Ed McMahon

Ed McMahon
McMahon in November 2005
Born	Edward Leo Peter McMahon, Jr.
Other names	Ed McMahon
Occupation(s)	Comedian, game show host, announcer and spokesman
Spouse(s)	Pam Hurn (22 February 1992 - 23 June 2009) (his death) Victoria Valentine (6 March 1976 - 1989) (divorced) 1 child Alyce Ferrill (5 July 1949 - 1976) (divorced) 4 children

Edward Leo Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. (March 6, 1923-June 23, 2009) was an American comedian, game show host, announcer, and television personality. Most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's announcer on Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992, and as the host of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995, he later also became well-known as the presenter of American Family Publishers sweepstakes, which arrives unannounced at the homes of winners. He subsequently made a series of Neighborhood Watch Public Service Announcements parodying that role.

McMahon annually co-hosted the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. He performed in numerous television commercials, most notably for Budweiser. In the 1970s and 1980s, he anchored the team of NBC personalities conducting the network's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

McMahon appeared in several films, including The Incident (1967), Fun With Dick and Jane (1977), Full Moon High (1981), and Butterfly (1982), as well as briefly in the film version of Bewitched (2005). According to Entertainment Weekly he is considered one of the "greatest sidekicks".

Early years

McMahon was born in Detroit to Eleanor (née Russell) and Edward Leon McMahon, a fund-raiser and entertainer. He was raised in Lowell, Massachusetts. He attended Catholic University of America, majoring in speech and drama. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949. He was a member of Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. McMahon began his career as a bingo caller in Maine when he was 15.

Prior to this, he worked as a carnival barker for three years in Mexico, Maine. He put himself through college as a pitchman for vegetable slicers on the Atlantic City boardwalk. His first broadcasting job was at WLLH-AM in his native Lowell and he began his television career in Philadelphia at WCAU-TV. In the 1950s, he emceed the game shows Missing Links, Snap Judgment, Concentration and Who Dunnit?.

Military service

During World War II, McMahon was a fighter pilot in the United States Marine Corps serving as a flight instructor and test pilot. He was a decorated pilot and was discharged in 1946, remaining in the reserves.

After college, McMahon returned to active duty. He was sent to Korea in February 1953. He flew unarmed O-1E Bird Dogs on 85 tactical air control and artillery spotting missions. He remained in the Marine Corps Reserve, retiring with the rank of Colonel in 1966 and was then commissioned as a Brigadier General in the California Air National Guard.

Several of his ancestors, including the Marquis d'Equilly, also had long and distinguished military careers. Patrice MacMahon, duc de Magenta was a Marshal of armies in France, serving under Napoleon III, and later President. McMahon once asserted to Johnny Carson that mayonnaise was originally named MacMahonnaise in honor of this ancestor, referring to him as the Comte de MacMahon. In his autobiography, McMahon said that it was his father who told him of this relationship and he went on to suggest that he was not certain of the truth of the story.

Entertainment career

The Tonight Show

McMahon and Johnny Carson first worked together as announcer and host on the daytime game show Who Do You Trust? (1957-1962). McMahon and Carson left to join The Tonight Show in 1962.

He describes what happened when the pair first met, the whole meeting being "about as exciting as watching a traffic light change".

For more than 30 years, McMahon introduced the Tonight Show with a drawn-out "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!" His booming voice and constant laughter alongside the "King of Late Night" earned McMahon the nickname the Human Laugh Track and "Toymaker to the King".

As part of the introductory patter to The Tonight Show, McMahon would state his name out loud, pronouncing it as Ed "Mc MAH yon", but neither long-time cohort Johnny Carson nor anyone else who interviewed him ever seemed to pick up on that subtlety, usually referring to him as Ed "Mc MAN".

The extroverted McMahon served as a counter to the notoriously shy Carson. Nonetheless, McMahon once told an interviewer that after his many decades as an emcee, he would still get "butterflies" in his stomach every time he would walk onto a stage, and would use that nervousness as a source of energy.

Star Search

He was also host of the successful weekly syndicated series Star Search, which began in 1983 and helped launch the careers of numerous actors, singers, choreographers and comedians. He stayed with the show until it ended in 1995, and in 2003, he made a cameo appearance on the revival of the CBS show, hosted by his successor, Arsenio Hall.

Other roles

McMahon at the premiere of Air America, 1990

McMahon and Dick Clark hosted the TV series (later special broadcast) TV Bloopers And Practical Jokes on NBC from 1982 until 1998, when Clark decided to move the production of the series to ABC.

In 2004, he became the announcer and co-host of Alf's Hit Talk Show on TV Land. He has authored two memoirs, Here's Johnny!: My Memories of Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show, and 46 Years of Friendship as well as For Laughing Out Loud.

McMahon hosted Lifestyles Live, a weekend talk program aired on the USA Radio Network. He also appeared in the feature documentary film, Pitch People, the first motion picture to take an in-depth look at the history and evolution of pitching products to the public.

McMahon recently appeared playing a rapper for a FreeCreditReport.com commercial and in a Cash for Gold commercial alongside MC Hammer. McMahon was also the Spokesman for Pride Mobility, a leading power wheelchair and scooter manufacturer.

