Ed McMahon Goes to Bat for Jimmy, Fields a Lawsuit

Wed., Jul. 30, 2008 2:07 PM PDT by

Ed McMahon Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com

Looks like Ed McMahon scored that Jimmy Kimmel Live! gig just in time.

The financially strapped TV icon, who recently shot a series of rib-tickling commercial segments for Kimmel's late-night ABC show, was sued in federal court today by a New York divorce attorney who says he was never paid after representing McMahon's daughter in a "matrimonial matter."

Legal eagle Norman Solovay says the former Tonight Show wingman and wife Pamela hired him to represent Linda Schmerge, McMahon's daughter from another relationship, according to the plaintiff's attorney, Michael Shankar.

Solovay was then left hanging after his client ran up a $275,168 tab, per the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Team Ed was staying mum until it had a chance to review the paperwork.

"We reserve comment until we've had the chance to review the documents, which we haven't been served with yet," publicist Howard Bragman told Reuters.

But at least it seems as if the small-screen fixture finally has some money coming in. In his first TV appearance since he broke his neck in a fall last year (not including the woe-is-me interviews on Larry King Live and the like), McMahon stumped for Pontiac in a sketch in which he taught Kimmel a thing or two about salesmanship.

"I went in like a professional to do a commercial, like I've done a million times in my life in my long career," McMahon said last week. "That's what I went in to do. Of course, we had fun with it. There's one where Kimmel's locked up in the trunk, and I'm pretending to be Jimmy Kimmel. It was fun, but we're still selling a product."

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