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Local relatives say McMahon had fondness for Tampa

The Associated Press

In this file photograph, Ed McMahon, right, and Pamela McMahon arrive at the premiere of "The Simpsons Movie" in Los Angeles in 2007. The couple were frequent visitors to the Tampa Bay area.

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By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 23, 2009

Updated: 06/23/2009 03:16 pm

Ed McMahon's sister-in-law says he was a wonderful man who loved his wife dearly and had a fondness for Tampa.

Dede Rappaport, of Tampa, says McMahon, who died Tuesday, was a frequent visitor to Tampa, especially during the 1990s when his talent show "Star Search" was being taped at the former Disney/MGM Studios.

Rappaport's sister, fashion designer Pam Hurn, married McMahon in 1992 when he was 69 and she was 37.

"They were perfect together, so sweet," says Rappaport. "He was very creative. He wrote her a love poem for this past Valentine's Day and had it framed."

McMahon died shortly after midnight at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center surrounded by Pam and other family members, said his publicist, Howard Bragman.

"He was a television icon and we don't have many of those left," Rappaport said in a telephone interview today.

She and her husband, Tampa businessman Alexander "Sandy" Rappaport, plan to fly to Los Angeles later this week to join the family. Another sister, also named Pam, lives in Tampa.

"It's so sad we just saw Ed and Pam a few weeks ago," Rappaport says.

She says McMahon had said he wanted to keep working right to the end and "he did just that."

"He was involved in charity work because he wanted to give back," she adds.

Pam Hurn was his third wife. "But he remained friends with his first two wives," Rappaport says. "He was a very generous, loving person."

McMahon had other ties to Florida, including a 4,000 square-foot vacation home that he once owned in Charlotte County in the 1970s and '80s.

In 1994, he was in Tampa as part of a national "Star Search" bus tour that stopped at Boston Chicken restaurants (which later become Boston Market).

He told The Tribune that he was "a silent partner" with his brother-in-law Rappaport who owned the Boston Chicken franchise in Tampa.

In that 1994 interview, he said that he missed being on the "Tonight Show" after being Johnny Carson's announcer for 30 years (1962-'92).

But he was excited about "Star Search" which had opened doors for aspiring performers.

He said that because he has had so many breaks in show business, he enjoyed giving other people
breaks via "Star Search."

He listed off his "alumni" including Rosie O'Donnell, Martin Lawrence, Sinbad, Sam Harris, Jenny Jones, Dennis Miller, Lara Flynn Boyle, the Sawyer Brown band, Richard Jeni, Kevin Meaney, Kim Coles, Ken Ober, Tiffany and others.

He said he started working in television when there were only 2 million sets in America and he didn't even own one.

Last summer, McMahon, wife Pam, and brother-in-law Rappaport appeared on NBC's "Celebrity Family Feud," hosted by Al Roker.

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654.

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