Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and military pilot. McMahon and Johnny Carson worked together on their first TV show, the ABC game show Who Do You Trust?, from 1958 to 1962. McMahon later became well known for working with Johnny Carson for thirty years as his sidekick and announcer on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from 1962 to 1992.

McMahon also hosted the original version of Star Search from 1983 to 1995. He co-hosted TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes with Dick Clark from 1982 to 1998. He presented sweepstakes for American Family Publishers and annually co-hosted the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon from 1973 to 2008. McMahon also led a team of NBC personalities who covered the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade during the 1970s and 1980s.

McMahon appeared in several films, including The Incident, Fun with Dick and Jane, Full Moon High, and Butterfly. He had a short role in the film version of the TV sitcom Bewitched and performed in many television commercials. According to the staff of Entertainment Weekly, McMahon is listed as the top person on the "50 greatest sidekicks ever" list.

Early years

Ed McMahon was born on March 6, 1923, in Detroit, Michigan, to Edward Leo Peter McMahon Sr. (a fundraiser and entertainer) and Eleanor (née Russell) McMahon. He lived in Lowell, Massachusetts, and often visited his paternal aunt, Mary (Brennan), at her home on Chelmsford Street. McMahon attended Lowell High School at the same time as Jack Kerouac and sometimes shared a beer with him. He worked for three years as a carnival barker in Mexico, Maine, before serving as a fifteen-year-old bingo caller in the state. He paid for college by working as a pitchman for vegetable slicers on the Atlantic City boardwalk. His first broadcasting job was at WLLH-AM in Lowell, and his television career began in Philadelphia at WCAU-TV.

McMahon wanted to become a United States Marine Corps fighter pilot. Before the U.S. entered World War II, the Army and Navy required pilot candidates to complete at least two years of college. McMahon studied at Boston College from 1940 to 1941. On The Howard Stern Show in 2001, he said that after Pearl Harbor was attacked, the college requirement remained in effect, and he still had to finish his two years of college before applying for Marine Corps flight training.

After completing the college requirement, McMahon began primary flight training in Dallas. This was followed by fighter training in Pensacola, where he earned his carrier landing qualifications and was recognized as a Naval Aviator. He worked as a Marine Corps flight instructor in F4U Corsair fighters for two years before being ordered to the Pacific Fleet in 1945. However, the orders were canceled after the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

As an officer in the Marine Corps Reserve, McMahon was called back to active duty during the Korean War. He flew an OE-1 (the original Marine designation for the unarmed single-engine Cessna O-1 Bird Dog) spotter plane, serving as an artillery spotter for Marine artillery batteries and a forward air controller for Navy and Marine fighter bombers. He completed 85 combat missions and earned six Air Medals. After the war, he remained in the Marine Corps Reserve and retired in 1966 as a Colonel. In 1982, McMahon received a state commission as a Brigadier General in the California Air National Guard, an honorary award to recognize his support for the National Guard and Reserves.

After World War II, McMahon studied at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., under the GI Bill and graduated in 1949. He majored in speech and drama while studying under Gilbert Hartke and was a member of the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. After graduation, McMahon led efforts to raise funds for a theater named for Hartke and attended its dedication in 1970 with Helen Hayes and Sidney Poitier. While working as Carson's sidekick on The Tonight Show, McMahon served as president of the national alumni association from 1967 to 1971 and often returned to campus, especially for homecoming. During the university's centennial celebration in 1987, McMahon and Bob Newhart performed. He received an honorary Doctor of Communication Arts degree in 1988.

"I owe so much to CU," McMahon once said. "That's where my career got its start." Today, the Ed McMahon Endowed Scholarship helps outstanding students and provides financial support to juniors and seniors pursuing a bachelor's degree in the Department of Drama or the Department of Media Studies within the School of Arts and Sciences.

Entertainment career

McMahon and Carson first worked together as an announcer and host on the ABC daytime game show Who Do You Trust? The show ran from 1957 to 1962. He described their first meeting as being "about as exciting as watching a traffic light change."

