James McNair

{{short description|Comedian and writer from Peekskill, New York}}

{{Infobox person

| name = James McNair

| image = James McNair.jpg

| alt = McNair smiling

| caption = McNair in the 2010s

| birth_date = October 1, 1951

| birth_place = Peekskill, New York, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2014|6|7|1952|5|9}}

| death_place = Cranbury, New Jersey, U.S.

| education =

| occupation = {{hlist|Comedian|writer}}

| spouse = Deneen

| children = 2

| alias = {{Plainlist|

Jimmy Mack
Uncle Jimmy Mack}}

}}

James McNair (October 1, 1951 – June 7, 2014), known by his stage names Jimmy Mack and Uncle Jimmy Mack, was an American comedian and writer.

Career

Early in his career, McNair worked a number of jobs, including caseworker at a homeless shelter. He also worked to help those in his neighborhood, holding frequent fundraisers and serving food at a local Salvation Army shelter.{{cite news|title=James McNair Dies: Comedian Killed In Crash With Tracy Morgan Mourned|url=http://www.inquisitr.com/1288154/james-mcnair-dies-comedian-killed-in-crash-with-tracy-morgan-mourned|work=Inquisitr|accessdate=June 8, 2014|date=June 7, 2014}} The Peekskill, N.Y., native was well known in his community where he was often seen volunteering at his local church or playing host to The Original Uncle Jimmy Mack's Amateur Hour, a recurring fundraising event that helped to showcase local comedic talent.{{cite magazine |author1=Mia McNiece |title=Uncle Jimmy Mack Dies in Car Accident That Sent Tracy Morgan to Hospital |url=http://www.people.com/article/comedian-uncle-jimmy-mack-dies-tracy-morgan-accident |magazine=People Magazine |date=June 8, 2014}}

McNair left the construction industry to pursue comedy, an effort that was grueling and paid little; but did put him in touch with other aspiring entertainers at, among other places, the Uptown Comedy Club in Harlem where he would meet Tracy Morgan.{{cite web |title=Peekskill's James McNair, Tracy Morgan's friend, mourned |url=http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2014/06/07/peekskills-james-mcnair-tracy-morgan-friend-mourned/10183043/ |publisher=Gannett |accessdate=June 8, 2014 |date=June 7, 2014}} When Morgan later joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, McNair would often write sketches and material for the show in a freelance capacity.{{cite web |title=Remembering "Jimmy Mack" James McNair |url=http://thecomicscomic.com/2014/06/16/remembering-jimmy-mack-james-mcnair/ |publisher=The Comic's Comic |accessdate=July 5, 2014 |date=June 16, 2014}} He was traveling with the comedy troupe the night of his death to aid with the writing for Morgan's "Turn it Funny" comedy stand-up tour.{{cite web |title=Actor Tracy Morgan in ICU After Crash |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/actor-tracy-morgan-icu-after-crash-n125181 |publisher=NBC |accessdate=June 7, 2014 |date=June 7, 2014}}

Mentorship

According to the New York Daily News, McNair was a close friend and mentor to Morgan. Morgan's former wife, Sabina Morgan, noted that the two "were very close," calling McNair "...one of the first comedians that took Tracy under his wing."{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/tracy-morgan-critically-injured-new-jersey-crash-article-1.1820672 |title=Tracy Morgan critically injured in New Jersey crash allegedly caused by truck driver now charged with death by auto |work=NY Daily News |date=June 7, 2014 |accessdate=June 11, 2014}}

Royale Watkins, a fellow comedian and contemporary of both McNair and Morgan, said in an interview, "There may be guys like Tracy who get the fame and notoriety, but you have people like Jimmy Mack who have kind of energized and fueled cats like Tracy and kept them going on the road." {{cite news |title=Tracy Morgan, 2 others still in critical condition after crash |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/tracy-morgan-2-others-still-in-critical-condition-after-crash-1.2668852 |publisher=CBC |accessdate=June 8, 2014 |date=June 8, 2014}}

Death

On June 7, 2014, McNair was killed at the age of 62 in a six-vehicle accident in New Jersey.{{cite magazine |title=James McNair Dead: Comedian Dies at 63 In Tracy Morgan Car Crash |url=http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/james-mcnair-dead-comedian-dies-at-63-in-tracy-morgan-car-crash-201476 |magazine=US Magazine |accessdate=June 8, 2014 |date=June 7, 2014}} McNair was a passenger in a limousine traveling northbound, north of Trenton, New Jersey, on the New Jersey Turnpike, just after 1:00 AM EDT,{{cite news |last=Whitney |first=Erin |title=Comic James 'Jimmy Mack' McNair Dead in Car Accident |date=June 7, 2014 |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/07/james-mcnair-dead_n_5465598.html |work=Huffington Post |accessdate=June 8, 2014 }} when the limo bus was struck from behind by a Walmart-operated tractor-trailer,{{cite web |title=Tracy Morgan injured in car crash told to 'stay strong' – {{resize|Fellow comedians killed, injured in wreck}} |date=June 7, 2014 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-tracy-morgan-car-crash-20140607,0,1945423.story |work=Chicago Tribune |accessdate=June 8, 2014}} causing a chain reaction crash.{{cite news |title=Georgia man charged in wreck that critically injures actor Tracy Morgan |url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/07/showbiz/tracy-morgan-hospitalized/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 |publisher=CNN |accessdate=June 8, 2014 |date=June 8, 2014}} The group was returning from a show at the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Dover, Delaware. Three others, Ardie Fuqua, Jeffrey Millea, and actor/comedian Tracy Morgan, were injured in the crash.{{cite web |last=Amaral |first=Brian |title=Passenger in Tracy Morgan crash: 'It was very traumatic' |date=June 10, 2014 |url=http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2014/06/tracy_morgan_crash_update.html |publisher=New Jersey Local News |accessdate=June 11, 2014}} On July 10, 2014, Morgan and the other two passengers filed a lawsuit against Walmart, alleging the driver of the firm's tractor-trailer had not slept for 24 hours before the crash.{{cite news|title=Tracy Morgan sues Walmart over New Jersey turnpike crash|url=http://www.newyorkstatesman.com/index.php/sid/223750105/scat/3a8a80d6f705f8cc/ht/Tracy-Morgan-sues-Walmart-over-New-Jersey-turnpike-crash|accessdate=13 July 2014|publisher=New York Statesman|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714234430/http://www.newyorkstatesman.com/index.php/sid/223750105/scat/3a8a80d6f705f8cc/ht/Tracy-Morgan-sues-Walmart-over-New-Jersey-turnpike-crash|archive-date=July 14, 2014|url-status=dead}}

He was buried at Hillside Cemetery in Cortlandt Manor, Westchester County, New York.[https://www.theexaminernews.com/hundreds-celebrate-life-of-james-jimmy-mack-mcnair/ The Examiner]

References

External links

{{cite web |title=Uncle Jimmy Mack's – Hood to the Good Part 1 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m02hYa68iVQ |publisher=YouTube |date=January 14, 2010}}
[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/137108055/jimmy-mack James McNair] At Find A Grave

Category:1952 births

Category:2014 deaths

Category:African-American activists

Category:20th-century American comedians

Category:20th-century American male writers

Category:20th-century Baptists

Category:20th-century American philanthropists

Category:21st-century American comedians

Category:21st-century American male writers

Category:21st-century Baptists

Category:Activists from New York (state)

Category:African-American male comedians