Carson sidekick Ed McMahon is dead

By Todd Leopold

CNN

(CNN) - Ed McMahon, the longtime pitchman and Johnny Carson sidekick who's "Heeeeeeerre's Johnny!" became a part of the vernacular, has died.

He was 86.

McMahon's publicist, Howard Bragman, said Tuesday McMahon passed away peacefully at the Ronald Reagan/UCLA Medical Center shortly after midnight PT.

McMahon was hospitalized in February with pneumonia and other medical problems, Bragman said at the time.

McMahon had suffered a number of health problems in recent years, including a neck injury caused by a 2007 fall. In 2002, McMahon sued various insurance companies and contractors over mold in his house; he later collected a $7 million settlement.

Though he later hosted a variety of shows – including "Star Search" and "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes" - McMahon's biggest fame came alongside Carson on the "Tonight" show, which Carson hosted from 1962 to 1992. The two met not long after Carson began hosting the game show "Who Do You Trust?" in 1957.