McMahon rejoined Carson for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on October 1, 1962, on NBC. For nearly 30 years, McMahon introduced the show with a drawn-out "Heeeeeeeeere's Johnny!" His booming voice and constant laughter alongside the "King of Late Night" earned McMahon the nickname "Human Laugh Track" and "Toymaker to the King." As part of the show's introduction, McMahon would state his name out loud, pronouncing it as "Mik-may-an," but neither Carson nor others who interviewed him ever noticed that detail, usually saying "Mik-man."

In addition to his co-hosting duties, McMahon hosted the first fifteen minutes of Tonight during the early years of Carson's tenure (when the show ran 105 minutes). This segment did not air nationally. McMahon also served as guest host on at least one occasion, substituting for Carson during a week of programs that aired between July 29 and August 2, 1963, and again for two nights in October 1963. McMahon's outgoing personality balanced Carson's shyness. Despite his experience, McMahon once told an interviewer that he still felt nervous before performing and used that energy to help him focus.

His famous line "Heeere's Johnny!" was used in the 1980 horror film The Shining by the character Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson) as he chased his wife and child with an axe. McMahon did in-program commercials for sponsors of The Tonight Show, including Budweiser beer and Alpo dog food, and also appeared in commercials for these brands on other programs. From 1970 to 1980, he appeared in commercials for American Family Publishers.

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

His long partnership with Anheuser-Busch earned him the nickname "Mr. Budweiser." He used this relationship to bring the company on board as one of the largest donors to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Beginning in 1973, McMahon co-hosted the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, a live annual event held every Labor Day weekend. His 41st and final appearance on the show was in 2008, making him the second person, after Jerry Lewis, to appear the most times. McMahon and Dick Clark hosted the television series TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes on NBC from 1982 to 1993.

In 1967, McMahon had a role in the film The Incident and appeared as Santa Claus on The Mitzi Gaynor Christmas Show. From 1965 to 1969, McMahon served as "communicator" (host) of the Saturday afternoon segment of Monitor, a weekend news, features, and entertainment magazine on the NBC Radio Network. The 1955 movie Dementia, which has music without dialogue, was released as Daughter of Horror in 1970. The newer version, which had a voice over by McMahon, still has music without dialogue but includes narration read by him. McMahon had a supporting role in the original Fun with Dick and Jane in 1977.

He later played himself in "Remote Control Man," a season one episode of Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories. In 2004, McMahon became the announcer and co-host of Alf's Hit Talk Show on TV Land. He authored two memoirs: Here's Johnny!: My Memories of Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show, and 46 Years of Friendship and For Laughing Out Loud. Over the years, he emceed game shows such as Missing Links, Snap Judgment, Concentration, and Whodunnit!.

McMahon also hosted Lifestyles Live, a weekend talk program on the USA Radio Network. He appeared in the feature documentary Pitch People, the first film to explore the history of product pitching. In the early 2000s, McMahon made a series of Neighborhood Watch public service announcements that parodied the surprise appearances he was supposedly known for.

McMahon was originally hired to appear in Happy Gilmore and perform the infamous fight scene with Adam Sandler. However, he changed his mind after learning about the movie's crude humor and was replaced by Bob Barker.

Towards the end of the decade, McMahon took on other endorsement roles, such as playing a rapper in a FreeCreditReport.com commercial and appearing in a Cash4Gold commercial with MC Hammer. He was also the spokesman for Pride Mobility, a manufacturer of power wheelchairs and scooters. His final film appearance was in the independent Jelly, a John Hughes-themed romantic comedy, where he played Mr. Closure alongside actress Natasha Lyonne.

From the 1980s through the 1990s, McMahon was the spokesperson for Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company and American Family Publishers.

