Sidekick Supreme

Thursday, Feb. 11, 1999 | 9:58 a.m.

He'll be linked to Johnny Carson for all eternity with his oft-repeated catch phrases branded into pop culture:

"Heeeeeere's Johnny!"

"Hi-yoooooh!"

"You are correct, sir!"

And the laugh -- "Oh! Ho-ho!" -- punctuating even the most feeble jokes and bits.

But set aside Ed McMahon's 30-year stint as Johnny Carson's deputy on the "Tonight Show," -- pure folly in any discussion of McMahon's 50-year television career -- and he still boasts a powerful list of credentials:

Host of entertainment launching pad "Star Search" for 12 years; co-host, with Dick Clark, of "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes," for eight years; co-host, with Jerry Lewis, of the "Labor Day Telethon" for 32 years; spokesman for American Family Publishers' $10-million giveaway for 16 years; and occasional actor through the decades ("Fun with Dick and Jane," "The Tom Show).

"One thing you can say about me," McMahon said during a phone interview from his office in Beverly Hills, "is I like long-term relationships."

He is correct, sir.

McMahon visits Las Vegas on Saturday to sign copies of his autobiography, "For Laughing Out Loud, My Life and Good Times," from noon to 2 p.m. at the Caesars Palace "Fountain of the Gods" display at the casino's Forum Shops.

McMahon penned the autobiography with David Fisher, who has co-authored several best-sellers, including "Gracie" and "All My Best Friends" with George Burns and "The Umpire Strikes Back" with Ron Luciano.

At age 75 and entering his fifth decade in television (he'll be a guest star on the Feb. 22 telecast of "Suddenly Susan"), McMahon said he felt comfortable putting his life in the entertainment industry in writing.

"I've lived a life, maybe several lives," McMahon said. "I think the book is interesting because it's about a person who has been fortunate enough to become friends with many, many interesting people."

Carson, obviously, tops the list. The two met in 1956 when Carson was hosting the daytime ABC quiz show "Who Do You Trust?" and hired McMahon for his booming voice, impressive stature (McMahon stands 6-foot-4), but mostly for an instant personal connection.

"Chemistry is an impossible thing to describe," McMahon said. "But we had it, and you could tell every night it was there. There was no secret to our friendship because it was played out on national TV practically every night for 30 years."

McMahon recalls the intensely private Carson once becoming irked at a newspaper story calling Carson "cool and aloof."

McMahon, aware that Carson would turn the assertion into a chance to feign indignation on the air, knew his role.

"Johnny came out and he was asking me and Doc (Severinsen), 'Did you see that? How sick is that? Ed, you've known me for 20 years, right? Am I cool and aloof?' " McMahon said, laughing. "So I let him go for a while, then there was a pause and I said, 'No, my lord.'

"The audience loved it, and that's one of things that made Johnny so great. He didn't care who got the laugh, because the next day all people would be talking about the next day was how funny the Johnny Carson show was."

McMahon has visited with Carson infrequently since their final "Tonight Show" telecast on May 22, 1992. But their personal bond, cemented after sharing 6,583 episodes, remains impenetrable.

"We had lunch about two months ago, and I'll tell you when we walked in, every head turned," McMahon said. "It was as if we'd never been apart. Neither of us wanted to leave and there were a lot of laughs. He's as quick as ever."

But, unlike the ever-bustling McMahon, Carson is perfectly content living outside the limelight.

"He feels as if he did it as well as it could've been done and doesn't want to taint his image by coming back, because he'd always be compared to something that was close to perfection," McMahon said. "I think he did it right. He went off as the heavyweight champ."

McMahon said the generation of shows following Carson's don't quite measure up.

"They're fine, really, but they don't have that warm-and-fuzzy feeling that Johnny gave us," McMahon said. "The 'Tonight Show' had a family feeling, with familiar faces, and that goes all the way back to the old Jack Benny radio show.

