Bernie Mac to quit standup

NEW YORK, March 21 (UPI) -- Comedian Bernie Mac stopped off in New York to chit-chat on CBS' "The Late Show" and drop the bombshell that he's calling it quits as a standup comic.

Mac, 49, said once he gets his performance film "The Whole Truth, Nothing But The Truth, So Help Me Mac" in the theaters, "I'm going to call it," E News said.

He said he's been doing standup in clubs since 1977 and street performances for two years before that, and that was enough.

"I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit," the Chicago native told David Letterman on the Monday night show. "I missed a lot of things, you know."

Mac started in TV in 1992 on Russell Simmons' "Def Comedy Jam" and then moved on to "Mo' Money" with Damon Wayans before landing his own TV series, "The Bernie Mac Show," which lasted five seasons.

His movie credits include "Bad Santa" and "Ocean's Eleven," and a dramatic turn in the upcoming "Pride."

He also wrote two books, "I Ain't Scared Of You " and "Maybe You Never Cry Again."