Ed was just the perfect foil for Johnny every night. Once when Johnny was doing Carnac, he asked for absolute silence, Ed said “Often times...Carnac gets that” to which Johnny replied “Star Search must be doing well...”
I just love Ed's comeback to Johnny at 1:45 - the timing was spot on, and his delivery was superb. People think it is easy to throw this zingers out, but if you are out by even a second or two, it will fall flat. Ed knew how to time them right.
What I liked about the Tonight Show when Carson hosted it is that he would have such a wide range of celebrities and other people as guests. He would have on concert pianists, scientists like Carl Sagan, magicians, and especially unknown people from small towns across America who had a rare or unusual talent, and things like that. Nowadays it just seems to be all movie stars and TV stars and politicians that are on these shows. I miss the wide mixture of guests that included the famous and the un-famous.
Hysterical. I can't get enough of these Carson/Ed/Doc etc. clips. As a teenager in the 70's, I remember laughing my head off many a night before bed while watching Carson and the gang. What a man, what a show. Sadly, our society has lost its innocence- there's no comedy like this today, and it's unlikely there ever will be again.
What passes for monologs today is so mean spirited. But apparently people think it's funny or it wouldn't get enough ratings to stay on the air. But I find the new stuff childish and unfunny. (I also grew up with the Johnny Carson show in the 70s)
The magic is that Ed (on purpose) was never in on anything. He knew the list of guests (of course) and the run down for the show. And that was pretty much it. So the magic, then, was that his was always pure reaction. They truly were the best of the best.
I very briefly met Ed McMahon when we were seated at the same table in a live Frank Sinatra show in Las Vegas. He was just as warm and friendly then as he was on TV.
This was around the time Carson and NBC were feuding about whether or not he still had a valid contract and Johnny was threatening to retire. Ed was referring to that whole saga.
There has never been anyone good enough to replace Johnny. Late night TV died when he retired. And what can you say about Ed, he was the best sidekick, ever. May they both rest in peace. Sadly, they are as dead as modern comedy.
As Milton Berle you used to say regarding zingers: "Choose your spots." Ed was beloved by Johnny and audiences because he was an absolute MASTER at this concept. Zingers are frought with danger: too many; too soon; too late; too deep; too flat; too over-shadowing .....Ed had surgical precision and he knew exactly when and where.
Ed missed a great chance for a good line. When Johnny said sounds like somebody fell out of his chair. A great Ed line would have been , BUT NOT FROM LAUGHTER.
Wow, the beginning is a real Larry Sanders/Hank Kingsley moment, with Johnny suggesting Ed is wasting time doing commercials instead of concentrating on the show.
I loved how Ed milked every opportunity to gain money from commercials, he knew even then he had a lot of alimony to pay to his first wife back then, and so ensure he never turned down the chance of doing commercials. Every $$ counted. Also, his work on the Tonight Show didn't exactly push him to the limit. He was an announcer basicially.
Johnny was a class act. All the way. Even when the writers bombed he saved the day. Most of his guests were the same way. That generation had class. Forget about what we see today. It's pathetic. I'm not just talking about the late night crowd I'm talking about TV and movies in general. Total garbage. Sex, violence and disgusting language just to pander to an audience with no education. SMH
He sure is. He is better than any anti depressant ever made. It not coincidence that the depression rate in America HAS SKYROCKETED EVERY YEAR SINCE 1992. Hey Mr. Paisley 🎸 how about some regular comedy shows from you. You are more multi talented and just as admired as Johnny. Love you both SPECIAL ❤️🎸😂🤠😘
Edward Leo Peter Ed McMahon, Jr. (Detroit, 06 de marzo de 1923 - Los Ángeles, 23 de junio de 2009) fue un comediante, presentador de programas de juegos, y locutor estadounidense. Fue famoso por su trabajo en la televisión como compañero de Johnny Carson (1925-2005) y locutor del programa The Tonight Show (entre 1962 y 1992). También presentó la versión original del show Star Search entre 1983 y 1995. Fue copresentador de TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes con Dick Clark entre 1982 y 1998. También presentó sorteos de la empresa de venta directa American Family Publishers (y no, como se cree comúnmente, de su principal rival Publishers Clearing House).
He overextended himself buying a new house for his new wife in his 80s, then got too sick to work, so then he couldn't pay for the house. Proof that money can't buy wisdom, I suppose.
I know, how sad. These courts are so unfair. Women are taught to marry rich, give up support thier man do what they want, stop having sex, make thier man miserable after a few years, then the men MUST HAND OVER HALF of their income when the woman wants to leave. My friend had it right when he said, "you dont marry them, you RENT them!'
In 1979 he was very rich as that was before the divorce and the $50,000 a month in alimony and child support remember this was 20 years before his death
He had plenty of income. Pitchman for Budweiser, Publishers Clearinghouse, even Dog Food. If he really died broke, he must've had lotta fun spending it.
ABC paid $1.1 billion for 1984 Olympics when adjusted for inflation (devaluation of the dollar over time). NBC paid 1.4 billion for the 2020 games, so yes it went up, but not as much as you would think .
