Carson sidekick Ed McMahon dies

Ed McMahon, long-time sidekick to Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, has died aged 86, bringing one of the most extraordinary careers in American television to an end.

McMahon met Carson in 1957 when the pair linked up as announcer and host on a game show called Who Do You Trust? The two moved to NBC's The Tonight Show in 1962, where for 30 years McMahon would introduce Carson with the famous line: "Heeeeeeere's Johnny!" For the rest of the show he would laugh long and hard at Carson's jokes, particularly the ones that fell flat - an aspect of his job mined for its comic potential by many comedians down the years.

He would also act as the pitch man for the show's commercial slots, a role that led to a memorable TV moment recounted by McMahon in his memoir, For Laughing Out Loud. Faced with an unresponsive dog when attempting to extol the virtues of Alpo pet food, Johnny Carson came over to the commercial area and got down on his hands and knees while McMahon started to pet him.

With the audience already in hysterics, McMahon finished his ad-spot: "The next time you're looking at the canned dog food reach for the can that contains real beef," he said. Meanwhile, Carson got up on his knees and started begging for more. "I started petting him again... and then he licked my hand," wrote McMahon.

By 1980, People estimated his salary at between $600,000 and $1m. But poor investments and divorces - he was married three times - took their toll on McMahon's finances.

In 2008, a year after a fall in which he broke his neck, he defaulted on the mortgage for his Hollywood mansion, though he later struck a deal that would allow him and his wife to stay in their house.