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Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
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Peter McEnery to Gene Milford
Ed McMahon Biography (1923-)
Full name, Edward Leo Peter McMahon, Jr.; born March 6, 1923, in Detroit, MI;raised in Lowell, MA; son of Edward Leo (an entertainer and fund-raiser) andEleanor (maiden name, Russell) McMahon; married Alyce Furrel (some sources spell surname as Ferrill), July 5, 1945 (some sources cite 1949; divorced 1976); married Victoria Valentine, March 6, 1976 (some sources cite 1977; divorced 1989); married Pamela Hurn (a fashion designer), February 22, 1992; children: (first marriage) Claudia, Linda, Jeffrey, Michael Edward; (second marriage) Katherine Mary.
- Nationality
- American
- Gender
- Male
- Occupation
- Actor, television announcer, producer
- Birth Details
- March 6, 1923
- Detroit, Michigan, United States
Famous Works
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CREDITS
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Television Appearances
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Series
- Circus clown, Big Top (also known as Sealtest Big Top), WCAU (Philadelphia, PA), 1950-51
- Cohost, Home Highlights, WCAU, c. 1950-51
- (Uncredited) Announcer, Bandstand (also known as AB,
American Bandstand,
American Bandstand 1966,
New American Bandstand, and VH1s Best of "American Bandstand"), WFIL (Philadelphia, PA)and ABC, 1952-58
- Host, Get Happy, WCAU, c. 1954
- On-camera announcer, Two for the Money, CBS, 1957
- Announcer, Who Do You Trust?, ABC, 1957-62
- Announcer, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, NBC, 1962-92
- Host, Missing Links, NBC, 1963-64
- Guest host, The Match Game, NBC, c. 1967-68
- Host, Snap Judgment, NBC, c. 1967-69
- Host, Concentration, NBC, 1969
- Host, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater (also known as TheChrysler Theater,
NBC Adventure Theater, and Universal Star Time), NBC, 1971-72
- Host, Whodunnit?, NBC, 1979
- Host, Star Search (also known as Ed McMahon's "Star Search"), syndicated, 1983-95
- Cohost, TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes (also known as SuperBloopers & New Practical Jokes), NBC, 1984-93
- Voice of the engineer's henchman, Bruno the Kid (animated), syndicated, 1996-97
- Charles "Charlie" Dickerson, The Tom Show, The WB, 1997-98
- Host, Next Big Star (also known as Ed McMahon's "Next Big Star"), PAX TV, beginning 2001
- Host of Fun and Fortune, presenter of McMahon and Company,performer in Strictly for the Girls, and cohost of The Take Ten Show, all WCAU.
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Miniseries
- Marvin "Marv" Jordan, The Golden Moment--An Olympic Love Story, NBC, 1980
- Lou Parker, The Star Maker, NBC, 1981
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The 100 Most Memorable TV Moments, TV Land, 2004
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The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments, TV Land, 2005
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Movies
- Fred Walker, The Kid from Left Field, NBC, 1979
- Henry Sherman, The Great American Traffic Jam (also known as Gridlock), NBC, 1980
- Grandpa Bozell, "Safety Patrol!" (also known as "Disney's `Safety Patrol'"), The Wonderful World of Disney, ABC, 1998
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Specials
- Narrator, "The Enormous Egg," NBC Children's Theater, NBC, 1968
- Bartender and announcer, Swing Out, Sweet Land, NBC, 1970
- Host, Ed McMahon and His Friends ... Discover Wet at Cypress Gardens, NBC, 1972
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The Stars and Stripes Show, NBC, 1972, 1976
- Floyd Whittaker, Lucy Calls the President (also known as The Lucille Ball Special), CBS, 1977
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The Mad Mad Mad Mad World of the Super Bowl, NBC, 1977
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Good Old Days Part II (also known as Dick Clark's "Good Ol' Days Part II"), 1978
- Host, Legends of the Superheroes, 1979
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The Celebrity Football Classic, NBC, 1979
- Announcer, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 19th Anniversary Special, NBC, 1981
- Host, The All-Star Salute to Mother's Day, NBC, 1981
- Cohost, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 20th Anniversary Special, NBC, 1982
- Host, Television's Greatest Commercials, NBC, 1982, 1983
- Announcer, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 21st Anniversary Special, NBC, 1983
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Steve Martin's The Winds of Whoopie, NBC, 1983
- Cohost, Lou Rawls Parade of Stars, 1984
- Cohost, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 22nd Anniversary Special, NBC, 1984
- Cohost, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 23rd Anniversary Special, NBC, 1985
- Guest, Bob Hope Buys NBC?, NBC, 1985
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Carson's Comedy Classics, syndicated, 1985
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Christmas with Friends, NBC, 1985
- (In archive footage) The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years, 1986
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NBC's 60th Anniversary Celebration, NBC, 1986
