You knew that when South Park returned it would work in one of the many celebrity deaths that happened over the past several months. But last night's episode actually had, well, all of them: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, David Carradine, and all the others. Ike started to see their ghosts and was sent to a psychiatrist for it. Here's the full episode. Chipotlaway is disgusting but hysterical.
Joan Rivers was in Pasadena in July to promote her show on TV Land, How'd You Get So Rich?, but when I spoke to her after her presentation, I was more interested in a couple of issues. First, her longevity in a business that takes even older comedians and tosses them to the side (Cosby, for instance, is more community activist than comedian these days). Second, I wanted to ask her about her experience on The Apprentice, which included her feuds with wedding planners, Clint Black, and Annie Duke.
But, Joan being Joan, she also randomly let loose on Brooke Shields, Sarah Palin, and whoever else was in her mind during the ten minutes we spoke.
We start off by talking about longevity. She feels one of the reasons she stays relevant is that she doesn't live in the past. "I don't give a shit about Johnny Carson," she said.
It's always great to see Don Rickles on TV. He's rarely out of form, and he has a knack for sailing some great zingers past the censors. Which means his appearance on last night's My Life on the D-Listwas a perfect opportunity, a place where he could be a bit more loose.
We got a taste of that from him, walking around Kathy Griffin's house, but we also got a glimpse of the guy I have heard about from comedians who've met Rickles - the old softie who is ever willing to talk shop with other comics. It was a great moment when Griffin and Rickles talked about how both of their mothers would try to tell them not to pick on people so much, with Griffin's mom providing a bit of the dialogue. Meeting Rickles was on Griffin's mother's "bucket list."
I thought I'd use the occasion to take a look around YouTube to find some of Rickles' best TV appearances. He seems to have been everywhere, from The View to cable.
Jeez, Ed McMahon just can't catch a break. First his death last week is overshadowed by the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, and now someone put some sort of black goo and ripped newspapers on his Hollywood Walk of Fame Star.
But this particular story has a happy ending, as you'll see after the jump.
Since Ed McMahon passed away earlier this week, I figured I'd post this bizarre lost TV special he hosted in 1979. It was called Legends of the Superheroes, and it ran on NBC in 1978. It was basically a live-action version of The SuperFriends cartoon (with a laugh-track but without Superman and Wonder Woman). But this second episode was a roast. That's right, imagine The Dean Martin Roast only with superheroes like Batman and Green Lantern. The cast included Adam West, Burt Ward, Frank Gorshin, Howard Morris, Ruth Buzzi, Charlie Callas, and William Schallert.
You knew that Conan O'Brien would pay tribute to Ed McMahon (who died yesterday), the only question was how. Last night Conan showed clips of some great Tonight Show moments with Ed and Johnny (though not enough in my opinion), and he also showed a great clip of Ed and Andy Richter playing quarters on Late Night.
During some of the television obits I've been hearing about the late, great Ed McMahon, one of the most common misunderstandings about the Tonight Show sidekick's career has been perpetuated: that he worked for Publishers Clearing House, handing out big checks to unsuspecting sweepstakes winners.
Well, Ed did work for one of those sweepstakes-and-subscriptions houses, but it was PCH's main rival, American Family Publishers. He often appeared in the AFP's ads and mailings with his Bloopers and Practical Jokes buddy Dick Clark.
Not once did McMahon work for PCH, but as Bob pointed out in his obituary, jokes about his sweepstakes work often kept the mistake alive.
This probably isn't a surprise to most people, since McMahon has been in poor health for a number of years and also injured his neck severely in a fall in his home in 2007.
McMahon is best known, of course, for being the announcer and couch mate for Carson on The Tonight Show for 30 years. McMahon also hosted the original version of Star Search for many years, co-hosted Bloopers and Practical Jokes with Dick Clark, and was a staple of the annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon every September. Besides appearing in a number of TV shows and movies, he was also a spokesman for American Family Publishers (though, oddly, every single joke about these commercials with the giant checks and McMahon mentions Publisher's Clearing House for some reason).
McMahon died at Ronald Reagan/UCLA Medical Center in L.A.
Did you ever tell a joke that really wasn't funny but you knew would draw huge laughs if you just had someone willing to back you up? Have you ever really zinged someone that had it coming, but the zing alone wasn't enough to drive that emotional stake into their ego? Ever just wish that you could have the glory and majesty of Ed McMahon in your home? Now you can have all three.
Introducing Hiyoooo.com, the world's first virtual sidekick. Just say what you gotta say, click Ed's giant head, and all of your statements carry the air of "Hey now"' better than any rap battle audience ever could.
I've been using this thing all throughout my day: in the home, at the office, with my dog. This thing has become so useful in my daily life that I'm thinking of hiring the Shamwow guy to spread the power of its message. I'm sure he could use the money.
A few years ago, Entertainment Weekly named the 50 best sidekicks of all-time, and Tonight Show announcer Ed McMahon came in at number one. But Slate's Troy Patterson has other ideas.
He chooses Andy Richter as the best late-night sidekick of all-time for his stint on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Patterson doesn't really count Paul Shaffer or Kevin Eubanks as "sidekicks" because they're more bandleaders than sidekicks, but I bet an argument could be made that either of them do fit the definition.
