‘Here’s Johnny’ TV announcer Ed McMahon dies

ED MCMAHON, a fixture on US late-night television for 30 years as the full-throated announcer and sidekick for Johnny Carson on NBC’s The Tonight Show, died yesterday at age 86, his spokesman said.

The veteran TV personality, best known for his nightly introduction of Carson in a deep, booming voice with the drawn-out line, “Heeeeeeeeere’s Johnny!” died at a Los Angeles-area hospital, spokesman Howard Bragman said.

McMahon had been battling pneumonia and other illnesses.

Trained as a US Marine fighter pilot during World War II, he flew missions in Korea in the 1950s.

He went on to become one of the most celebrated sidekicks in TV history as Carson’s right-hand man on The Tonight Show starting in 1962, stopping in 1992 when Carson retired as host.

McMahon, a frequent comic foil for Carson during ad-libbed banter at the top of the show, was familiar even off camera for his “Hi-oooooh!” and guffaws at Carson’s monologue jokes, especially when a punch line fell flat.

McMahon’s introduction of Carson endured as a catchphrase. Jack Nicholson’s character in the 1980 movie thriller The Shining announced “Heeeeeeere’s Johnny!” as he burst through a door to menace his wife with an axe.