Ed McMahon Dead at 86

Photo from source, Globe and Mail

Yeah, I know that everyone already knows this. But it didn't seem right to let it go unremarked upon. I don't think I could have considered myself an Ed McMahon fan exactly. But there's no doubt that he was a pop-culture figure all through my childhood and early adult years.

There was of course The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. But he was also there with Dick Clark on TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, and Star Search and the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. He was everywhere. And oddly, he seemed a product of a bygone era even at his eighties peak. In recent years, I'll admit to feeling a bit sorry for him, with his health and money problems. The Super Bowl ad he did for gold was, well it was just sad. And why didn't anyone tell him that the dual windshield-sized glasses ought to be replaced?

Anyway, rest in peace, Ed. Nobody my age will ever forget you.

[Excerpt]

Ed McMahon dies at 86

Ed McMahon was the loyal Tonight Show sidekick who bolstered boss Johnny Carson with guffaws and a resounding “H-e-e-e-e-e-ere's Johnny” for 30 years. . .

Read more at: Globe and Mail