McMahon: Tributes would make Carson uneasy
'He would not like all of this folderol,' says longtime sidekick
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(CNN) -- Former "Tonight" show host Johnny Carson was a low-key guy who would be uncomfortable with the tributes heaped upon him since his death, longtime sidekick Ed McMahon said Monday.
Carson died Sunday of emphysema at age 79, his family announced. No memorial service is planned.
"That's him. That's his attitude. He would not like all of this folderol," McMahon told CNN's "Larry King Live."
McMahon -- the announcer whose cry of "Here's Johnny" introduced the show for three decades -- said Carson once told him, "You can't take a compliment any more than I can."
Carson hosted the late-night talk show from October 1, 1962, to May 22, 1992.
"I loved working for him, because he let you know what he expected," former "Tonight" bandleader Doc Severinsen said. "If he didn't get it, you'd hear about it."
Appearances on the Carson show helped make the careers of many up-and-coming comedians, including Bill Cosby, David Brenner, Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr, Jay Leno and Garry Shandling.
Comedian and actor Bob Newhart, a frequent guest host, said Carson "was first a comedy writer."
"The thing he missed most was the monologue," Newhart said. "He would write ideas and have no outlet for them, and gags, and he would call up David Letterman and send them to David Letterman."
A longtime smoker, Carson had a quadruple heart bypass in 1999 and announced he was battling emphysema in 2002. By that time, he said, he had quit smoking.
During his tenure, "Tonight" won seven Emmy awards, and an estimated 50 million people watched his final broadcast.
Carson kept a low profile after retiring. McMahon said their meetings over the years had become less frequent due to the security surrounding his former host.
"There was a big harangue, I guess is a good word," he said. "I had to meet two guys, and I had to put my car in a certain place, then a guy would walk me up. It was very heavy security."
But he said, "We kept in touch on the phone, and he'd get a new joke and it was always great."
