Phi Kappa Theta Mourns the Passing of Brother Ed McMahon

by Kevin J. Lampe
National Vice President
(Western Illinois, ‘83)

In a former life, I was a stand-up comedian. This was still the time when comics longed for an appearance on Carson. (it was always referred to as “Carson” as in “did you hear Mark’’s got a Carson coming up”)

Well, I never got my “Carson”, but if I did I had it all planned out. After a killer set, Carson would wave me over to the couch and I would shake his hand. Next, I would give the Phi Kappa Theta grip to Brother Ed McMahon (Catholic University, ‘68) and say to Johnny, “ya know, Ed and I are fraternity brothers.”

In reality, this never happened.

But this past week was a sad one as our Brother Ed has passed to the chapter eternal. Ed and my relationship was limited to the television screen. He was a master at his job. His job was to make others look good. Much like our motto, Give, expecting nothing thereof.

Each night his duty was to make Carson look good. From the booming introduction to leading the laughter to serving as the target for many of Carson’s quips, Brother Ed understood what it took to do his job well. Being “second banana” is not an easy job, it requires timing, patience and selflessness. All lessons that we should learn from him.

Over the years, I have heard many stories of Phi Kaps who came in touch with him. He had a true affection for our fraternity. We lost a great brother.

Read further information about Brother Ed