Ed McMahon: A salute to the king of sidekicks

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-et-ed-mcmahon24-2009jun24,0,2998712.story

Ed McMahon: A salute to the king of sidekicks
The late TV personality did other things, yes, but his greatest accomplishment may have been his partnership with Johnny Carson. 'My role was to make him look good while not looking too good myself.'
By Robert Lloyd, Times Television Critic
June 23, 2009

Although he did other things in his 86 years, Ed McMahon, who died Tuesday in Los Angeles, will be remembered mostly as the man who sat next to Johnny Carson, except when more important celebrities came between them.

Notwithstanding the dozen years of hosting "Star Search," a role in the 1997 Tom Arnold sitcom "The Tom Show," a high-profile Cash4Gold ad during the last Super Bowl and all that knocking on people's doors in the name of American Family Publishers, McMahon was a professional sidekick, a less-than-equal partner in an enterprise of which he was nevertheless a vital part: Thinking of Johnny, one proceeds quickly and naturally to Ed, who by dint of association was almost as famous as his boss -- I say "almost" to include that fraction of the world that may have seen or heard of Carson but never watched his show.

It's easy to underestimate his accomplishment -- or even to wonder whether it should be called an accomplishment at all. We live in a nation of aspiring quarterbacks, pitchers, lead singers and presidents, where we are told to dream big and have it all. (The vice presidency of the United States is regarded as a rarefied form of failure.) But in a world where everyone is innately a star, what does it mean to settle for life as a mere moon?

And yet, just as the moon plays upon the Earth, animating its tides and its werewolves, the sidekick is not without power of his (or her) own. His very presence is the proof that his presence is required. He may come as a straight man, a stooge, a teacher, an apprentice, a servant or pal, but he completes the star-hero in some way to their mutual advantage -- as a counterweight, an anchor, a witness, a frame for the picture, a setting for the stone. Like Jiminy Cricket, a conscience. Who is Prince Hal without Falstaff, Don Quixote sans Sancho Panza? Little John and Robin Hood, Horatio and Hamlet, Friday and Crusoe, Watson and Holmes, Tinkerbell and Peter Pan, Ethel and Lucy, Barney and Fred, Barney and Andy, Ed and Ralph, Rhoda and Mary, Willow and Buffy, and all those traveling companions to Doctor Who -- unequal, perhaps, yet inextricable.

We may reflexively regard him as slower, dumber, less handsome than the hero he shadows, but in practice the sidekick may be the smarter, funnier, faster, better-looking or more practical one. Less bound by convention or expectation, flexible rather than stiff-necked, he is free in ways forbidden the hero. His life is simpler, his soul less troubled. Ed Norton may be a dimwit, but he isn't tormented, like Ralph Kramden, by desperation and desire. Spock is cooler than Kirk. It seems like the better job.

Not every talk show host has employed a sidekick in the McMahon mold. Merv Griffin had Arthur Treacher, a very tall British character actor who earlier specialized in butlers, appropriately, and, after McMahon, the best of the breed. Regis Philbin played second banana to Rat Packer Joey Bishop on his short-lived 1960s late-night show. But Dick Cavett was a solo act; Mike Douglas relied on changing celebrity co-hosts; and Jay Leno had no one on his couch. Still, it seems a sign of respect to McMahon (and to the institution he served) that when Conan O'Brien took the reins of "The Tonight Show," he had a partner in place, original "Late Night" sidekick Andy Richter.

Ed and Johnny were "as close as two non-married people can be," as McMahon wrote in his book, "Here's Johnny: Memories of Johnny Carson, 'The Tonight Show' and 46 Years of Friendship." McMahon, who was only two years older than Carson, began working as his announcer in in 1957, on the game show "Who Do You Trust?" and accompanied him to "The Tonight Show" in 1962, where they kept on for 30 years.

An uncharitable or undiscerning critic might say McMahon had an easy job: Laugh at the boss' jokes, read a few cue cards, sell a little dog food, cheerfully absorb whatever cracks are made at his expense, slide further down the couch as the evening's guests arrive. (Phil Hartman's "Saturday Night Live" impression of him -- the over-hearty laugh, the booming "You are correct, sir" -- has replaced the actual McMahon in the minds of a couple of generations of viewers.) But the way McMahon told it, that was the point: "My role was to make him look good while not looking too good myself," he wrote, and "to get Johnny to the punch line while seeming to do nothing at all." Carson, for his part, left the air saying, "This show would have been impossible to do without Ed."

