Ed McMahon

Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. Born in Detroit, Michigan, to Edward Leo Peter McMahon Sr. and Eleanor McMahon, he grew up in Lowell, Massachusetts. Before beginning his television career, McMahon worked as a carnival barker, a bingo caller, and a boardwalk pitchman for vegetable slicers. He attended Boston College before completing Marine Corps flight training during World War II, earning his designation as a Naval Aviator. He later flew 85 combat missions as an artillery spotter during the Korean War, earning six Air Medals, and eventually retired as a Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. Following World War II, McMahon earned a degree in speech and drama from The Catholic University of America in 1949.

McMahon launched his television career in Philadelphia at WCAU-TV and landed his first radio broadcasting job at WLLH-AM. He first teamed up with Johnny Carson on the ABC daytime game show Who Do You Trust?, appearing together from 1958 to 1962. McMahon then achieved widespread recognition during his thirty-year tenure as Carson's announcer and sidekick on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from 1962 to 1992, famously opening the show with the catchphrase "Heeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!"

Beyond his work on late-night television, McMahon hosted the weekly syndicated talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995 and co-hosted TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes with Dick Clark from 1982 to 1998. He emceed several other game shows over his career, including Missing Links, Snap Judgment, Concentration, and Whodunnit!, and served as the host of Alf's Hit Talk Show in 2004. He also co-hosted the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon from 1973 to 2008, anchored NBC's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade during the 1970s and 1980s, and hosted radio programs such as Monitor and Lifestyles Live.

As an actor, McMahon appeared in feature films including The Incident, Fun with Dick and Jane, Full Moon High, Butterfly, Daughter of Horror, and his final film role in Jelly. His television appearances included Amazing Stories and a guest spot on The Mitzi Gaynor Christmas Show. McMahon was also a prominent spokesperson and commercial performer, appearing in advertisements for Budweiser, Alpo, American Family Publishers, Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company, Pride Mobility, FreeCreditReport.com, and Cash4Gold. Entertainment Weekly staff named him at the top of their list of the "50 greatest sidekicks ever."

In his personal life, McMahon was married three times: first to Alyce Ferrell, with whom he had four children; second to Victoria Valentine, with whom he adopted a daughter; and third to Pamela Hurn. He published two memoirs, Here's Johnny!: My Memories of Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show, and 46 Years of Friendship and For Laughing Out Loud. McMahon faced notable health and financial difficulties later in life, including a major toxic mold lawsuit regarding his home, a broken neck, and public mortgage foreclosures prior to his death on June 23, 2009.