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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 24th Anniversary Special,NBC, 1986
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Lifetime Salutes Mom, Lifetime, 1987
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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 25th Anniversary Special,NBC, 1987
- "Mickey's 60th Birthday Special," The Magical World of Disney, NBC, 1988
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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 26th Anniversary Special,NBC, 1988
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The Hollywood Christmas Parade, syndicated, 1988, 1989
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There Really Is a Santa Claus, syndicated, 1989
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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 27th Anniversary Special,NBC, 1989
- Host, International Star Search, syndicated, 1989, 1990, 1992
- Host, The Greatest Practical Jokes of All Time, NBC, 1990
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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 28th Anniversary Special,NBC, 1990
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2 Years ... Later, NBC, 1990
- Host from Hollywood, Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon (also known as MDA Jerry Lewis Telethon), syndicated, 1990, 1997
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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 29th Anniversary Special (also known as Johnny Carson's 29th Anniversary), NBC, 1991
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Yellow Ribbon Party (also known as Bob Hope's Yellow Ribbon Celebration), NBC, 1991
- Host from Disney-MGM Studios, Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade, ABC, 1992
- Grand marshal, King Orange Jamboree Parade, NBC, 1993
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Laughing Matters (also known as Funny Business), Showtime,1993
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Walt Disney World Journey into Magic, 1993
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The Wonderful World of Disney: 40 Years of Television Magic, ABC,1994
- Himself, "Weird Al" Yankovic: (There's No) Going Home, The DisneyChannel, 1996
- Host, Benny Goodman's Greatest Hits, PBS, 1997
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The Best of Muppets Tonight!, ABC, 1997
- Narrator, Miss Patti Page: The Singing Rage, PBS, 1998
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Coming Home: The Veteran Experience in America, History Channel, 1998
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Dog Tales, USA Network, 1998
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Jerry Seinfeld: "I'm Telling You for the Last Time," HBO, 1998
- Himself, It's Only Talk: The Real Story of America's Talk Shows, Arts and Entertainment, 1999
- Himself, Let Me In, I Hear Laughter: A Salute to the Friars, Cinemax, 1999
- Voice, ABC 2000: The Millennium, ABC, 1999
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The Great American History Quiz, History Channel, 1999
- Himself, Laugh Out Loud: TV's 15 Greatest Comedians, Arts and Entertainment, 2002
- Himself, TV's Most Memorable Weddings, NBC, 2003
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An Evening of Stars 25th Anniversary: Tribute to Lou Rawls, NBC, 2004
- Appeared in other specials, including several telecasts of the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon (also known as MDA Jerry Lewis Telethon), beginning in the 1960s.
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Awards Presentations
- Presenter, The Ninth Annual Television Academy Hall of Fame, The Disney Channel, 1993
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The Second Annual TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV (also known as The Second Annual TV Land Awards), TV Land and Nickelodeon,2004
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Episodic
- Mystery guest, What's My Line, CBS, 1967
- Host, The Kraft Music Hall, NBC, c. 1968
- Himself, "Lucy and Johnny Carson," Here's Lucy, CBS, 1969
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Make Your Own Kind of Music, NBC, 1971
- Ed McCallister, "Lucy, the Wealthy Widow," Here's Lucy, CBS, 1973
- Himself, "Celebrity Roast: Ed McMahon," The Dean Martin Show (alsoknown as The Dean Martin Comedy Hour), NBC, 1973
- Lamont Franklin, "The Adventure of the Eccentric Engineer," Ellery Queen, NBC, 1976
- Himself, "Roller Disco: Parts 1 & 2," CHiPs (also known as CHiPs Patrol), NBC, 1979
- "Remote Control Man," Amazing Stories (also known as Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories"), NBC, 1985
- "Tonight, Tonight: Parts 1 & 2," ALF, NBC, 1988
- Himself, "The Mighty Gorga," Movie Macabre (also known as Elvira's "Movie Macabre"), syndicated, c. 1988
- Himself, "Star Search," Full House, ABC, 1989
- Frank Tuttle, "The Nice Man Cometh," Newhart, CBS, 1989
- Himself, "A Well-Kept Housekeeper," Who's the Boss?, ABC, 1991
- Himself, "Crappy Birthday," Living Single (also known as My Girls), Fox, 1993
- Himself, "Hank's Wedding," The Larry Sanders Show, HBO, 1993
- Big Hank Whittaker, "Who Killed the Host at the Roast?," Burke's Law, ABC, 1994
- Detective Salsbury, "The Big Jack Attack," Nurses, NBC, 1994
