Longtime MDA Telethon Anchor Ed McMahon Dies

In a 1991 interview about the MDA Telethon, he said, "Over the years, it's become a tradition with people. Like you have turkey at Thanksgiving, come Labor Day, you have the Telethon."

McMahon began a lifelong fascination with broadcasting as a 6-year-old, hearing a distant radio station through headphones of a crystal set. At 15, he was working as a professional announcer at a carnival. He served as a fighter pilot instructor and tester in the Marine Corps during World War II and flew combat missions in the Korean war, earning the rank of full colonel.