He was the ultimate sidekick.
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He was a perfect laugh track for Johnny’s jokes.
He always said that if he could point to it, he could sell it.
Ed McMahon, a truly unique American icon, is dead at the age of 86.
Ed was the proof that you didn’t have to have talent or be a headliner to be a success.
He understood his value and his role. Although he went on to host his own shows, and was the front-man for the Publisher’s Clearinghouse, he roamed the seams of the entertainment industry.
McMahon often referred to himself as background music in a great film. You know it’s there, but you can’t identify the tune.
After serving a stint as a World War II Marine fighter pilot, he later flew reconnaissance missions in Korea. Ed was a carnival barker and a pitchman for veggie slicers on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City.
Before Johnny, he hosted TV game shows like “Missing Links,” “Snap Judgment” and “Concentration.” He first met Carson in 1957 when McMahon was the announcer and Johnny the host for “Who Do You Trust?”
When Carson stepped in for Jack Paar on late night’s “Tonight Show,” Ed slipped into that job like a comfortable slipper. He was the cream in the coffee that made Carson an unstoppable late night force for 30 years.
While Johnny was larger than life, Ed was one of us. He was Everyman.
He was overweight. His nose was too big for his face. He sold Alpo, and he had financial troubles.
Hey, Buddy, Can You Spare a Million?
McMahon’s saga of monetary woes came to light when it was learned that his Beverly Hills mansion was about to be repossessed by then-troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, and that he was being sued by Citibank for defaulting on an $180,000 loan. In an act of marvelous symmetry, Donald Trump publicly proclaimed that he would buy the home from Countrywide and lease it back to McMahon to keep the lender from foreclosing.
Like all things Trump, it was more fluff than fact.
During an interview with Larry King, he reaffirmed his rank and file status when he admitted that he’d got into financial trouble by spending more than he had. Even towards the end of his life, Ed understood his role in giving us solace.
[img]572|left|||no_popup[/img] McMahon never let pride get in the way of making a few bucks, and was always the first one to spoof himself. Recently, he appeared as a faux rapper in a commercial for “FreeCreditReport.com” and alongside real rapper MC Hammer for a famously kitsch “Cash for Gold” spot that aired during this year’s Super Bowl telecast.
In a nation of starstruck gawkers, Ed was our eyes and ears.
When Barack Obama selected Joe Biden, I suspect that he hoped the latter would channel McMahon. Every star needs a sidekick; even the President. It makes them seem more accessible and approachable.
Obama’s Choice Awaited
Batman had Robin. Fred Flintstone had Barney Rubble. What would the Lone Ranger have been without Tonto? Tarzan without Cheetah? Or “W” without Dick? Without their sidekicks, these celebrated superstars never would have achieved the success they ultimately enjoyed.
McMahon was one of our last links to an era when average looking, no-talent bums like Arthur Godfrey, George Fenneman and Ed Sullivan could reach the pinnacle of their profession through a combination of hard work and chutzpah. Like Ed, all were emblems of a post-war work ethic that since has been lost in America.
Ed will be missed. So will the America he so amply symbolized.
Hey, yo.
John Cohn is a senior partner in the Globe West Financial Group, based in West Los Angeles. He may be contacted at www.globewestfinancial.com
