Ed McMahon Fighting Foreclosure On Beverly Hills Mansion

LOS ANGELES — For years, Ed McMahon promised wealth, comfort and happiness as a pitchman for the American Family Publishers' sweepstakes. Now, he could use some of that cash himself.

The former sidekick to Johnny Carson on the "Tonight" show is in danger of losing his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills home to foreclosure. Documents show that McMahon is nearly $644,000 behind in payments on a $4.8 million mortgage loan he got in 2005. Countrywide Home Loans Inc. filed the notice of default on Feb. 28, with the amount owed to "increase until your account becomes current," according to documents obtained by Celebtv.com.

As of Wednesday afternoon, McMahon's Mediterranean-styled house was still in the process of foreclosure; the bank hasn't taken it over yet and no trustee sale date has been set. McMahon and his wife, Pamela, are having "very fruitful discussions" with the lender to resolve the problem, spokesman Howard Bragman said Wednesday.

Bragman declined to give specifics about McMahon's finances, but said the 85-year-old television personality has been unable to work since he broke his neck 18 months ago. He did say that the current problems are unrelated to a toxic mold that spread through the structure, sickened McMahon and his wife, and led to the death of their dog in 2001. He received a $7.2 million settlement from that case.

The former "Star Search" host has found himself in the same situation so many homeowners have recently, said Daren Blomquist, spokesman for RealtyTrac, which follows foreclosure filings. He found that McMahon has taken out several loans on the house over the past few years, including a $300,000 home equity line of credit the same day he took out the $4.8 million loan in November 2005.

"You're using your house as a piggy bank because there's so much equity _ at least back in 2005 _ so you're able to take money out of it and use that for just spending in any way you see fit," Blomquist said. "But the problem with that in the long term is that with the housing in this market, you don't see it continue to go up in property value. Now, you see it going down in many areas ... and you still have to pay your mortgage payments. You don't have the option to take more cash out of the house."

Bragman said there was "a certain irony" in the fact that McMahon has always tried to connect with average Americans, and now he's experiencing some of their same problems.

"The part that really is touching, as Ed has said to me, is that, `I know I'm not alone in this. There's a lot of working-class Americans who are getting caught up in this situation, and my heart goes out to them.'"

He first bought the six-bedroom, five-bathroom, 7,000-square-foot house in January 1990; the purchase price wasn't mentioned in court documents. It's been on the market for the past two years and is listed at $6.25 million. The mansion is in a gated hilltop section off Mulholland Drive called The Summit, the same exclusive area where Britney Spears lives.

Photos of the estate, posted on the Hilton & Hyland realty Web site, show an imposing stone facade with a large driveway, a sweeping staircase and a large pool in the back. The listing boasts, "The master suite, with his and hers baths and closets, overlooks the yard and sweeping canyon."

McMahon is the latest celebrity to be hit by Southern California's foreclosure crisis. In May, former baseball star and "Juiced" author Jose Canseco had his property foreclosed in the San Fernando Valley. Canseco said then that he walked away from his $2.5 million, 7,300-square-foot home in suburban Encino because it didn't make sense to continue making payments.

Bragman said McMahon and his wife still live in their home and plan to remain there as long as possible: "He's a pretty proud man. I don't see him calling people and saying, 'Send money.' We're not going to do a telethon for Ed."

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AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang contributed to this report.

Comments

[ENK727]

At some point didnt' they think to sell the house? I mean couldn't they have found something smaller that wasn't draining all their money. People really need 7,000+ sq. ft. of living space what for 2 people? Give me a break.

[researcher]

bet the younger wife loves to shop till the drops.

bet she married this old man for his money.

bet she leaves him when the house is gone

we old guys can be so vain when it comes to women

why did johnny carson not pay this guy well for all those jokes he laughed at for johnny.

[CoulterIsASuccubus]

Britney Spears causes black mold?

[dgscol]

Let Ed be Ed.

[dgscol]

Ed's taxes are too high, and he has been over-regulated!

[BroMan]

Here's a link to interior and exterior photos of the house... cool digs.

http://radaronline.com/photos/2008/06/ed_mcmahon_beverly_hills_foreclosure_countrywide_financial_0.php

[Agentlady007]

Maybe Donald Trump can buy it. Nice location. Maybe he should call the Getty's and see if they need an extra studio. He should at least sell it before it goes up for city auction. He should have invested in a modest home. Johnny's paycheck stopped coming in years ago. He'll probably end up retired in Florida in Palm Peach and play golf and reminisce about the olden days. He can lease a nice beautiful home anywhere. Not worry about taxes. He should have listened to Robert Wagner and got him self a reverse mortgage.

[fillou]

"He received a $7.2 million settlement from that case."

So McMahon won a $7.2 million settlement and cannot pay $664.000 ? His house was bought with a $4.8 million price tag and winning a $7.2 million settlement is not enough topay off his house ??

Cry me a river ! So sad and heartbreaking those people mismanaging their fortune ....

[BroMan]

Well, attorney's get about 30% of that, then 50% taxes, then any existing debt... POOF!

[InternationalObserver]

Excuse me, but where in this story does McMahon blame Britney? Another bogus headline from HuffPo? Surely not!

[sanywhere]

they are becoming the enquirer.

[Voltage]

In an earlier version the story stated that, because Britney lives so close it's hard to sell what with the 24/7 fan/media circus causing disruptions.

[SmokinJobaman]

Moral of the story: Drunk has-been losers can be just as stupid as unqualified poor idiots when it comes to mismanaging money.

[shag11]

I was just talking to guys at the gym the other day about how the average person doesn't know how to manage money. Here's evidence of it.

[Topfeeder]

What man is his 80' s takes out a multi-million dollar mortage anyway?

[michelv]

I asked the same question myself. But now that I have seen the picture of his wife, I know the answer :-) He'd rather have a few good Viagara-fueled workouts and die homeless than die alone in a mansion.

[Srkdqltr]

A Old man with a younger wife would.

[TheInsomniac]

Lifestyles of the rich and stupid. A man with his income and clout should never be faced with a situation like this unless he has simply planned poorly.

[TurgidCaterwauling]

A million dollars doesn't go as far as it used to, but my guess is the majority of average income Americans could pay off their homes and bills with a million dollars and still have quite a bit left to put into savings. So when you hear someone like Ed McMahon has apparently blown through $7 million dollars instead of buying a more managable home outright, makes you wonder what he was thinking.

[maddie0001]

a - what happened to the $7 million dollar mold settlement?
b - I feel sorrier for this woman http://abcnews.go.com/Business/PersonalFinance/Story?id=4896048&page=1 who lost her home over a $68 dental bill. They slapped on a lien and foreclosed before she knew what hit her.

[LiberalBuzz]

I read that story and wow, It would seem SOME big time law firm would stand up and take the case pro bono for this poor woman. As well I agreed with some of the comments that said the dentist should have been named so he could have been publicly shamed and maybe even to the point of taking care of this AND if not, then put out of business for destroying this woman's life for a lousy 68 bucks.