Boomer’s Blog

A unit of Countrywide Financial Corp. has filed a foreclosure action against Ed McMahon, an ailing 85 year-old TV personality who has been trying to sell his expansive Beverly Hills home for the past two years.

In his heyday, McMahon, was the consummate late night TV sidekick who spent much of his career by original Tonight Show host Johnny Carson’s side. McMahon also hosted the Star Search variety show which foreshadowed American Idol’s incendiary popularity. Still, many remember him for putting Publishers Clearing House (PCH) on the map with his charismatic TV commercials where the Prize Patrol ambushes unsuspecting families with drive-by sweepstakes fortunes.

The Wall Street Journal reports that ReconTrust, an arm of Countrywide Financial, filed a default notice on a $4.8 million Countrywide loan backed by Mr. McMahon’s home in late February. Official documents show that, at the time of the foreclosure filing, McMahon had racked up $644,000 in overdue payments on that loan.

Public records also show that in February, McMahon had a separate home-equity debt with Countrywide of up to $300,000 tied to the same property. It has not yet been revealed whether Countrywide still owns McMahon’s home loan, or is pursuing the debt for real estate investors who may have acquired it.

McMahon first listed his expansive Beverly Hills estate in 2006 for $7.7 million. After a few price drops in the interim, the property currently is listed with Christie’s Great Estates for $5.75 million.

Since breaking his neck in a bad fall on his possibly cursed property last year, McMahon has suffered through a lengthy recovery and has been unable to work. A spokesman for the healing celebrity says McMahon has been in fruitful negotiations with the lender and is optimistic that he’ll be able to work out a deal to avoid foreclosure.