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. 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. 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 Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

where he would meet

Tracy Morgan Tracy Jamal Morgan (born November 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor best known for his television work as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1996–2003) and for his role as Tracy Jordan in the sitcom ''30 Rock'' (2006 ...

. When Morgan later joined the cast of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'', McNair would often write sketches and material for the show in a freelance capacity. 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.

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." 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."

Death

On June 7, 2014, McNair was killed at the age of 62 in a six-vehicle accident in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. McNair was a passenger in a

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pr ...

traveling northbound, north of

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.New Jersey Turnpike, just after 1:00 AM EDT, when the limo bus was struck from behind by a

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

-operated tractor-trailer, causing a chain reaction crash. The group was returning from a show at the

Dover Downs Hotel & Casino Bally's Dover Casino Resort, formerly Dover Downs, is a hotel, casino, and racetrack complex in Dover, Delaware. It has a harness horse racing track, which is surrounded by Dover Motor Speedway, a concrete track used for NASCAR motor racing ...

in Dover, Delaware. Three others, Ardie Fuqua, Jeffrey Millea, and actor/comedian

, were injured in the crash. 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. He was buried at Hillside Cemetery in

Cortlandt Manor Cortlandt Manor is a hamlet located in the Town of Cortlandt in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. Cortlandt Manor is situated directly east, north and south of Peekskill, and east of three sections of the Town of Cortlandt, ...

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

, New York.''The Examiner''
/ref>

References

External links

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James McNair
At Find A Grave {{DEFAULTSORT:McNair, James 1952 births 2014 deaths African-American activists 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male writers 20th-century Baptists 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male writers 21st-century Baptists Activists from New York (state) African-American male comedians African-American screenwriters African-American stand-up comedians American stand-up comedians American comedy writers American male comedians American male screenwriters American social activists American television writers Baptists from New York (state) Baptist writers Burials in New York (state) Charity fundraisers (people) Comedians from New York (state) People from Peekskill, New York Philanthropists from New York (state) Road incident deaths in New Jersey Screenwriters from New York (state) Talent managers Writers from New York (state) 20th-century American writers African-American male writers