( CNN ) -- 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 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 ( a characteristic much-parodied by comedians ) . Watch Comedian Joan Rivers recall McMahon » . Carson made cracks about McMahon 's weight , his drinking and the men 's trouble with divorce . McMahon was married three times ; Carson , who died in 2005 , had four wives . McMahon was also the show 's designated pitchman , a talent he honed to perfection during `` Tonight 's '' 30-year run with Carson , even if sometimes the in-show commercial spots fell flat . For one of the show 's regular sponsors , Alpo dog food , McMahon usually extolled the virtues of the product while a dog eagerly gobbled down a bowl . But one day the show 's regular dog was n't available , and the substitute pooch was n't very hungry . McMahon recalled the incident in his 1998 memoir , `` For Laughing Out Loud . '' `` Then I saw Johnny come into my little commercial area . He got down on his hands and knees and came over to me . ... I started to pet Johnny . Nice boss , I was thinking as I pet him on the head , nice boss . By this point the audience was hysterical . ... I just kept going . I was going to get my commercial done. `` 'The next time you 're looking at the canned dog food ... ' -- he rubbed his cheek against my leg -- ... reach for the can that contains real beef . ' Johnny got up on his knees and started begging for more . I started petting him again ... and then he licked my hand . '' McMahon also promoted Budweiser , American Family Insurance and -- during the most recent Super Bowl -- Cash4Gold.com . Entertainment Weekly named him No . 1 on its list of TV 's greatest sidekicks . Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. was born in Detroit , Michigan , on March 6 , 1923 . His father was a promoter , and McMahon remembered moving a lot during his childhood . `` I changed towns more often than a pickpocket , '' McMahon told People . He later joined the Marines and served in World War II and Korea . Though McMahon was well-rewarded by NBC -- the 1980 People article listed his salary between $ 600,000 and $ 1 million -- his divorces and some poor investments took their toll . In June 2008 , The Wall Street Journal reported that McMahon was $ 644,000 in arrears on a $ 4.8 million loan for a home in Beverly Hills , California , and his lender had filed a notice of default . McMahon and his wife , Pamela , told CNN 's Larry King that McMahon had gotten caught in a spate of financial problems . `` If you spend more money than you make , you know what happens . And it can happen . You know , a couple of divorces thrown in , a few things like that , '' said McMahon , who added that he had n't worked much since the neck injury . McMahon later struck a deal that allowed him to stay in the house . He is survived by his wife , Pamela , and five children . A sixth child , McMahon 's son Michael , died in 1995 .
McMahon 's biggest fame came alongside McMahon on ` `` For Laughing Out Loud hosted `` Star Search '' and `` TV 's Carson Johnny Carson had suffered several health problems in March 6 , 1923 .