Personal life

On July 5, 1945, McMahon married Alyce Ferrell while he was working as a flight instructor in the Marines. The couple had four children: Claudia (born 1946), Michael Edward (1951–1995), Linda, and Jeffrey. They separated in 1972 and divorced in 1974. In 1976, McMahon married Victoria Valentine. The couple adopted a daughter named Katherine Mary in 1985 and divorced in 1989. McMahon paid $50,000 each month for support for his wife and children. On February 22, 1992, McMahon married Pamela "Pam" Hurn, who was 37 years old and had a son named Alex. McMahon’s daughter Katherine was the best person at the wedding. McMahon often spent summers in Avalon, New Jersey.

In June 2008, it was reported that McMahon was behind on payments for $4.8 million in mortgage loans and owed $644,000. He was trying to avoid losing his home in Beverly Hills. He was also sued by Citibank for $180,000. McMahon and his wife, Pam, appeared on a TV show to discuss the situation. Pam said people assumed the McMahons had a lot of money because of McMahon’s fame, but they did not have "millions" of dollars. In July 2008, McMahon failed to pay his divorce attorney, Norman Solovay, $275,168, as stated in a court lawsuit.

In August 2008, Donald Trump announced he would buy McMahon’s home to prevent it from being taken. However, McMahon agreed to sell the home to a private buyer instead of Trump. Later, when this deal failed, Trump offered to buy the home again, but he did not follow through, according to McMahon’s daughter, Claudia.

On April 20, 2002, McMahon sued his insurance company for over $20 million. He claimed toxic mold in his Beverly Hills home made him and his wife sick, and it also killed their dog, Muffin. The mold spread after contractors failed to clean up water damage from a broken pipe. McMahon and his wife, along with their household staff, were affected. The lawsuit was filed against the insurance company, two adjusters, and several cleanup contractors. It claimed they were responsible for the mold and sought money for damages.

In March 2003, McMahon was awarded $7.2 million in a court decision. The money was given to him because several companies were found negligent for allowing toxic mold into his home. In March 2007, McMahon was injured in a fall and later had a broken neck and two surgeries. He sued Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and two doctors, accusing them of fraud, battery, elder abuse, and emotional distress. He claimed they released him with a broken neck and made mistakes during later surgeries.

On February 27, 2009, McMahon was hospitalized at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for nearly a month. He was in serious condition and in the intensive care unit. His publicist said he was admitted for pneumonia but did not confirm or deny reports that he had been diagnosed with bone cancer.

Death

McMahon passed away on June 23, 2009, just after midnight at a hospital in Los Angeles, California. He was 86 years old. His nurse, Julie Koehne, said he died peacefully. The exact cause of death was not officially announced, but his publicist said it was due to the many health issues he had been dealing with in his last few months. McMahon had mentioned that he still experienced pain from a neck injury he had suffered two years earlier. His funeral took place at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills.

Tributes and legacy

On the night McMahon passed away, Conan O'Brien honored him on The Tonight Show. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television on March 20, 1986. In 2010, the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted McMahon into their Hall of Fame after his death.

Books

• Ed McMahon's Barside Companion. World Publishing Company. 1969. ISBN 0671772155. LCCN 70-94527.
• Slimming down (in German). New York: Grosset & Dunlap. 1972. ISBN 0-448-01550-1. OCLC 508303.
• Here's Ed: The Autobiography of Ed McMahon, written with Carroll Carroll (Putnam, 1976). ISBN 0399116915.
• Ed McMahon's Superselling, written by Ed McMahon and Warren Jamison (Prentice Hall Press, 1989). ISBN 0-13-943366-X.
• For Laughing Out Loud: My Life and Good Times (Warner Books, 1998), written with David Fisher. ISBN 0446523704.
• Here's Johnny! My Memories of Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show, and 46 Years of Friendship (Berkley Publishing Group – Penguin Group, 2005). ISBN 0425212297.
• Backstage at the Tonight Show, by Don Sweeney, with an introduction by Ed McMahon (Taylor Trade Publishing), 2006. ISBN 978-1589793033.
• When Television Was Young: The Inside Story with Memories by Legends of the Small Screen, written with David Fisher (Thomas Nelson, 2007). ISBN 1401603270.