Backstage at Disney-MGM Studios, Ed McMahon is sitting on his dressing room couch, barefoot and relaxed in an open neck denim shirt and white slacks.
He is waxing merrily about a TV commercial he would like to produce with Disney in which he would skip lightly through the Disney-MGM Studios arch with Minnie Mouse.
The announcer, he says in his rich and familiar baritone, will be exclaiming: "Disney World and 'Star Search,' they go hand in hand!"
Forget his 34 years with Johnny Carson -- four as an announcer on Mr. Carson's "Who Do You Trust?" game show and 30 as his sidekick on "The Tonight Show." Mr. McMahon has a new partner now. "Ed McMahon's Star Search," the new and expanded version of his long-running syndicated talent showcase, has put down roots at Disney-MGM Studios, and Mr. McMahon is nothing if not a company man.
"It's a great marriage," said Mr. McMahon, who now sports red Mickey Mouse suspenders underneath his "Star Search" tuxedo jacket.
Indeed, the arrival of "Star Search" at Disney-MGM is a union of two dream-making institutions. For almost a decade now, "Star Search" has been giving aspiring professional performers a shot in the national spotlight. The show gets plugged in films and TV programs ranging from "Murphy Brown" to "The Golden Child," in which Eddie Murphy tells his young friend he will get him on "Star Search" because he knows Ed McMahon personally.
Now thousands of visitors who make their great escape to Disney each year will have a chance to be in the studio audience and a part of the drama. The enthusiastic audiences at Disney-MGM have been the best in the show's history, says executive producer Sam Riddle.
Until this year, "Star Search" aired as a one-hour, weekend show. This season, it is a half-hour weekday show with a one-hour recap on the weekend. ("Star Search" airs locally on WNUV-Channel 54, Monday through Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m.)
"Star Search" began taping its 10th season at Disney-MGM in June and returned this month to produce 30 shows. Mr. McMahon returns again in November, December and January to complete the 156 shows of the season. The new weekday show is airing in 40 markets, while the weekend show continues to air in almost 200. Producers are billing their old-time family variety show as an alternative to the weekday tabloid programs.