There is a kind of genius in knowing how to live with a genius. Did anyone want to grow up to be Ed McMahon? Maybe not. (Though I would rather be Illya Kuryakin than Napoleon Solo.) But they also serve who only sit and laugh -- and cry "Hey-yo!" once in a while. Of all the things Ed provided Johnny, continuity was perhaps the most meaningful: Guests came and went; wives came and went; the world turned. But where there was Johnny, there was always Ed, the witness, the audience, one of us.

Stephen Colbert is a swinger for Marvel

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2008/09/stephen-colbert.html

Stephen Colbert is a swinger for Marvel
Sep 29 2008
Geoff Boucher

Plenty of television comedy stars have hung with Spider-Man, but Stephen Colbert may be the first to swing with him.

Colbert, the master parodist of Comedy Central, shares an eight-page adventure with the world-famous web-slinger in issue No. 573 of "The Amazing Spider-Man," on sale Oct. 15. The folks at Marvel sent over a page from the story and while I can't quite tell what's going on, it's pretty clear that Colbert actually takes to the rooftops of Manhattan with the arachnid hero.

Colbert and his name have been popping up a lot in Marvel pages lately (perhaps too much, actually), following the January announcement by the company's editor-in-chief Joe Quesada that Colbert's faux campaign for president in our world would be mirrored by a genuine bid for the White House within the Marvel universe. The references have been scattered in different issues (a cameo here, a campaign poster there, some T-shirts, etc.) but nothing quite as dramatic as this.

Marvel has always been open to daffy gimmicks like this -- hey this is the company built by Stan Lee, after all.

For instance, 30 years ago, "Saturday Night Live" was all the rage so, in the October 1978 issue of "Marvel Team-Up," Spider-Man met up with John Belushi and six other Not Ready for Prime-Time Players (Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner) for a deliriously cheesy adventure. On the cover, Belushi is in samurai mode, but he looks vaguely like Anne Ramsey from "Throw Momma from the Train."

The "plot" has Peter Parker attending an "SNL" broadcast on the same night the evil Silver Samurai comes looking for a ring of great value that has accidentally ended up in the possession of Belushi (yes, that's right, he's basically Ringo Starr in "Help!").

The best moments in the story: Morris dressed up as Thor and the late Radner wondering to herself at one point, "Hm, what's that noise from Belushi's dressing room?" And I'm guessing that on most Saturday nights on the real set, that was a loaded question...

In 1984, it was David Letterman's turn to rub elbows with heroes in the pages of "The Avengers," and the results were even cheesier, with Al Milgrom's art rendering Letterman as an Alfred E. Neuman look-alike beneath a Gary Hart hair helmet. (I've never been a fan of Milgrom, sorry.) Paul Shaffer wore a Captain America T-shirt and Dave help beat the bad guys with the use of a giant door knob.

Has Letterman ever had a lamer career moment? I doubt it.

Oh wait, I forgot "Cabin Boy." Sorry.

It was much more subtle back in the Summer of Love, 1967, when Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon popped in a true classic, "The Amazing Spider-Man" issue No. 50.

That book had J. Jonah Jameson on the couch of "The Tonight Show" discussing the apparent disappearance of Spider-Man. It was a fleeting cameo with a totally different purpose; instead of trying to pull celebrities into a comics adventure, it felt like it was pulling the Marvel characters into a real world that added energy to the story arc.

So, of course, classy old Carson doesn't tussle with any villains (that issue, by the way, happened to have the first appearance of the Kingpin), he doesn't swing through the sky with Spidey or even try on the clothes of a Norse god for yucks.

And then there's that gorgeous John Romita Sr. cover, which must have jumped off the newsstand next to so many of the staid DC Comics issues of the day.

I'm just guessing that, no matter what Colbert pulls off next month with the modern web-head, Carson and the 1960s Spidey will still be the ones who age best.

Ed McMahon's New Landlord: Donald Trump!

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b23930_ed_mcmahons_new_landlord_donald_trump.html

Ed McMahon's New Landlord: Donald Trump!
Thu., Aug. 14, 2008
by Natalie Finn

Ed McMahon's Beverly Hills home is about to become one of the best houses in the world.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Donald Trump, he of the gold-plated everything, has agreed to buy McMahon's mansion so that the financially strapped TV icon can avoid foreclosure and continue to live there.

And they aren't even golf buddies!

