Tuesday, June 23, 2009

RIP Ed McMahon

Tonight Show side kick, Ed McMahon has died at the age of 86 in Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. He popularized the phrase, "Heeeeeeere's Johnny" and "Hi Yo!" on his 30 years on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

He said in an interview with Archive of American Television, that the first 10 years of the Johnny Carson Tonight Show have regrettably been destroyed by a myopic television executive.

In the same interview, McMahon said that the Tonight Show Theme, "Johnny's Theme" was written by Paul Anka for the very first show.

McMahon talked about the classiness of Johnny Carson and how things have changed for television.
I'm not a big fan of what you can say on television anymore. I'm of the old school. You don't say bad words when you are broadcasting. I don't say them in real life so I won't make a mistake. I trained myself that way.
Mr. McMahon was a fighter pilot during World War II. He was returned to active duty during the Korean war and retired from the marines as a colonel in 1966.

May he rest in peace.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, 86! He lived his life right. I never got into the show much after Johnny left. Prayers for him and his loved ones.

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  2. Actually, in the same interview I mentioned, he said he fought for years to get a clause in his contract that Johnny's last day would be his. He finally got it in, so he didn't do the show after Johnny left. It's really never been the same without those two.

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