Personal life

Children

McMahon had three daughters and three sons:

• Claudia McMahon
• Katherine McMahon
• Linda McMahon (married name Linda Schmerge)
• Jeffrey McMahon
• Michael Edward McMahon (died July 28, 1995 from cancer)
• Lex McMahon (stepson; adopted after McMahon married Pam Hurn)

Financial problems

In June 2008, it was announced that McMahon was $644,000 behind on payments on $4.8 million in mortgage loans and was fighting to avoid foreclosure on his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills home. McMahon was also sued by Citibank for $180,000. McMahon appeared on Larry King Live on June 5, 2008 with his wife to talk about this situation. In the interview, McMahon's wife Pam said that people assumed that the McMahons had so much money because of his celebrity status. Pamela McMahon also commented that they do not have "millions" of dollars.

On July 30, 2008, McMahon's financial status suffered another blow. According to Reuters, McMahon failed to pay divorce attorney Norman Solovay $275,168, according to a lawsuit filed in the Manhattan federal court. McMahon and his wife, Pamela, hired Solovay to represent Linda Schmerge, his daughter from another relationship, in a "matrimonial matter," said Solovay's lawyer, Michael Shanker.

On August 14, 2008, real estate mogul Donald Trump announced that he would purchase McMahon's home from Countrywide Financial and lease it to McMahon, so the home would not be foreclosed. McMahon agreed instead to a deal with a private buyer for his hilltop home, said Howard Bragman, McMahon's former spokesman. Bragman declined to name the buyer or the selling price, but he said it is not Trump. "For Mr. Trump, this acquisition was not business-related, but, as he has stated, was meant to help out an American icon," said Michael Cohen, special counsel to Trump. "If another buyer should emerge who will create the benefit Mr. Trump sought for Ed McMahon, then he is clearly pleased." In early September, after the second buyer's offer fell through, Trump renewed his offer to purchase the home.

Health problems

On April 20, 2002, McMahon sued his insurance company for more than $20 million, alleging that he was sickened by toxic mold that spread through his Beverly Hills house after contractors failed to properly clean up water damage from a broken pipe.

McMahon and his wife, Pamela, became ill from the mold, as did members of their household staff, according to the Los Angeles County Superior Court suit. The McMahons also blame the mold for the death of the family dog, Muffin. Their suit, the latest of many in recent years over toxic mold, was filed against American Equity Insurance Co., a pair of insurance adjusters and several environmental cleanup contractors. It seeks monetary damages for alleged breach of contract, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A spokeswoman for the insurance company declined to comment.

On March 21, 2003, the long battle ended with Ed McMahon reaping $7 million from what was later discovered to be several companies who were negligent for allowing mold into his home. Their dog's death was confirmed to be caused by mold.

In March 2008, it was announced McMahon was recovering from a broken neck and two subsequent surgeries. He was injured in 2007 in a fall. He later sued Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and two doctors claiming fraud, battery, elder abuse and emotional distress, and accused them of discharging him with a broken neck after his fall in 2007 and later botching two neck surgeries.

On February 27, 2009 it was reported that McMahon has been in an undisclosed Los Angeles hospital (later confirmed at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center) for almost a month. He was listed in serious condition and was in the intensive care unit. His publicist told reporters that he was admitted for pneumonia, but could not confirm nor deny reports that McMahon had been diagnosed with bone cancer, at the time.

Death

A spokesperson for Ed McMahon has now said he has not died. There was an error of reporting. McMahon is alive and in "good shape", says McMahon's doctor.

References in popular culture

Musical comedy icon "Weird Al" Yankovic wrote a parody of El Debarge's hit "Who's Johnny" entitled "Here's Johnny" about Ed McMahon and his signature catchphrase. It appeared on his 1986 album Polka Party!

Jack Nicholson's character in The Shining famously shouts "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!" while holding an axe and attempting to kill his wife.

Controversial shock jock Howard Stern occasionally plays clips from McMahon's "latest book," which are actually just portions of McMahon's audio books chopped up to make it sound as if McMahon's describing vulgar sex acts with Johnny Carson, Raquel Welch, as well as other celebrities and even children.

Comedian Garry Shandling has stated in interviews that the relationship between fictional talk show host Larry Sanders and his side-kick Hank Kingsley in the hit sitcom The Larry Sanders Show is largely based on the one between McMahon and Carson.

Books

• For Laughing Out Loud: My Life and Good Times (Warner Books, 1998), co-written with David Fisher
• Here's Johnny! My Memories of Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show, and 46 Years of Friendship (Berkley Publishing Group - Penguin Group (USA, Inc.), 2005).
• When Television Was Young (2007).

External links

• Ed McMahon at IMDb
• Online video commemorating his achievements
• Ed McMahon hospitalized in serious condition
• Interview with Ed McMahon
• Ed McMahon's Lifestyles Live radio show
• Ed McMahon Quad Cities Open 1975-1979
• [1]
• 2009 Profile of Ed McMahon
• RIP Ed McMahon
• Obituary by the Associated Press
• Lasting Tribute online obituary (UK)

Preceded by Hugh Downs 1957-1962

The Tonight Show announcer 1962-1992

Succeeded by Edd Hall 1992-2004

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