Ed McMahon dies at 86
(CNN)
– Ed McMahon, the longtime pitchman and Johnny Carson sidekick whose "Heeeeeeerre's Johnny!" became a part of the vernacular, has died.
Ed McMahon had suffered several health problems in recent years.
McMahon passed away peacefully shortly after midnight at the Ronald Reagan/UCLA Medical Center, his publicist, Howard Bragman, said Tuesday
McMahon, 86, was hospitalized in February with pneumonia and other medical problems.
He had suffered a number of health problems in recent years, including a neck injury caused by a 2007 fall. In 2002, he sued various insurance companies and contractors over mold in his house and later collected a $7 million settlement.
Though he later hosted a variety of shows — including "Star Search" and "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes," McMahon's biggest fame came alongside Carson on "
The Tonight Show
," which Carson hosted from 1962 to 1992. The two met not long after Carson began hosting the game show "Who Do You Trust?" in 1957.
iReport.com: Share your memories of Ed McMahon
"Johnny didn't look as if he was dying to see me,"
McMahon
, who was hosting a show on a Philadelphia TV station, told People magazine in 1980 about the pair's first meeting. "He was standing with his back to the door, staring at a couple of workmen putting letters on a theater marquee. I walked over and stood beside him. Finally the two guys finished, and Johnny asked, 'What have you been doing?' I told him. He said, 'Good to meet you, Ed,' shook my hand, and I was out of the office. The whole meeting was about as exciting as watching a traffic light change."
Watch McMahon discuss meeting Johnny Carson »
Though McMahon was surprised to be offered the job as Carson's sidekick, the two soon proved to have a strong chemistry.
Carson
was, by nature, introverted and dry-witted; McMahon was the boisterous and outgoing second banana, content to give Carson straight lines or laugh uproariously at his jokes (a characteristic much-parodied by comedians).
Watch Comedian Joan Rivers recall McMahon »
Carson made cracks about McMahon's weight, his drinking and the men's trouble with divorce. McMahon was married three times; Carson, who died in 2005, had four wives.
McMahon was also the show's designated pitchman, a talent he honed to perfection during "Tonight's" 30-year run with Carson, even if sometimes the in-show commercial spots fell flat.
For one of the show's regular sponsors, Alpo dog food, McMahon usually extolled the virtues of the product while a dog eagerly gobbled down a bowl. But one day the show's regular dog wasn't available, and the substitute pooch wasn't very hungry.
McMahon recalled the incident in his 1998 memoir, "For Laughing Out Loud."
"Then I saw Johnny come into my little commercial area. He got down on his hands and knees and came over to me. … I started to pet Johnny. Nice boss, I was thinking as I pet him on the head, nice boss. By this point the audience was hysterical. … I just kept going. I was going to get my commercial done.
'The next time you're looking at the canned dog food …' — he rubbed his cheek against my leg — … reach for the can that contains real beef.' Johnny got up on his knees and started begging for more. I started petting him again … and then he licked my hand."
McMahon also promoted Budweiser, American Family Insurance and — during the most recent Super Bowl — Cash4Gold.com. Entertainment Weekly named him No. 1 on its list of TV's greatest sidekicks.
Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan, on March 6, 1923. His father was a promoter, and McMahon remembered moving a lot during his childhood.
"I changed towns more often than a pickpocket," McMahon told People.
He later joined the Marines and served in World War II and Korea.
Though McMahon was well-rewarded by NBC — the 1980 People article listed his salary between $600,000 and $1 million — his divorces and some poor investments took their toll. In June 2008, The Wall Street Journal reported that McMahon was $644,000 in arrears on a $4.8 million loan for a home in Beverly Hills, California, and his lender had filed a notice of default.
McMahon and his wife, Pamela, told CNN's Larry King that McMahon had gotten caught in a spate of financial problems.
"If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens. And it can happen. You know, a couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that," said McMahon, who added that he hadn't worked much since the neck injury.
McMahon later struck a deal that allowed him to stay in the house.
He is survived by his wife, Pamela, and five children. A sixth child, McMahon's son Michael, died in 1995.
