US TV star McMahon settles case

US television star Ed McMahon has made an out of court settlement with a Los Angeles hospital over a claim that they failed to treat him properly.

The 86-year-old long-serving sidekick of talk show host Johnny Carson had claimed the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre failed to diagnose his broken neck.

McMahon, who retired in 1992, had also claimed the hospital botched two operations which left him in pain.

He was best known for introducing Carson with: "Heeeeeeeeere's Johnny."

He made his booming, drawn-out precursor to the host's arrival on The Tonight Show for 30 years, and stepped down at the same time as Carson.

McMahon sued the hospital last July and also has an outstanding claim against the owners of a rest home dating back to 2007, when he suffered a fall.

In 2008, he defaulted on the mortgage to his Hollywood mansion, and said that his financial woes were due to an inability to work following health problems.

Earlier this year he was treated in intensive care in hospital suffering from pneumonia.

At the time, his publicist declined to comment on reports that the TV star was also suffering from bone cancer.