"In the golden age of radio, every big star had a sidekick. Even if you go back to the early days of burlesque, there was a person designated as a second banana."

McMahon even carried his straight man act into his social life. He considered the late Phil Hartman, whose dead-on McMahon impersonation led to a few memorable "Tonight Show" satires on "Saturday Night Live," a friend.

"Because of who we were, we would always be at the same parties," McMahon said. "I absolutely loved his talent, and he did the best impression of President Clinton I'd ever heard.

"So I'd set him up, playing the role of a newspaper reporter and asking, 'Mr. President, what do you think of Gennifer Flowers?' and he'd come up with a great bit, right on the spot. I liked playing the straight man for him."

Regretfully, McMahon says, the art is waning. But he's become a mentor of the sparse new breed of sidekicks, especially Andy Richter, set-up man on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien."

"I love the show and I do it every time I'm in New York," McMahon said. "We always play up the second-banana angle, and I'm always telling Andy, 'This is an important role, you're part of a dying breed and don't forget that.' "

However, even as McMahon readily embraces his second-fiddle legacy, he's managed to share the bill or even fly solo on successful projects. McMahon is particularly proud of "Star Search."

"It might've seemed a little campy at the time, but it was a show that did what it was designed for," McMahon said. "We wanted to provide a stage for top young talent, and we did that every week."

True. "Star Search" helped vault an impressive collection of fledgling performers into stardom. A short list includes Dennis Miller, Drew Carey, the country band Sawyer Brown, Martin Lawrence and Rosie O'Donnell.

"Drew Carey drove his car from Cleveland to be on the show. It took him three days and he slept in his car on the way because he couldn't afford a room," McMahon said. "Now Drew Carey makes something like $44 million a year. You see all these little flowers we planted grow into fame, and it's a real thrill."

Not all projects have worked out smoothly, however. Long aligned with the sweepstake award presented by American Family Publishers, McMahon was named in lawsuits alleging the company used deceptive promotional tactics.

According to the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, 12 confused contestants flew to the Time-Warner Inc. customer service offices in Tampa, Fla., to collect prize money after reading the small print in the mailed material.

McMahon claims it was actually eight confused contestants -- eight too many, in his opinion. According to American Family Publishers spokesperson Margot DeWitt, 26 class-action suits and 24 individual suits are still to be settled with American Family.

Also, DeWitt said, five attorneys general are suing the company, which has agreed to make financial amends with 32 states and the District of Columbia over the past year as a result of sweepstakes disputes.

Two U.S. senators (Thad Cochran , R-Miss., and Susan Collins, R-Maine) plan to hold hearings investigating consumer fraud involving the lure of multimillion-dollar giveaways, and attorneys general from across the nation are schedule to convene in Indianapolis on Feb. 24 to conduct a hearing regarding sweepstakes companies (American Family Publishers among them).

But McMahon, who has steadfastly used the power of his celebrity to benefit a wide variety of charitable causes (including the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Horatio Alger Association and St. Jude's Ranch for Children in Boulder City), says the issue is mere confusion.

"We've sent out more than 200 million envelopes, and of those envelopes eight people went to Florida to collect money," McMahon said. "The problem is, printed in very small lettering there's an office address in Tampa, Fla., and people read that they may have already won the prize and have headed to Florida. We don't want people to go to Florida. If you win we'll send you the money."

McMahon says the American Family Publishers sweepstakes award is yet another instant source of curiosity among fans.

"When I get on the plane Friday to fly to Las Vegas, the shoeshine boy will want to know where his money is," McMahon said. "Then the pilot will ask, 'Where's my 10 million?' Then the flight attendant. Then a woman in first-class wearing millions of dollars in jewelry will ask."

Not that he minds the instant recognition.

"I never get tired of it," McMahon said. "I'm busier now than I was with Mr. Carson, but I'm more in control of my schedule. Before, I'd never do anything to interfere with the show, and would adjust my schedule accordingly."

After all these years, McMahon has managed the improbable: the second banana is his own man.

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