now -- you're still welcome to come to my show," said comedian George Wallace.

While other celebrities at the service included "Ocean's Eleven" co-star Don Cheadle and Kellita Smith, who played Mac's wife on "The Bernie Mac Show," hundreds of mourners had never met Mac -- or met him only long enough to shake his hand, get an autograph or thank him for representing his neighborhood.

"This dude was a very, very popular guy," said Cedric The Entertainer, after scanning the crowd inside the House of Hope megachurch on the city's South Side. "He's still the hottest ticket in town."

The church holds 10,000 and was about two-thirds full.

Mayor Richard Daley recalled that Mac was in his office recently asking how he could help fight violent crime in the city.

"He wanted to help get children away from a life of crime and violence," Daley said in remarks during the service. "That's why he's the king of comedy. He never lost his soul in Chicago."

Mac died Aug. 9 at the age of 50 from what his publicist said were complications from pneumonia. He had been at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital since the middle of July.

Jackson, who co-stars with Mac in the upcoming movie "Soul Men," spoke at the church, saying he knew Mac "was having some health issues, but he always said to me every morning that he was always good." Isaac Hayes, who died Sunday, also stars in the movie and Hayes' music was played during the service.

Jackson observed that Mac didn't mind the loss of privacy that comes with fame.

"He never turned that kid down for an autograph," Jackson said. "He always had time to shake a hand. He was always that kid from Chicago who wanted to make everybody happy and everybody laugh."

The service included the reading of condolence letters from children, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Mac's beloved White Sox baseball team. Mac's comedy routines were played on large video screens with off-color words bleeped.

Outside, traffic was tied up for blocks, vendors sold memorial T-shirts for $10 and Chicago waiter Timothy Strickland manned a makeshift shrine featuring photos, including Mac's 1971 eighth grade basketball team picture. A sign read: "Thank you, Bernie, for showing that good people do come from Englewood."

Mac grew up on the city's South Side in the Woodlawn, and later, Englewood neighborhoods.

His co-stars from the documentary "The Original Kings of Comedy" -- Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric The Entertainer -- took the stage at the church together. The film brought a new generation of black standup comedy stars to a wider audience.

Hughley recalled, during club dates, when he and the others would eagerly await Mac's stage attire each night. He said: "Bernie would wear colors that crayons hadn't even thought of yet."

He said met he Mac in Detroit, but Mac always wanted to talk about Chicago.

"All he talked about was his family and this city," Hughley said. "He loved this city."

The House of Hope Web site says memorial donations can be sent to the Bernie Mac Foundation for research and education on the inflammatory disease sarcoidosis. Mac, who had the disease, started the foundation last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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