Ed McMahon (1923-2009) was an American television personality, best known as Johnny Carson's announcer/sidekick on The Tonight Show up through Carson's retirement in 1992. He also served as commercial spokesman for American Family Publishers (AFP), a magazine subscription sales company who operated sweepstakes contests. However, many people instead remember him as the spokesman for rival company Publishers Clearing House (PCH), during whose ads he would show up at winners' houses and present them with a giant check. In reality, McMahon never worked for PCH, and never presented anyone with giant checks in AFP's ads either.
Possible Explanations[]
-PCH and AFP had virtually identical business models: sending out mass-mailers and advertising heavily on TV to entice people to buy magazines and enter sweepstakes contests. AFP went out of business in 1999, but PCH continued to advertise regularly on TV through the 2000s and operated until declaring bankruptcy in 2025, leading to them staying fresher in many people's minds.
-McMahon also hosted several other popular TV shows throughout the '80s and '90s, including Star Search and TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, and made frequent cameo appearances as himself on various sitcoms of the era. It's quite likely that PCH ads aired during these shows at some point, leading to people having false memories of McMahon appearing in the ads.
-McMahon also served as co-host of Jerry Lewis' annual Labor Day MDA telethon, during which companies frequently made donations in the form of giant checks-possibly fueling the misconception that McMahon also did this to sweepstakes winners.
-PCH's ads did depict the "Prize Patrol" showing up at winners' houses and surprising them with giant checks. However, no celebrities were ever involved in this.