"Professional sidekick" Ed McMahon attended 15 schools while growing up in Detroit, New Jersey, New York City and Massachusetts; his father was a part-time plumber and entertainer, whose work in both fields kept the family forever on the go. The 15-year-old McMahon's first appearance before a microphone was as the "caller" at a bingo game in Maine; he was 15 years old. He spent the next three years touring the state fair and carnival circuit then worked his way through Boston College as a jack-of-all-trades at a Lowell, Massachusetts radio station. After World War II service, McMahon found work as a sidewalk pitchman, which paid his tuition at Catholic University in Washington D.C.
As a journeyman television performer in the 1950s, McMahon delivered vegetable-slicer TV commercials, hosted a late-night interview show in Philadelphia and briefly appeared as a clown on the CBS kiddie show Big Top. In 1959, MacMahon was hired as the announcer/straight man on Who Do You Trust?, a daytime quiz program hosted by Johnny Carson. When Carson succeeded Jack Paar on NBC's Tonight Show, he took MacMahon with him; both men remained with Tonight until Carson's retirement in 1992. On his own, MacMahon has continued making commercial appearances for a multitude of products, starred in straw-hat theatre productions (The Music Man is his favorite), played straight supporting roles in such films as The Incident (1967) and Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973), lent a comedic turn to the Larry Cohen horror comedy Full Moon High (1982), and hosted the popular TV talent contest Star Search. McMahon died in June 2009 at age 86; though no cause of death was officially given, he had been suffering from cancer and pneumonia.
"Professional sidekick" Ed McMahon attended 15 schools while growing up in Detroit, New Jersey, New York City and Massachusetts; his father was a part-time plumber and entertainer, whose work in both fields kept the family forever on the go. The 15-year-old McMahon's first appearance before a microphone was as the "caller" at a bingo game in Maine; he was 15 years old. He spent the next three years touring the state fair and carnival circuit then worked his way through Boston College as a jack-of-all-trades at a Lowell, Massachusetts radio station. After World War II service, McMahon found work as a sidewalk pitchman, which paid his tuition at Catholic University in Washington D.C.
As a journeyman television performer in the 1950s, McMahon delivered vegetable-slicer TV commercials, hosted a late-night interview show in Philadelphia and briefly appeared as a clown on the CBS kiddie show Big Top. In 1959, MacMahon was hired as the announcer/straight man on Who Do You Trust?, a daytime quiz program hosted by Johnny Carson. When Carson succeeded Jack Paar on NBC's Tonight Show, he took MacMahon with him; both men remained with Tonight until Carson's retirement in 1992. On his own, MacMahon has continued making commercial appearances for a multitude of products, starred in straw-hat theatre productions (The Music Man is his favorite), played straight supporting roles in such films as The Incident (1967) and Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973), lent a comedic turn to the Larry Cohen horror comedy Full Moon High (1982), and hosted the popular TV talent contest Star Search. McMahon died in June 2009 at age 86; though no cause of death was officially given, he had been suffering from cancer and pneumonia.