Ed McMahon Dead at 86
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James Joyner | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 |
Breaking: Ed McMahon, who gained fame as Johnny Carson’s sidekick on “The Tonight Show,” has died, his representative says.
NBC:
Ed McMahon died at a hospital in Los Angeles this morning, his agent said today.
The 85-year-old TV personality and former “Tonight Show” host died this morning at Ronald Regan UCLA Medical Center, his agent said today.
McMahon, who is best known as Johnny Carson’s sidekick on the late-night show, was hospitalized in February with pneumonia and other illnesses.
Verne Gay, TV Zone:
Ed McMahon, one of the great wingmen in show business history and an essential, elemental and indispensable part of Johnny Carson’s act for over thirty years, died last night. He’d been hospitalized since February for pneumonia, and had been diagnosed with systemic bone cancer. More details as they come. The news was just announced on “The Today Show.” He died at the UCLA Medical Center.
TMZ:
He is best known as Johnny Carson’s sidekick on “The Tonight Show” and his infamous catchphrase, “Heeeeeeeeeeere’s Johnny!”
McMahon also hosted “Star Search” and “TV Bloopers And Practical Jokes” with Dick Clark.
He was a colonel in the United States Marines and a fighter pilot and served during the late 1940s and 1950s.
That’s the first I’ve heard that McMahon was a Marine colonel, much less that his catchphrase was “infamous.” The first, at least, is true, I’ve been able to confirm with multiple sources.
He was a television fixture for much of my life, first as Carson’s sidekick and then as the star of his own shows and eventually as a pitchman for everything from Publisher’s Clearinghouse to insurance.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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