RIP Ed McMahon : American TV Icon Dies Aged 86, 1923 – 2009

Ed McMahon 1923 – 2009, TV host dead, reports say.

RIP Ed McMahon

US TV legend Ed McMahon has died aged 86, Ed McMahon's agent Howard Bragman told an NBC affiliate. McMahon passed away at California's Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre shortly after midnight Tuesday morning local time.

McMahon had been in hospital since February 2009 after being admitted with serious pneumonia and other medical issues.

Ed McMahon March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009

Ed McMahon was a comedian, game show host, announcer, and television personality and American Air Force pilot during the Second World War and the Korean War.

Ed McMahon and was best known for his work on TV as Johnny Carson's announcer on the Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. Ed McMahon will also be remembered and as the host of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995.

Ed McMahon later also became well-known as the presenter of American Family Publishers sweepstakes, arriving unannounced at the homes of winners. McMahon also made a series of Neighborhood Watch Public Service Announcements parodying that role.

McMahon annually co hosted the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. He has performed in numerous television commercials, most notably for Budweiser. In the 1970s and 1980s, he anchored the team of NBC personalities conducting the network's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

McMahon has appeared in several films, including The Incident (1967), Fun With Dick and Jane (1977), Full Moon High (1981), and Butterfly (1982), as well as briefly in the film version of Bewitched (2005).

Ed McMahon was also a decorated war veteran, fighting in the Second World War and in Korea.

In his final years, Ed McMahon became embroiled in financial troubles, his home was reportedly place for auction and will be sold later this year. Reports said Ed McMahon had fallen behind US$644,000 on his $4.8 million mortgage.