Wednesday, June 4, 2008

The Ed McMahon Foreclosure Fracas

Oh dear.

It looks like 80 something year old Ed McMahon–yes puppies, that Ed McMahon–is staring down the scary barrel of foreclosure on his Beverly Hills house. Whaaat? Say it ain't so!

Your Mama does not have the time to pick the juicy dee-tails all apart, so why don't the children just run over to satirical snarks at Radar who can hook you up with all the 411 on this rather surprising turn of real estate events.

45 comments:

StPaulSnowman said...

the guy is 85.......he should move into the low- maintainance digs in the Joan Collins high rise. No weeding, no muss.........and the pool boy could watch Jeopardy with him. I know, I know........capital gains and no "what a fabulous house you have" wow factor when he entertains.

Anonymous said...

Hmm.. a couple questions come to mind. 1st one is obvious. How is it that McMann finds himself unable to afford upkeep on his home after the long, successful, and lucrative career he's had? And 2nd, why didn't he impliment a plan to lower his asking price by increments until it sold instead of allowing himself to face foreclosure? Bad investments and senility perhaps? I hope the bank is kind to him.

Anonymous said...

Years ago he had a BAD alcohol and gambling problem. I wonder if that still haunts him? I wish him the best of luck. No one wants to go through all of that.

Anonymous said...

The Radar article mentions that the asking price has been lowered a few times, but apparently not by enough, or aggressively enough, because he couldn't afford to. I would have placed the house on the market the moment I realized it was a financial albatross for me. No $4.5 Million loan, thank you very much, but I guess the need to keep up appearances, however artificial, is an L.A. institution not easily ignored by those who identify with it.

Anonymous said...

There comes a time in everyone's life to let go.

I agree with poster #1. Spend your golden years in a low maintenance apartment setting surrounded by friends without the upkeep of a showy mansion. It is just not necessary to impress anymore Big Guy! You are very much loved. That's all you need.

I wish him well. He has provided much enjoyment to others over the years.

Mike Cook said...

No one should go through this at his age, especially after the career he's had. Well said, Brooklawn Dr.

Anonymous said...

Mama, that just wasn't fair! I've looked at that listing a half-dozen times over the past year. That place looks like a ad for Minwax® DYI wood stains. Those bare fugly window frames alone are enought to send prospects running away like their hair was on fire.

Calling all nice gay decorators for a mercy crusade to McMahon mess. Read: UPDATE IMPERATIVE. (Ed, keep your sense of humor. The place is dated.)

I do have compassion, because I think Ed must be a decent guy. But, maybe too many alimony tango dances taking a bite out of his net worth?

Anonymous said...

He and his wife must spend a fortune. During his many working years, he must have earned millions of dollars. The paper says he won a mold-related P.I. lawsuit for $7.2 mil. Assuming he got a few million from that after fees/appeals etc, he should be able to make mortgage payments. The paper quoted his spokesman as saying if he hadn't been injured in a fall 18 months ago, he would be working and able to make his payments. Huh??? He's 85 years old. He is supposed to be working?
B.S., somebody did some heavy duty spending over there, because few people in Hollywood were as well paid for so long as Ed.

P.S., maybe the house is worth $5 mil, and not the $6.25 they are asking.

Anonymous said...

12:31, it does look like McMahon did this to himself. I didn't think anyone could possibly be as financially irresponsible as Michael Jackson. Stunning.

Anonymous said...

Cherchez La Femme! - A high maintenance wife might be the problem!

lil' gay boy said...

'Tis a shame, to be sure; where did all the money go?

It certainly didn't go into the decorating.

chris said...

There is a pertinent post about this on the Calculated Risk blogsite with many many comments of all sorts.

Anonymous said...

Well this story just plain sucks. Ed McMahon is 85 for chrissakes, he should not be spending his golden years worried about foreclosure on a house. He is a WWII and Korean War veteran and seems like a helluva nice guy.

That being said...with the career he's had, he may have done this to himself, which is an awful shame for someone who gave so many other people a lot of joy.

I hope he's able to unload the house, make the most of his savings and get a nice corner unit in Sierra Towers.

Anonymous said...

50+ yrs in the very lucrative entertainment field & he still needs million $ paydays at a broken down age of 85?
i hate to pile on but he freakin blew it

Anonymous said...

