Ed was known as Johnny Carson's sidekick on the Tonight Show and he passed away last night. I was lucky enough to have known Ed during my days as "Celebrity Director" for the Quad Cities Open and we even shared the same birthday. For a few years the open was called the "Ed McMahon Quad Cities Open." Ed would fly in from Hollywood and be with us for the week of the tournament. I remember one time flying to O'hare to pick up Ed and his wife. He sat up in the cockpit with me, and being an old air force pilot, I asked him if he wanted to talk to the tower which he did. The controllers got a big kick out of that.In the photo Ed and I are talking to Tom Sullivan at the first tee. You may remember Tom from a couple of movies he was in. His book "If you could see what I hear" was made into a movie. Blind from birth Tom excelled in many sports including skydiving, and golf. As a celebrity appearing at our tournament in 1976 he also sang the National Anthem at that year's Super Bowl. Here you can watch a tribute to Tom narrated by Betty White.
So here's a toast to Ed who lived life, and to my friend Tom who is still living life to the fullest!
Being on the Board of Directors for the QCO for 10 years was one of the greatest thrills of my life, and now it's all a memory. Life is made of memories. What memory will you make this week?