Ed McMahon (1923-2009)

We Remember Ed McMahon

Ed McMahon, the iconic voice of late-night television, died June 23 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 86.

“AFTRA has lost one of the great ‘sidekicks’ in the broadcast industry,” said AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon. “As Johnny Carson’s right-hand man for three decades on the AFTRA-covered ‘The Tonight Show,’ Ed was a consummate professional – a broadcaster whose robust voice let viewers around the country know that at 11:30 p.m. it was time for late-night laughs and hi-jinks. Ed made the party that Johnny hosted, and the duo had a rapport that has yet to be duplicated.

“Ed was also a pioneer in television going back to 1950 when he started his announcing career, forging lifelong friendships and working relationships with Dick Clark, as the announcer in the early days of the AFTRA-covered program, ‘American Bandstand,’ and with Johnny,” she added.

“At center stage on the AFTRA-covered program, ‘Star Search,’ Ed once again broke ground as the host for the TV talent search program which launched the careers of many new AFTRA members and served as a pre-cursor to a new generation of AFTRA-covered programming, including ‘American Idol’ and ‘So You Think You Can Dance,” Reardon said.

In addition to his television credits, McMahon served in World War II and Korea as a Marine aviator, and retired from the military in 1966 with the rank of Colonel.

“AFTRA members mourn the loss of our brother, Ed, and we offer our condolences to Ed’s family and his wife, Pam,” Reardon said.

Photo courtesy Jonny Podell.

 

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