Okay, the gloves are off, I just mentioned a few postings ago that Ed McMahon was known as the most valuable pitchman/$$whore in Entertainment. What an idiot. Fool. Your 85 and have worked for 60 years in Ent. Your damn, cheap ass house should be paid for. You must have dimensia now and had your plastic trophy wife fleece you, or you are a sick man. All that cash over the years, damn shame. Really, Mama's relatives from all over, hear this::::It is VERY expensive to "live" and "do" the Hollywood thing. Be happy with your 200k house and your hopes at landing a wife and kids from where you are from. DO not THROW it all away and move here--searching for something. You can't find "out here" what you can't find where you are from. A 200k house is like a 1.5mil lifestyle here--and all the girls don't look like Pam Anderson either--and who would want that for more than one night.

Ed, Good night to you Sir--It's over, see you at the retirement home. Sorry, VO's don't pay much. Say your prayers, your big white teeth are getting bigger by the year. Maybe your rich friends will let you crash in thier guest house--prob not--sad part about Hollywood. And, your wife will prob leave you too--if she can get her tore up look together.

Mama's black sheep in WEHO

Anonymous said...

***off topic alert, shoot me***

for a laugh at the sometimes described "cerebral" brad pitts expense, check this out.

http://dlisted.com/

i remember when asked about her breakup with pitt, j anniston replied, good, now i can buy a comfortable chair

StPaulSnowman said...

Just wanted to go on record that while I have botanical zone envy for California..........I did not write the above bilious diatribe.

StPaulSnowman said...

Caveman; great Pitttip.......It was gratifying to see that his taste is about what I would have expected. These great works of art and design will go over like Matzos in Dubai.

chris said...

"He is a WWII and Korean War veteran and seems like a helluva nice guy."

I gather you don't think any veterans of WWII and Korea deserve to have mortgage problems. Especially if they are really "nice guys." What would you propose to fix all that...that wouldn't bankrupt the US Treasury of course?

Anonymous said...

Whatever - $$ wise he is dumb. COnsidering the place cost 2.6 or so and he won nearly 8 million in judgements and still owes 5 on the home.

He better do 2 things quickly:

1) Fire his financial advisor
2) Fire his staff

For anyone to make in excess of 250 in a lifetime and can't pay off a 2.5 home does not belong in a 2.5 home; he should have bought a trailor down in Malibu - a double wide.

Anonymous said...

"I gather you don't think any veterans of WWII and Korea deserve to have mortgage problems. Especially if they are really "nice guys." What would you propose to fix all that...that wouldn't bankrupt the US Treasury of course?"

Chris, gather incorrectly. I simply meant that as a veteran of WWII, Korea and for being a nice guy it is a shame that Ed McMahon has to go into the sunset of his life with a house in foreclosure. Certainly, it's his fault as I said in my original post.

Anonymous said...

Heyoo

Anonymous said...

Oh Please - You're all ARMCHAIR Business Managers!

Anonymous said...

3:14 is that sanctimonious asshat Keith Olbermann I swear.

Anonymous said...

Four words prospective home buyers never want to hear: toxic mold; Britney Spears.

Anonymous said...

Three words lenders never want to hear: cash flow problem.

Anonymous said...

Why can't all of Johnny Carson's ex wives and widows simply pitch in a million each and help this poor man outta this mess. No doubt he has made mistakes along the way, but certainly a little charity could go a long way. He only has a few years in him.

lil' gay boy said...

You'd think that before the poor bastard wound up in the tabloids his Hollywood cronies could've banned together and come up with the less than $700K he owes (he surely must be owed a favor or two amongst them).

*Sigh* Hollywood loyalties. It's a crying shame.

StPaulSnowman said...

or.............the crying game.

Anonymous said...

It makes no sense. I read an article that his net worth not all that long ago was north of $200Million with property all over including Malibu. With his age and lifestyle (I assume he doesn't exactly live large like Michael Jackson) he should have a very comfortable nest egg and I would lay money on it.
My guess is that there is much more to this story and that for certain legal reasons he has gone into default on the loans attached to this property, not because of any financial difficulties. It could also be as simple as a cash flow problem with investments awaiting maturity.
This story is months old if you look at documents on TMZ.
I imagine some tabloid clown stumbled onto the foreclosure paperwork and has blown the story out of proportion without knowing the facts. This guy has been working steady for over 60 years, most of it in show business with big fat paychecks, there is no way he doesn't have money, divorces and gambling habits notwithstanding.

Anonymous said...

here's why/how it happens -


Canseco's $2.5 million home foreclosed on

Updated: June 2, 2008, 1:30 PM EST

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jose Canseco, the former AL MVP who made millions during his baseball career, has had his home foreclosed.

Canseco told the syndicated TV show "Inside Edition" 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.

"I do have a judgment on my home and it to me is very strange because it didn't make financial sense for me to keep paying a mortgage on a home that was basically owned by someone else," he said in an interview that aired Thursday.