"I don't know the man, but I grew up watching him on TV," Trump said Thursday. Helping him would "be an honor."

The real estate tycoon said that he plans to buy the six-bedroom, five-bathroom residence from the lender and lease it to the former Tonight Show wingman and his wife, Pamela, who are behind on more than $640,000 in payments on a $4.8 million mortgage loan.

It wasn't the Apprentice honcho's original plan—the deal reportedly went down after McMahon's listing agent flew to New York to propose the idea to Trump in person. But Ivanka's pop proved to be the man for the job.

"When I was at the Wharton School of Business, I'd watch him every night," Trump added. "How could this happen?"

No one is sure, although McMahon has said that spending more than he made over the years probably did it. That, and he hadn't been able to work until recently because of the broken neck he suffered in a fall about 18 months ago.

The one-time Star Search host's home has been on the market for more than two years, most recently listed at $4.6 million. He reportedly paid $2.6 million for it in 1990.

Since his financial troubles came to light, McMahon has been sued at least three times over unpaid loans and legal fees. He has also filed suit against the owner of the home where he fell and against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which he accuses of providing him with shoddy care for his injuries.

Mortgage turmoil snares Ed McMahon

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mcmahon4-2008jun04,0,7909098.story

Mortgage turmoil snares Ed McMahon
Johnny Carson's sidekick has defaulted on millions in home loans.
By Peter Y. Hong
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
June 4, 2008

Ed McMahon, the longtime sidekick to Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show," is fighting to avoid foreclosure on his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills estate.

McMahon defaulted on $4.8 million in mortgage loans with a unit of Countrywide Financial Corp., which filed a notice of default in March, according to ForeclosureRadar, a company that sells default data pulled from public records.

The 85-year-old pitchman for various products, including American Family Publishers, is the highest-profile person to be caught up in the nationwide real estate downturn and mortgage crunch.

"He's not alone. There are plenty of people affected by the weak economy, bad housing market or bad health," McMahon's spokesman, Howard Bragman, said late Tuesday.

Bragman said McMahon fell and broke his neck about 18 months ago and has been unable to work since.

"The ideal situation would be that he would be healthy and able to earn a living to pay for his house," Bragman said.

The six-bedroom, five-bath home on Crest Court is listed for sale at $6.25 million, said real estate agent Alex Davis of Alex Davis Estates, who has the listing. It's been on the market for two years, he said.

It would seem to be an ideal home. The Hilton & Hyland luxury real estate website described the home as a celebrity Mediterranean estate in the prestigious Beverly Hills gated community of The Summit, which overlooks Coldwater Canyon and Mulholland Drive.
"This once-in-a-lifetime offering is full of charm and character. The foreign imported doors and meticulously chosen fireplaces are unlike any other," the website boasts. It also has a master suite with his-and-hers baths and closets overlooking the yard and a sweeping canyon.

But Davis said The Summit has been a difficult area to sell.

"In the midst of trying to sell this property, there were a lot of distractions," Davis said, citing paparazzi who have converged around the nearby home of Britney Spears.

"When we were trying to sell the house one time, there were about 100 paparazzi there," he said.

Another difficulty for the area has been a mold contamination that has plagued a number of homes, including McMahon's and one purchased for the director of the Getty Museum.

McMahon won a $7.2-million insurance settlement after claiming that mold in his house killed his dog Muffin and sickened him and his wife.

According to a lawsuit he filed, the trouble began when a pipe broke and water flooded a den. Mold was later discovered throughout the house. McMahon and his wife, Pamela, blamed faulty cleanup.

"When your family loses its health and your home is a wasteland, that's a colossal disaster," McMahon said at the time.

Both the Hyland website and ChristiesGreatestEstates.com list the property, built in 1989, at $5.75 million. Davis said it was still priced at $6.25 million.

McMahon took out two loans on the property totaling $4.5 million and later borrowed an additional $300,000 against the house, according to ForeclosureRadar. The loans were obtained through Countrywide Home Loans Inc.

A Countrywide spokesman declined to comment, citing privacy concerns.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the story. Though McMahon was in negotiations with Countrywide, the paper said it wasn't clear whether McMahon and his wife would be able to remain in the home.

McMahon was about $644,000 in arrears on the loan when the notice of default was filed, the paper said.

Federal regulators have been urging lenders to ease loan terms, but it wasn't clear if that would happen in McMahon's case.

peter.hong@latimes.com

Times staff writer E. Scott Reckard contributed to this report.