Ed McMahon in ‘Extremely Serious’ Condition

Former ‘Tonight Show’ sidekick Ed McMahon apparently is gravely ill after spending the last month in an undisclosed hospital. TMZ reports the 85-year-old star is in “extremely serious” condition, with pneumonia, bone cancer and other medical problems.

Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman said McMahon, who turns 86 next week, is currently in the intensive care unit of an undisclosed hospital.

He said one of McMahon’s medical problems is pneumonia, but he declined to confirm or deny if he has also been diagnosed with bone cancer.

McMahon’s hospitalization follows a difficult year for the veteran TV celebrity, making headlines last summer when he defaulted on a $4.8 million mortgage on his six-bedroom Beverly Hills mansion. He later found a buyer for the house to avoid foreclosure.

McMahon blamed his financial woes on having broken his neck about 18 months earlier, leaving him unable to work. He sued a friend where the accident occurred and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, accusing the hospital of failing to diagnose the neck fracture after he fell and of botching two subsequent spine operations.

In addition to his stints on “The Tonight Show,” host of “Star Search,” and co-host of Jerry Lewis’ annual Labor Day telethon, McMahon became well-known as the presenter of the American Family Publishing sweepstakes and as a pitchman for numerous commercials, most notably for Budweiser beer.

He also served as the longtime benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association.