Elderly and indebted Ed MacMahon was once Hollywood royalty. He was Johnny Carson’s sidekick for 30 years and was the producer of such hit shows as Star Search and TV Bloopers & Practical Jokes. Today, Ed is a high-end victim of the real estate crunch, and owes $644,000 in back payments on his home while being sued for racking up more than $180,000 in credit card debt. Since his days of announcing or handing out giant checks for Publisher’s Clearing House are long gone, McMahon has resorted to rapping in a new series of viral videos for the company FreeCreditReport.com. Oh, the humanity.

Ed McMahon has an unexpected new job title: rapper.

The 85-year-old former “Tonight Show” sidekick will star in two viral rap videos for FreeCreditReport.com, a financial Web site owned by credit bureau Experian. The videos feature McMahon wearing a tracksuit, being chauffeured around Los Angeles in a Cadillac Escalade golf cart and waxing lyrical about his very public financial troubles.

“I knew I could sing the blues, but I didn’t know I could rap,” McMahon said Wednesday.

The videos will appear online in October.

Charles Harris, FreeCreditReport.com’s vice president of strategic marketing, said the company sought out McMahon to star in the humorous spots after seeing him openly discuss his finances on “Larry King Live.” Harris said McMahon represents “a man who is taking charge.”

In the first video, McMahon _ who once pitched the American Family Publishing sweepstakes _ and a bodyguard are cruising through a neighborhood looking for sweepstakes winners to ask for some money back, but McMahon doesn’t actually go through with it. In the second spot, McMahon dons a new suit after undergoing a financial and emotional makeover.

“When I retired, I was famous,” McMahon raps in the video. “I had money and glory/I bought a house for 6 mill/I thought nothing could touch me/Until my credit went south, and debt started to crunch me/Next thing I know, instead of playing gin rummy, I was scrambling just to make ends meet/It wasn’t funny.”

After being joined by two scantily clad women, McMahon continues: “Got a bump from the media chumps, but that was temporary/Wife with bad credit was scary, so I got wise/I may have fallen, but I got back up/Now I’m back on the attack, like a ninja swinging nunchucks/I told the haters, ‘Go on, take a hike’/It’s my show now, and I can do what I like.”

McMahon said he spent one day in the studio recording the rap. He said he hopes his participation will inspire viewers to learn from his mistakes and become more aware about their finances.

When asked if he would consider releasing a full-length rap album, McMahon said: “Not immediately.”

[From Huffington Post]

Well, I’ll say this for the guy: at least he can keep his sense of humor. Looks like he is cashing in on what’s left of his fame to keep himself afloat financially. I do have to wonder about the line in his “rap” referring to his “wife with bad credit.” Speculation has been swirling for some time that his much younger wife, Pam, is at the root of much of McMahon’s financial woes. Apparently, Pam takes the term “retail therapy” to a whole new level.

Ed McMahon and his wife are shown at the Emmys on 9/21/08. Credit: Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos