Cedric The Entertainer: 'Mac Had No Plans To Retire'

American comedian CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER denies late pal BERNIE MAC wanted to retire - insisting he planned to produce more movies.

Mac - who died on Saturday (09Aug08) after a battle with pneumonia - told David Letterman's Late Show last year (07) he would retire after shooting The Whole Truth, Nothing but the Truth, So Help Me Mac.

But comic Cedric The Entertainer reveals Mac was keen to return to TV after previously starring in The Bernie Mac Show and teen comedy Moesha.

Speaking to talk show host Larry King as part of a special Tribute to Bernie Mac show, he says, "I had spoken with him probably in the last, you know, maybe about the last three weeks. And he was definitely talking about producing some more movies. And he planned on producing some other movies. He had even looked at doing television again."

Fellow comedian Steve Harvey adds, "Bernie was too big out there. He was too big on stage. For Bernie Mac not to tell jokes again, not to stand on the stage with a microphone, a bar stool, a spotlight and a bottle of water, I can't even see that, you know?"