Ed McMahon 1923-2009
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Ed McMahon
McMahon in November 2005
Born Edward Leo Peter McMahon, Jr.
March 6, 1923(1923-03-06)
Los Angeles, California, USA
Died June 23, 2009
March 6, 1923 (aged -86)
Other name(s) Ed McMahon
Occupation Comedian, game show host, announcer and spokesman
Spouse(s) Pam Hurn (22 February 1992 - present)
Victoria Valentine (6 March 1976 - 1989) (divorced) 1 child
Alyce Ferrill (5 July 1949 - 1976) (divorced) 4 children
Official website
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 cohosts the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. He has
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 has 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."[1]
Contents [hide]
1 Early years
1.1 Military service
2 Entertainment career
2.1 The Tonight Show
2.2 Star Search
2.3 Other roles
3 Personal life
3.1 Health problems
3.2 Financial problems
4 Trivia
5 Books
6 References
7 External links
[edit] Early years
McMahon was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Eleanor (née
Russell) and Edward Leon McMahon, who was a fund-raiser and
entertainer. [2] He was raised in Lowell, Massachusetts. He attended
The 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, and 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 Lowell, Massachusetts,
and he began his television career in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at
WCAU-TV. In the 1950s, he emceed the game shows Missing Links, Snap
Judgment, Concentration and Who Dunnit?,
[edit] Military service
During World War II, McMahon was a United States Marines fighter pilot
and he also served as a flight instructor and test pilot. He was a
decorated pilot and was discharged in 1946, remaining in the reserves.
[3]
After college, McMahon returned to active Marine 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
reserves, 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.[4] 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.[5]
[edit] Entertainment career
[edit] 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.
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 Ed 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Other roles
McMahon at the premiere of Air America, 1990McMahon 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 currently hosts Lifestyles Live, a weekend talk program aired
on the USA Radio Network. He also appears 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[6] and in a Cash for Gold commercial alongside MC Hammer.
McMahon is also the Spokesman for Pride Mobility, a leading power
wheelchair and scooter manufacturer.
[edit] Personal life
McMahon has three daughters and three sons:
Claudia McMahon
Katherine McMahon — born December 2, 1983; currently living in Beverly
Hills, California
Linda McMahon
Jeffrey McMahon
Michael Edward McMahon — born 1951, died of cancer July 28, 1995
Lex McMahon — Pam's biological son that Ed adopted after their
wedding
[edit] 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 cleaning up water
damage from a broken pipe botched the job.
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 accusing 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 for almost a month. He is currently
listed in serious condition and is in the intensive care unit. His
publicist told reporters that he was admitted for pneumonia, but could
not confirm, nor deny reports that McMahon has been diagnosed with
bone cancer. [7]
He died shortly after midnight on Tuesday, June 23, 2009