jimcofer.com is officially the last website to report it, but what the hey… Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson’s sidekick of more than 30 years, passed away at the age of 86. This is probably not much of a surprise to many folks, as McMahon was in poor health for at least the last two years. Still, he will be missed.
Not only was McMahon a regular on The Tonight Show, he also hosted Star Search for several years, co-hosted Bloopers and Practical Jokes with Dick Clark (back when bloopers were unseen by most folks), and was a regular at the annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. McMahon was also a spokesman for American Family Publishers (contrary to all the jokes made at the time, which always mentioned Publisher’s Clearinghouse).
Enjoy this clip of McMahon, who had a wee bit too much to drink before going on that night:
That clip is priceless… not only because it’s funny, but because of the unedited nature of the clip. Had this happened today, you know the producers would cut this scene for not being “professional” enough.
you think when Ed gets to heaven some yelled HEEEEEEEEEEEEEREEEESSSSS EDDIE what too soon??
I vote “not too soon”… ‘cos you KNOW everyone was thinking it!