"You know my life, this financial thing, is a very complicated issue. Obviously, when you make all that money, people think, 'OK, let's assume it is $35 million.' People have to understand that $35 million, you're paying the government 41 percent. That leaves you with about $17 or $18 million, not even. Then you're taking care of your whole family."

He added that a couple of divorces cost him $7 million or $8 million.

Canseco said his top earnings year was $6 million and that his financial situation obviously is different than most people who are losing their homes.

"What about other families that we're hearing on TV, that they're saying, 'We have nowhere else to go,"' he said. "I mean, that is amazing. I've got books (he's put out two expose-type books on drug use in baseball), we're now trying to produce the movie to both.

"Like I said, my situation was a little more different than most. I decided to just let it (the house) go, but in most cases and most families, they have nowhere else to go."

Calls by The Associated Press to Canseco and to his attorney, Greg Emerson, were not immediately returned.

Anonymous said...

Lucy.............you got suhn splaineen to do!

Anonymous said...

I love that line, "just let the house go because it didn't make sense." Unreal. You buy a house for $5 mil, borrow $4 to do it, and if it becomes worth less than $4, it's YOUR problem, not the banks.

As for Ed, I have no idea what his real situation is - how much he made, spent, still has, etc., but hasn't he had a few divorces? Between the taxes he paid, the big lifestyle and maintenance and the settlement(s?), I would bet he's left with less than we think. I suppose one of the big problems here is that, as I believe someone said, the house cost him 2 mil, he owes almost 5 (he must have refinanced to get cash out when the value had risen), and he's going to have a big tax bill even though he'll see little to no cash out of a sale.

It's really sad, and really all too common.

Anonymous said...

I thought I heard Larry King last night say he'd be having an "exclusive" with Ed McMahon tonight...but don't hold me to that. I thought McMahon was a pretty down-to-earth Philly guy until he went all Hollywood with the facelift and Chiclet caps. Damn, he doesn't even look recognizable from his days with Johnny! Anyway, I'm sure when we hear from him, it will be pure damage control....it will be "old news", or some kind of beureaucratic mix-up, or some such crap. If he does use the "broken neck" excuse, that will be very sad...even I have a retirement plan that does not require working into my 80's for God's sake.

Anonymous said...

"Bureaucratic" I meant (sp).

so_chic_darling said...

When I first moved to this country the tonight show was my popular culture window,it was cool then.
I wish him well.

Anonymous said...

Its actually a brilliant business decision to pull out 4.8 million dollars of a house with mold problems that probably is barely worth that. Otherwise he has to sell it pay capital gains from his original price. I think hes kinda duping everyone by having a 4.8 million dollar loan + the free ride he is getting to live there until they foreclose and kick him out. So didn't he just get 4.8 million tax free

Anonymous said...

According to one of those ET/TMZ/Extra updates, debt is deeper than the house. (AmEx -$740,000+). How could things go this badly for him. I too wish him well.

Anonymous said...

They said on the news in LA that he was worth close to 200 million at one time. But the two ex-wives have cut into the money pie big time. And he had money managers making very bad investments.
His current wife, who is 32 years younger, is waiting for the last piece of the inheritance pie. Good luck bitch!
So sad that his two ex-wives treat him like this. You would think the former wives and kids would help him out, since it is his MONEY they have been pocketing.

I would just dump the house and call it break even. They said he has been trying to sell it for the last two years. He needs to really lower the price. The house does not look that appealing for that type of price. Check it out under "Celebrity Estate" -
http://alexdavishomes.com/


He would be better off in a condo or a assisted living complex.

Most importantly, he needs protection from the money vultures!
Someone is giving him BAD advise.

Anonymous said...

The decorating is pretty terrible. The house is nice I guess, but this whole episode is so unseemly. I feel bad for Ed. Somebody do something.

Starting with getting rid of the leopard print and zebra stripe fabrics all over his house.

Anonymous said...

The leopard print stirs me profoundly

StPaulSnowman said...

It will only be a matter of time before "Celebrity Foreclosures" hits the reality TV airways........and who better to host it?

Anonymous said...

D.Ellin just bought McMahons place...

Anonymous said...

FYI, the price of his house has been lowered to $4,600,000

Anonymous said...

Isn't it obvious that he lost his money gambling? He's probably an out of control compulsive gambler. the nonsense reasons that the press is giving, ie. "His daughter's divorce cost him a lot of money." Or "His failing health won't allow him to work." These reasons are nonsense. When a person has earned hundreds of millions of dollars , and doesn't have a house paid in full----he's probably gambling. Maybe that's why "philanthropist" Trump is kind of bailing him out.