Longtime MDA Telethon Anchor Ed McMahon Dies

Jerry Lewis, MDA national chairman, said, "Ed was a dear, dear friend. We were always making jokes, cracking each other up. He cared deeply about people with neuromuscular diseases. On the Telethon, he was my right-hand man – it’s hard to imagine doing the show without him.

"Ed also performed many services for MDA behind the scenes," Lewis continued. "Of the thousands of celebrities who’ve helped ‘my kids’ during the last 50-plus years, none has given more, and given more gladly, than Ed McMahon."