He did not give a specific cause of death but did cite a "multitude of health problems the last few months."

McMahon, 86, was a household name for 30 years as the announcer and sidekick to Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. His trademark opening "Heeeeeere's Johnny!" became part of the cultural lexicon, echoed most memorably by Jack Nicholson in 1980's The Shining.

McMahon also served as host, announcer and sidekick on numerous other television shows, including Star Search, TV Bloopers Practical Jokes and Jerry Lewis' annual Muscular Dystrophy telethon. He appeared as himself on such shows as Scrubs and Just Shoot Me.

Doc Severinson, Tonight bandleader during the Carson era, said McMahon was a man "full of life and joy and celebration."

"He will be sorely missed. He was one of the greats in show business, but most of all he was a gentleman. I miss my friend," Severinson said in a statement.

David Letterman, whose 12:30 a.m.Late Night show followed Tonight for 11 years, paid tribute to McMahon as a "true broadcaster" and key part of Carson's show.

"Ed McMahon's voice at 11:30 was a signal that something great was about to happen. Ed's introduction of Johnny was a classic broadcasting ritual — reassuring and exciting," Letterman said, adding, "We will miss him."

Letterman's bandleader, Paul Shaffer, said McMahon "defined professionalism in broadcasting."

After leaving The Tonight Show with Carson in 1992, McMahon remained in the public eye as a product pitchman, most recently playing off his iconic image in a Cash 4 Gold commercial during this year's Super Bowl.

He also became synonymous with American Family Publishers, showing up at the doors of unsuspecting winners to present a giant-sized check.

In recent years, he was in the news for home and money troubles. In 2001, he had to leave his Beverly Hills mansion after becoming sick from toxic mold.

Despite winning a lawsuit over the matter, money woes arose, jeopardizing his ownership of the house. McMahon appeared on Larry King's talk show last year wearing a neck brace and saying a broken neck he suffered in a fall in 2007 had prevented him from earning money to pay off his debts.

Last year, McMahon performed a rap in a Web ad for FreeCreditReport.com, playing off his own financial troubles.

Recently, investors took over his outstanding loan with the promise he could remain in the hilltop home.

Born in Detroit and raised in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, McMahon began training for his future career by calling bingo games as a teen and hawking vegetable slicers on the Atlantic City boardwalk to pay college expenses.

He served as a pilot in the Marine Corps in World War II before graduating from Catholic University and starting his announcing career in Philadelphia. He went back to Marine service during the Korean War, flying reconnaissance missions.

McMahon joined Carson in 1957, serving as the announcer for Carson's game show Who Do You Trust? before both men ascended to NBC's Tonight Show in 1962. That partnership lasted three decades, with McMahon playing straight man during such bits as Carson's Carnac the Magnificent and providing a hearty laugh — and often a "Hi-Yo!" — during the host's monologues, skits and interviews.

McMahon is survived by his third wife, Pam, five children and six grandchildren.

READERS: How will you remember TV personality Ed McMahon?