Ed McMahon, the greatest sidekick in TV history, died yesterday in Los Angeles after a long illness. He was 86 years old.He was TV's most famous second banana, sitting alongside Johnny Carson during what was arguably the golden age of NBC's Tonight Show, from 1962 to 1992, welcoming a nightly national audience with his opening cry of "Heeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny."
McMahon died shortly after midnight at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. McMahon's publicist Howard Bragman didn't give a cause of death, but said Ed had a "multitude of health problems the last few months."
In February, Bragman announced that McMahon had been hospitalized for nearly a month with pneumonia and that other medical problems emerged, though little information was given since then.
In addition to his stints on "The Tonight Show" and "Star Search," McMahon became well-known as the presenter of the American Family Publishing sweepstakes and as a pitchman for numerous commercials, most notably for Budweiser beer.
He also served as the longtime co-host of Jerry Lewis' annual Labor Day telethon benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Aside from his entertainment career, McMahon was a colonel in the United States Marines, serving during the late 1940s and 1950s.
He is survived by his wife Pam and five children. A sixth child, McMahon's son Michael, died in 1995.
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