Ed McMahon, the loyal Tonight Show sidekick who nightly introduced show host Johnny Carson with a resounding "H-e-e-e-e-e-ere's Johnny!" for 30 years, died early Tuesday at 86.
He died shortly after midnight surrounded by family. His publicist didn't give a cause of death, saying only that McMahon had a "multitude of health problems the last few months." However, a source close to McMahon said he had bone cancer, among other illnesses, and had been hospitalized for several weeks.
McMahon broke his neck in a fall in March 2007, and battled a series of financial problems as his injuries preventing him from working, AP reported.
McMahon and Carson had worked together for nearly five years on the game show Who Do You Trust? when Carson took over NBC's late-night show from Jack Paar in October 1962. McMahon played second banana on "Tonight" until Carson retired in 1992.
"You can't imagine hooking up with a guy like Carson," McMahon said an interview with The Associated Press in 1993. "There's the old phrase, hook your wagon to a star. I hitched my wagon to a great star."
McMahon, who never failed to laugh at his Carson's quips, kept his supporting role in perspective.
"It's like a pitcher who has a favorite catcher," he said. "The pitcher gets a little help from the catcher, but the pitcher's got to throw the ball. Well, Johnny Carson had to throw the ball, but I could give him a little help."
Sources: The Associated Press, CNNCopyright © 2009
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