In Depth

The Legend We Lost: Remembering Ed McMahon

By Josef Adalian

The passing of Ed McMahon has prompted a flood of tributes to the TV icon, who’s being hailed as one of the greatest sidekicks in showbiz history.

Indeed, while McMahon had plenty of roles outside of the universe of “The Tonight Show,” almost every mention of McMahon today includes a significant evaluation of how McMahon related to Johnny Carson. The official New York Times obituary, in fact, prominently refers to a quote from McMahon explaining his deferential attitude toward Carson.

“To me, he’s the star, and I’m on the sidelines, just nudging him a bit,” McMahon said.

Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times also makes McMahon’s sidekick status the focus of his appreciation of the legendary announcer.

“It's easy to underestimate his accomplishment -- or even to wonder whether it should be called an accomplishment at all,” Lloyd writes. “We live in a nation of aspiring quarterbacks, pitchers, lead singers and presidents, where we are told to dream big and have it all.”

And, of course, Conan O'Brien has warm words for McMahon on this evening's "Tonight Show." The transcript of his remarks is over at TVMoJoe.

Among the other tributes to McMahon:

--Time magazine calls McMahon TV’s “first second banana.”

--A blogger for the Washington Post recalls the time she met McMahon (and, like many writers, mistakenly refers to his role in the “Publisher’s Clearinghouse ads.” Actually, McMahon worked for American Family Publishers, a rival of PCH.)

--Jonathan Storm also has fond memories of Ed.

-- David Hinckley of the New York Daily News calls McMahon an “old-school salesman.” The News also has a nice pictorial feature on McMahon.

--Entertainment Weekly brushes off a 2005 feature on McMahon. Critic Ken Tucker also looks back at the career of Johnny’s No. 2.

--The folks over at VH1’s“Best Week Ever” take a lighthearted look back at McMahon’s career as seen through various viral videos. McMahon rapping is a highlight.

--Here's MSNBC's video obit of McMahon:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World

Filed under: Ed McMahon, Legends We Lost

Comments 22

Julio Fonseca

Hello, fantastic article, I really enjoyed reading it. This article gave me the momentum to try my own post, please check out my post by clicking my name at the top of this article, thanks

Reply to this comment
Posted February 4, 2010 10:30 AM

Shoe Lifts

Take great delight in the responsiveness, Gap Asks Facebook Supporters for Alternate Designs to Derided New Logo.

Reply to this comment
Posted October 23, 2010 10:36 PM

Free Porn

I really like the colors here on your blog. did you design this yourself or did you outsource it to a professional?

Reply to this comment
Posted November 15, 2010 11:02 PM

ken

cling on to

Reply to this comment
Posted December 1, 2010 2:40 PM

Best knock off Handbags

Have you thought about changing your Best Knock Off Handbags ? Did you search for Celebrity hairstyles for inspiration? If so, you might say, a short haircut. If your hair is long, you can nervous about such a radical change. With the advances in hair care products, there is really no reason for concern. The following tips will help you to do their confidence.

Reply to this comment
Posted December 1, 2010 6:32 PM

Link Building Services

I love the way you write and also the theme on your blog. Did you code this yourself or was it done by a professional? I'm very very impressed.

Reply to this comment
Posted December 7, 2010 1:45 AM

Backlinks

Nice!! Great Ifo. Great People. Great Blog. Thank you for all the great sharing that is being done here.

Reply to this comment
Posted December 10, 2010 9:14 PM

Link Building

Hey how are you doing? I just wanted to stop by and say that it's been a pleasure reading your blog. I have bookmarked your website so that I can come back & read more in the future as well. plz do keep up the quality writing

Reply to this comment
Posted December 15, 2010 3:09 PM

Buy Backlinks

Nice!! Great Ifo. Great People. Great Blog. Thank you for all the great sharing that is being done here.

Reply to this comment
Posted December 16, 2010 12:20 AM

Phoenix Web Design

I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it's rare to see a nice blog like this one these days.. :)

Reply to this comment
Posted December 18, 2010 12:01 AM

Bridesmaid Accessories

Love the blog here. Nice colors. I am definitely staying tuned to this one. Hope to see more.

Reply to this comment
Posted December 21, 2010 2:01 PM

ugg boots discount

do you have an rss feed?

Reply to this comment
Posted December 25, 2010 8:23 AM

Customer Service jobs

I love the expression. Everyone needs to express there own opinion and feel free to hear others. Keep it up :)

Reply to this comment
Posted December 25, 2010 2:50 PM

Financial Services

I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply back as I'm looking to create my own blog and would like to know wheere u got this from. thanks

Reply to this comment
Posted December 25, 2010 7:25 PM

ringtones

Dude! Do something with spamming inside the comments, please! Most of those responses are fake :/ .

Reply to this comment
Posted December 28, 2010 4:48 AM

concrete resurfacing

Between me and my husband we've owned more MP3 players over the years than I can count, including Sansas, iRivers, iPods (classic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few years I've settled down to one line of players. Why? Because I was happy to discover how well-designed and fun to use the underappreciated (and widely mocked) Zunes are.