Ed McMahon, the loyal "Tonight Show" sidekick who bolstered boss Johnny Carson for 30 years with guffaws and a resounding "H-e-e-e-e-e-re's Johnny!" has died at a Los Angeles hospital. He was 86.
Publicist Howard Bragman says McMahon died early Tuesday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center surrounded by his family.
McMahon had bone cancer, among other illnesses, according to a person close to the entertainer, and had been hospitalized for several weeks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
The avuncular pitchman put himself through college selling cutlery as a pitchman on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ. He got his television start in Philadelphia, where he worked at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia as a weatherman on the John Facenda newscast, and as a circus clown on a Saturday children's program called the "Sealtest Big Top." He also had a three-hour daily variety program.
Later, McMahon worked with Johnny Carson on a game show called "Who Do You Trust?," then on the "Tonight" show.
While working in our area, McMahon fell in love with the shore resort community of Avalon, NJ, becoming a property owner and investor there.
At the height of his popularity, McMahon was working on the "Tonight" show while hosting his own show, a talent contest called "Star Search." That show was responsible for launching the national careers of Britney Spears, Rosie O'Donnell, and Drew Carey, among others.
After leaving the "Tonight" show, McMahon worked once again as a pitchman for a variety of products and services, most of them aimed at senior citizens. In his later years, McMahon was bedeviled by health and financial problems and struggled to be able to remain in his Beverly Hills home.
McMahon was a World War II and Korean War veteran, and a retired colonel in the US Air Force Reserves.
Besides his wife, Pam, McMahon is survived by children Claudia, Katherine, Linda, Jeffrey, and Lex.
Publicist Howard Bragman says McMahon died early Tuesday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center surrounded by his family.McMahon had bone cancer, among other illnesses, according to a person close to the entertainer, and had been hospitalized for several weeks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
The avuncular pitchman put himself through college selling cutlery as a pitchman on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ. He got his television start in Philadelphia, where he worked at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia as a weatherman on the John Facenda newscast, and as a circus clown on a Saturday children's program called the "Sealtest Big Top." He also had a three-hour daily variety program.
Later, McMahon worked with Johnny Carson on a game show called "Who Do You Trust?," then on the "Tonight" show.
While working in our area, McMahon fell in love with the shore resort community of Avalon, NJ, becoming a property owner and investor there.
At the height of his popularity, McMahon was working on the "Tonight" show while hosting his own show, a talent contest called "Star Search." That show was responsible for launching the national careers of Britney Spears, Rosie O'Donnell, and Drew Carey, among others.
After leaving the "Tonight" show, McMahon worked once again as a pitchman for a variety of products and services, most of them aimed at senior citizens. In his later years, McMahon was bedeviled by health and financial problems and struggled to be able to remain in his Beverly Hills home.
McMahon was a World War II and Korean War veteran, and a retired colonel in the US Air Force Reserves.
Besides his wife, Pam, McMahon is survived by children Claudia, Katherine, Linda, Jeffrey, and Lex.
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