- Himself, "Halloween: The Final Chapter," Roseanne, ABC, 1995
- Himself, "The Commercial," Malcolm and Eddie (also known as Topof the Stairs), UPN, 1997
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Muppets Tonight, ABC, 1997
- Chaplain Flaherty, "Shipping Out," The Army Show, The WB, 1998
- Himself, "Ben Rubenstein, Meet Joe Black," Suddenly Susan, NBC, 1998
- Himself, "Rodney Dangerfield: Respect at Last," Biography (also known as A&E Biography: Rodney Dangerfield), Arts and Entertainment,1998
- Voice, "Treehouse of Horror IX," The Simpsons (animated), Fox, 1998
- Narrator, Intimate Portrait: Jenny Jones, Lifetime, 1998
- Himself, "Jenny Jones," Biography (also known as A&E Biography: Jenny Jones), Arts and Entertainment, 1999
- Himself, "Prelude to a Kiss," Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (also known as Sabrina and Sabrina Goes to College), ABC, 1999
- Sean, "Come Fly with Me," Baywatch (also known as Baywatch Hawaii), syndicated, 1999
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At Home with ... , CBS, 1999
- Himself, "Ed McMahon: America's Sidekick," Biography (also known as A&E Biography: Ed McMahon), Arts and Entertainment, 2000
- Himself, "Finch on Ice," Just Shoot Me!, NBC, 2000
- Himself, Richard Simmons: The E! True Hollywood Story, E! Entertainment Television, 2000
- Himself, "The Brain Game," Popular, The WB, 2001
- Himself, Jenny Jones: The E! True Hollywood Story, E! Entertainment Television, 2001
- Himself, "Road Trip," That '80s Show (also known as Eighties), Fox, 2002
- Himself, Pia Zadora: The E! True Hollywood Story, E! EntertainmentTelevision, 2002
- Voice, "The Queen Is Wild/Back to the Academy," Duck Dodgers (animated; also known as Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century), Cartoon Network, 2003
- Voice, "When You Wish upon a Weinstein," Family Guy (animated; also known as Padre de familia and Padre del familia), Fox, 2003
- Himself, Classmates, 2003
- Himself, "Degas Away with It," Las Vegas (also known as CasinoEye), NBC, 2004
- Himself, "Our Sauce, It Is a Beauty," It's All Relative, ABC, 2004
- Voice of tugboat captain hero, "Smells Like a Mystery/Ship Ahoy!," Higglytown Heroes (animated), The Disney Channel, 2004
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E! 101 Most Awesome Moments in Entertainment (also known as E's"101"), E! Entertainment Television, 2004
- (In archive footage) 101 Most Unforgettable SNL Moments (also known as E's "101"), E! Entertainment Television, 2004
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$25 Million Dollar Hoax, NBC, 2004
- Himself, "Holiday Moments," TV Land's Top Ten, TV Land, 2005
- Himself, "My Roommates," Scrubs, NBC, 2005
- Appeared in episodes of other series, including Aunt Molly and Ed,WCAU (Philadelphia, PA); DreamMaker (also known as Richard Simmons' DreamMaker), syndicated; and Phenom, ABC.
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Television Guest Appearances
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Episodic
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Rowan & Martin's "Laugh-In" (also known as Laugh-In), NBC, 1968, 1969, 1970
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The Flip Wilson Show, NBC, 1972, 1973
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The Hollywood Squares, NBC and syndicated, multiple episodes in 1976
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The Jacksons, CBS, 1976
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Dinah! (also known as Dinah! & Friends), syndicated, 1977
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The John Davidson Show, syndicated, 1981
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Burt Wolf/Eating Well, PBS, 1992
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The Rosie O'Donnell Show, syndicated, 1998
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The Daily Show (also known as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Global Edition), Comedy Central, 1999
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The List, VH1, 1999
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Late Night with Conan O'Brien, NBC, 2000
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The New Tom Green Show, MTV, 2003
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Larry King Live, Cable News Network, 2003, 2005
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Live with Regis and Kelly, syndicated, 2005
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Today (also known as NBC News Today and The Today Show), NBC, 2005
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The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC, multiple episodes in 2005
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The Tony Danza Show, syndicated, 2005
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Television Appearances
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Pilots
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That McMahon's Here Again (some sources cite title as Here's That McMahon Again), WCAU (Philadelphia, PA), 1950
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20th Century Follies, ABC, 1972
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ALF's Hit Talk Show, TV Land, 2004
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Other
- Appeared in Against the Odds, PBS.
