McMahon `` Johnny did n't look as if he was dying to see me , '' McMahon , who was hosting a show on a Philadelphia TV station , told People magazine in 1980 about the pair 's first meeting . `` He was standing with his back to the door , staring at a couple of workmen putting letters on a theater marquee . I walked over and stood beside him . Finally the two guys finished , and Johnny asked , ` What have you been doing ? ' I told him . He said , ` Good to meet you , Ed , ' shook my hand , and I was out of the office . The whole meeting was about as exciting as watching a traffic light change . '' Watch McMahon discuss meeting Johnny Carson '' Though McMahon was surprised to be offered the job as Carson 's sidekick , the two soon proved to have a strong chemistry . Carson was , by nature , introverted and dry-witted ; McMahon was the boisterous and outgoing second banana , content to give Carson straight lines or laugh uproariously at his jokes -LRB- a characteristic much-parodied
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Ed McMahon , the longtime pitchman and Johnny Carson sidekick whose `` Heeeeeeerre 's Johnny ! '' became a part of the vernacular , has died . Ed McMahon had suffered several health problems in recent years . McMahon passed away peacefully shortly after midnight at the Ronald Reagan/UCLA Medical Center , his publicist , Howard Bragman , said Tuesday McMahon , 86 , was hospitalized in February with pneumonia and other medical problems . He had suffered a number of health problems in recent years , including a neck injury caused by a 2007 fall . In 2002 , he sued various insurance companies and contractors over mold in his house and 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 . iReport.com : Share your memories of Ed