Take A Final Bow, Ed.

Ed McMahon died early this morning in Los Angeles. He was 86.

I grew up watching Ed on the Tonight Show and Star Search (the precursor to American Idol and America's Got Talent). My mom worked graveyard shift, so I could stay up without her knowing and laugh along with Ed and Johnny, and boy did I laugh. They were a riot.

My mother and I both were fans of Star Search, and one of my fondest memories is sitting in front of the TV with her, trying to guess who was going to win in each category. We were fans of Sawyer Brown back then. (Remember? They got their start on that show.)

Ed McMahon and Johnny Carson made a great late-night team, and now they are back together.

Hey-O!

More Sad Losses

Dom DeLuise died on May 4th. What a loss to the world of moves and comedy. He was a funny man.

I know in recent years he was known more for his roles in Burt Reynolds comedies (Smokey and the Bandit II, Cannonball I & II - movies I've never really had the desire to watch), but he was also lent his voice to some great animated movies (An American Tail, All Dogs Go To Heaven, The Secret of NIMH) and was so funny to watch when appearing on interview shows such as Good Morning America.

Dom, who was75, left behind a great legacy of comedy as well as his three sons who are also accomplished actors: Michael, Peter and David.

And today there came word that actor David Carradine was found dead in his Bangkok hotel room. As a kid, I loved watching Kung Fu reruns. I had a bit of a crush on Carradine...or maybe just on his character, Caine.

My mom told me one time about stories that went around about Carradine getting too much into the character, ending up turning to drugs and such. All I knew was, he seemed so peaceful as he kicked the bad guys' butts. :-)

Carradine comes from a big acting dynasty that includes not only his father John Carradine, but also brothers Michael Bowen and Keith & Robert Carradine. There's also Calista and Kansas Carradine, his daughters; and nieces Ever Carradine and Martha Plimpton.

David Carradine was 72.