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Television Work
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Series
- Executive producer, Star Search (also known as Ed McMahon's "Star Search"), syndicated, 1983-95
- Executive producer, Next Big Star (also known as Ed McMahon's "Next Big Star"), PAX TV, beginning 2001
- Producer of Strictly for the Girls and coproducer of The Take Ten Show, both WCAU (Philadelphia, PA).
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Specials
- Assistant to the producers, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 29th Anniversary Special (also known as Johnny Carson's 29th Anniversary), NBC, 1991
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Film Appearances
- Narrator, Dementia (also known as Daughter of Horror), VanWolfe/American International Pictures, 1955
- Bill Wilks, The Incident, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1967
- Duncan, Slaughter's Big Rip Off (also known as Slaughter 2), American International Pictures, 1973
- Arab horseman, The Last Remake of Beau Geste, Universal, 1977
- Charlie Blanchard, Fun with Dick and Jane, Columbia, 1977
- Colonel William P. Walker, Full Moon High (also known as Moon High), Filmways, 1982
- Mr. Gillespie, Butterfly, Analysis Film Releasing, 1982
- (Uncredited) Himself on television, Pink Cadillac, Warner Bros., 1989
- Himself, Love Affair, Warner Bros., 1994
- Himself, Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's (documentary), Northern Arts Entertainment, 1996
- Governor, For Which He Stands, 1996
- Luncheon chair, Just Write, Curb Entertainment International, 1997
- Baxter, Mixed Blessings, Dreamfactory, 1998
- Al Ross, The Vegas Connection, Pacific Films, 1999
- Himself, Pitch People (documentary), CS Associates, 1999
- Himself, Bewitched, Columbia, 2005
- Himself, The Weather Man (also known as El hombre del tiempo,
O sol de Cada Manha, and Saeaemies), Paramount, 2005
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Stage Appearances
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The Impossible Years, Playhouse Theatre, New York City, c. 1965
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Radio Appearances
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Series
- Host of Lifestyles Live, Cable Radio Network and USA Radio Network; host of segments on Monitor, NBC Radio. Appeared in shows broadcastby the radio network WCAU (Philadelphia, PA).
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Internet Work
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Series
- Creator and director, Ed McMahon's Next Big Star, Victory Entertainment, www.nextbigstar.com, beginning c. 2000
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RECORDINGS
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Videos
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The Johnny Carson Collection, His Favorite Moments from the Tonight Show--'80s and '90s: The King of Late Night, 1994
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Audiobooks
- Barbara Paul, "Appetites," Murder to Go, New Star Media, 1993
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Albums
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And Now, Here's Ed McMahon, Cameo-Parkway, early 1960s
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WRITINGS
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Teleplays
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with Others; Series
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Big Top (also known as Sealtest Big Top), WCAU (Philadelphia, PA), 1950-51
- Writer for Strictly for the Girls, WCAU.
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Nonfiction
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Ed McMahon's Barside Companion, World Publishing, 1969
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Slimming Down, Grosset & Dunlap, 1972
- (With Carroll Carroll) Here's Ed; or, How to Be a Second Banana, fromMidway to Midnight (autobiography; also known as Here's Ed and Here's Ed: The Autobiography of Ed McMahon), Putnam, 1976
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The Art of Public Speaking, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1986
- (With Warren Jamison) Ed McMahon's Superselling: Performance Techniques for High Volume Sales, Prentice-Hall, 1989
- (With David Fisher) For Laughing Out Loud: My Life and Good Times,Warner Books, 1998
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Here's Johnny! My Memories of Johnny Carson, the Tonight Show, and 46Years of Friendship, Rutledge Hill Press, 2005
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Humor
- (Editor) Grin and Beer It, Pyramid Publications, 1976
Further Reference
OTHER SOURCES
Periodicals
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Entertainment Weekly, May 27, 1994, p. 93; April 8, 2005, pp. 28-35
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