UNDATED (CBS) - Television personality Ed McMahon, famous for his 30-year stint as Johnny Carson's sidekick on the Tonight Show, died Tuesday, his publicist confirmed to Entertainment Tonight.

McMahon was 86 years old.

McMahon had taken ill recently, spending time in the intensive care unit in February for what a source close to the entertainer called bone cancer.

During World War II, McMahon was a fighter pilot in the United States Marine Corps serving as a flight instructor and test pilot. He was a decorated pilot and was discharged in 1946, remaining in the reserves.

After college, McMahon returned to active duty. He was sent to Korea in February 1953. He flew unarmed O-1E Bird Dogs on 85 tactical air control and artillery spotting missions. He remained in the Marine Corps Reserve, retiring with the rank of Colonel in 1966 and was then commissioned as a Brigadier General in the California Air National Guard.

For more than three decades, the Marine fighter pilot-turned-broadcaster was Johnny Carson's sidekick - first on the game show Who Do You Trust and then, starting in 1962, on the Tonight Show with his trademark introduction - "Here's Johnny!"

In an interview with CBS Radio in 2007, McMahon said he relished the role of being Carson's lieutenant.

"He was the boss. And I loved being the second banana. I loved that role."

But McMahon would spend some time as the top guy as well - hosting Star Search, a talent show that would be a precursor for popular hits like American Idol, from 1983 to 1995.

He was also famously the face of American Family Publisher's sweepstakes, showing up to unsuspecting people's homes with giant checks.