He's a TV legend, so much so that even people who didn't grow up watching The Tonight Show at least know of him and his work. It's been even harder to duplicate. Hank Kingsley was right. Sidekickology is a "dying art."
But a few little factoids popped up around the Internet surrounding McMahon's hospitalization, and it made the news even more tragic and depressing.
One of television's biggest success and tragedy stories has started to take a turn for the worse.
TV legend Ed McMahon, 85, has been in the hospital for the last month and his condition has only gotten worse.
TMZ reported a source close to the family said his condition has been upgraded to "extremely serious" since he has been moved into an intensive care unit. He has also contracted pneumonia, which at his age can make things very serious.
(NOTE: The following post talks about my favorite commercials of this past Super Bowl. There are absolutely no spoilers in this post. That is, unless you didn't watch the Super Bowl, recorded it for future viewing, and have decided to ignore every single other media outlet, as well as friends and family so no one tells you who won. If that's the case, don't blame us for your extremely poor time management skills.)
Well, it's all over except for the pack-up, the clean-up and the over-analyzing of the analyzing of the game that was actually played in Tampa. Super Bowl XLIII is now in the history books and so are its commercials. This year featured some returning companies, some new ones, plenty of NBC promos, and a koala puppet being punched in the face. In other words, a bit of everything. Out of all of them, here are some of my favorites.
(NOTE 2: The embedded videos come courtesy of Hulu. If you cannot view these videos I have linked the commercial titles to another site that you should be able to view.)
Ed McMahon is having the Worst. Year. Ever. Now people are reaching out from beyond the grave to sue him.
The ex-Tonight Show announcer and Star Search host, who is being sued by many people and also almost lost his home a month or so ago, is now being sued by Merv Griffin's company for $100,000. McMahon was having money problems back in 2005 and borrowed the money from Merv. The loan was supposed to be paid back starting last month but McMahon didn't make his first payment, so The Griffin Group, Inc. has filed suit against him. Griffin died last year.
Sometimes your savior comes with pursed lips and really weird hair.
Billionaire Donald Trump has come to the rescue of Ed McMahon. The Apprentice star has bought the mansion that McMahon has had on the market and will let McMahon live there. The house has six bedrooms and five bathrooms. My bathroom has no window and you practically have to stand on the toilet to open and close the shower door.
The interesting thing is that McMahon and Trump don't even know each other, so it's not like Trump is an old friend and decided to bail him out. At the same time this might be a good investment for Trump. The mansion is worth $4.6 million.
Of course, McMahon isn't completely out of the woods financially. He is currently being sued by, well, every single personhe has ever had amonetary transaction with. I wonder if he'll be co-hosting The Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon again this year?
You knew that when South Park returned it would work in one of the many celebrity deaths that happened over the past several months. But last night's episode actually had, well, all of them: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, David Carradine, and all the others. Ike started to see their ghosts and was sent to a psychiatrist for it. Here's the full episode. Chipotlaway is disgusting but hysterical.
Joan Rivers was in Pasadena in July to promote her show on TV Land, How'd You Get So Rich?, but when I spoke to her after her presentation, I was more interested in a couple of issues. First, her longevity in a business that takes even older comedians and tosses them to the side (Cosby, for instance, is more community activist than comedian these days). Second, I wanted to ask her about her experience on The Apprentice, which included her feuds with wedding planners, Clint Black, and Annie Duke.
It's always great to see Don Rickles on TV. He's rarely out of form, and he has a knack for sailing some great zingers past the censors. Which means his appearance on last night's My Life on the D-List was a perfect opportunity, a place where he could be a bit more loose. 
During some of the television obits I've been hearing about the late, great Ed McMahon, one of the most common misunderstandings about the Tonight Show sidekick's career has been perpetuated: that he worked for Publishers Clearing House, handing out big checks to unsuspecting sweepstakes winners.
Longtime Johnny Carson announcer and sidekick Ed McMahon has passed away at age 86.
Did you ever tell a joke that really wasn't funny but you knew would draw huge laughs if you just had someone willing to back you up? Have you ever really zinged someone that had it coming, but the zing alone wasn't enough to drive that emotional stake into their ego? Ever just wish that you could have the glory and majesty of Ed McMahon in your home? Now you can have all three. 
A few years ago, Entertainment Weekly named the 50 best sidekicks of all-time, and Tonight Show announcer Ed McMahon came in at number one. But Slate's Troy Patterson has other ideas.
We reported Ed McMahon's "very serious" medical condition a few weeks ago, and it tugged at the strings of our very weak and sodium clogged hearts. 
(NOTE: The following post talks about my favorite commercials of this past Super Bowl. There are absolutely no spoilers in this post. That is, unless you didn't watch the Super Bowl, recorded it for future viewing, and have decided to ignore every single other media outlet, as well as friends and family so no one tells you who won. If that's the case, don't blame us for your extremely poor time management skills.)
Ed McMahon is having the Worst. Year. Ever. Now people are reaching out from beyond the grave to sue him.
Sometimes your savior comes with pursed lips and really weird hair.
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