Steve Harvey And The Original Kings Of Comedy Honor Bernie Mac

Several of Bernie Mac's closest colleagues and loved ones were moved to tears as they paid homage to the iconic late comedian on the "Steve Harvey Show."

Popular comics Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley - who made up the Original Kings of Comedy troupe with Mac - came together on the daytime talk show Monday to commemorate the life of their longtime friend, who died in 2008.

The episode took an especially emotional turn when Harvey turned to the video screen to introduce fellow funnyman Mike Epps, who was at Mac's alma mater - Chicago Vocational High School - to announce they were renaming the auditorium after him.

"Bernie Mac paved the way for a lot of great comedians like myself, and it's a great time to honor this man," he told the audience in Chicago, which featured some of Mac's old classmates.

They then unveiled a banner that read "Bernie Mac Auditorium," which earned a huge smile from Mac's high school sweetheart Rhonda, who was in Harvey's audience, and their daughter Je'Niece.

Rhonda then choked back tears as she thanked them for the kind gesture.

"I'm so touched, I'm so honored, and I'm always amazed at the outpouring of love people still have for him," she told Harvey and the crowd. "It just warms my heart that they remember him and love him the way that they do."

Her passionate speech left several men onstage, including Harvey, in tears.

Harvey then read a letter from the city of Chicago, in which Mayor Rahm Emanuel dubbed Nov. 14 "Bernie Mac Day" in the Windy City.

Mac passed away after a lengthy battle with sarcoidosis, a disease that leads to inflammation within a person's body tissue.

The 2000 film "The Original Kings of Comedy" centered on the comedy routines of Mac, Harvey, Hughley and Cedric the Entertainer, earning a considerable acclaims and leading to multiple spinoffs.

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