The Untold Story of Ed McMahon and Publishers Clearing House's Early Days

Table Of Content

• Reason #5: Picture of McMahon with Big Check
• Publishers Clearing House commercials from the 1990s do show people being surprised with big checks.
• Does buying help you win?
• The Untold Story of Ed McMahon and Publishers Clearing House’s Early Days
• Secaucus couple charged in multimillion-dollar ‘Publishers Clearing House’ scam

But whether McMahon was hosting Star Search or doing ads for Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, he still seemed to be playing a supporting role to other people having their moment in the sun. "According to the information that I have, the envelope I received, it seems that I may already have won some very valuable prizes," Seinfeld riffs. He later sued Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and two doctors claiming fraud, battery, elder abuse, and emotional distress, and accused them of discharging him with a broken neck after his fall and botching two later neck surgeries. Some people claim that this is an example of a Mandela Effect, a phenomenon where memory doesn't seem to match up with reality. There are conspiracy theories that denying McMahon worked for PCH is some kind of coverup. For example, this video claims to prove that Ed McMahon worked for PCH shows a picture of Ed McMahon and Dick Clark in an advertisement.

Reason #5: Picture of McMahon with Big Check

Wide Open Country focuses on country music, and is based in Nashville. Finally, their sports publication FanBuzz previously belonged to Cox Media Group. Contrary to popular belief, the late Mr. Ed McMahon was never affiliated with Publishers Clearing House.

Publishers Clearing House commercials from the 1990s do show people being surprised with big checks.

McMahon also appeared in a commercial for Neighborhood Watch, in which homeowners are surprised to see McMahon ask them to sign up for the program instead of presenting them with a cash prize. Ed McMahon made a number of guest appearances on popular television shows, playing off his reputation of making dreams come true by delivering millions of dollars to people's doors. Publishers Clearing House, the Jericho-based sweepstakes and magazine subscription company, plans to lay off 156 workers at its headquarters starting in July, according to a state filing.

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Does buying help you win?

If a stamp appeared in the proper window, the envelope was opened for further processing; if not, the envelope was scanned for entry in the sweepstakes, then thrown away unopened. PCH and American Family Publishing (AFP), the magazine subscription company McMahon really did work for, were often mistaken for each other. This could explain why people became convinced McMahon worked for PCH.

"I think that's why people enter, even though they're aware that it's only a promotion, that we're trying to sell you something," he muses. Winning Ways Bob Castleberry had just come home from the office and was watching the evening news; the Prize Patrol showed up on his doorstep and Castleberry had to sit down. Bob Hardie of Whittsett, N.C., the most recent winner (of a mere million), was stopped by unmarked vans en route to work one morning and briefly wondered whether he was being carjacked. Documents filed with the New York Department of State show that the company has mailed out 220 million envelopes, whose recipients are eligible to win Giveaway No. 110, concluding tomorrow.

The Untold Story of Ed McMahon and Publishers Clearing House’s Early Days

None of this surprises the masterminds of the Publishers Clearing House mailings. Years ago they dabbled with more exotic prizes, offering a $75,000 private plane, a thoroughbred racehorse. "You talk to winners, all they want to do is pay their bills and do very mundane things," says Tom Owens.

McMahon also made frequent appearances on sitcoms to deliver giant checks to characters. As one YouTuber points out, McMahon did this in episodes of Roseanne, Who's The Boss? McMahon also handed out a small check to Jay Leno on The Tonight Show as a joke. In an episode of The Golden Girls, Betty White's character also says McMahon works for PCH. On April 20, 2002, McMahon sued his insurance company for more than $20 million, alleging that he was sickened by toxic mold that spread through his Beverly Hills house after contractors failed to properly clean up water damage from a broken pipe. McMahon and his wife, Pamela, became ill from the mold, as did members of their household staff, according to the Los Angeles County Superior Court suit.

Publishers said the layoffs will not impact its sweepstakes, which have given out $593 million in prizes over the years. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy. These publications focus on particular topics.[47] Wide Open Spaces is about outdoors lifestyle, the Editorial Director of the publication is Rachael Schultz, formerly of Insider and Hearst Communications.

That same year, Jerry Seinfeld appeared on Carson with a bit about the sweepstakes.

The ads show stunned actual winners, who never pay attention to announcements of winning numbers. Spokesman Sayer and several colleagues put on blue Prize Patrol blazers when a winner is identified and show up at his or her home or workplace with champagne, bouquets, an oversized "check" and a cameraman. The right to use your face and name in ads is part of what you signed away (read the fine print) when you mailed in your entry. The odds of winning top prize in a typical state lottery might be one in 15 million to 17 million, according to John Mendenhall, the Federal Trade Commission's resident expert on sweepstakes. In magazine sweepstakes, the odds could be one in 100 million or worse.

"Having done this for many years for PCH (where the surprises are totally real -- not set ups), I can tell you there are many times the winners aren't home, live in rural hard to get to areas, etc.). That's why Ed/Dick [Clark] could never do this." "There are hundreds of videos for Publishers Clearing House online showing our Prize Patrol knocking on doors and surprising winners, including the famous 'Super Bowl Sunday' surprises (and again with no Ed McMahon). Snopes also discovered McMahon's interview with Tom Green, in which McMahon claims he handed out $110 million in prizes. He said he really did "walk up to people's doorsteps" to hand-deliver the winnings. After AFP hired Dick Clark, he would join McMahon to deliver the prizes. However, Snopes found no images or video of McMahon making the deliveries.

If you're one of the tens of millions of people who returned their sweepstakes entries in time for tomorrow's announcement of the $10 million winning number during "NBC Nightly News," you reacted just as extensive research and long experience predicted you would. One of McMahon’s most famous bits was his interaction with guests on “The Price is Right.” Whenever a contestant hit a price they could not afford, McMahon would offer them a consolation prize. One such prize was a check from Publishers Clearing House, an organization that mailed out cash rewards to people who correctly predicted the outcomes of certain events. McMahon worked as a newsman before being hired by the late Pat Sajak and Dick Clark to host their popular TV show “The Price is Right.” After leaving “The Price is Right,” McMahon became an early investor in the now-famous Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes. In 1974, McMahon partnered with game show producer Bob Stewart and created “Match Game.” The show ran for nine seasons and helped make Stewart one of the most successful television producers ever. "Do you really think, AFP would fly Ed all over the country and knock on strangers' doors unannounced? Of course not, because it would be a waste of time and money," Sloane explains further.

Publishers Clearing House (PCH) is a marketing company that sells merchandise and magazine subscriptions but is best known for its sweepstakes with large cash prizes. They featured Americans being presented with large checks that could change their lives. However, the company was accused of misleading customers about the odds of really winning. In 2000, Congress responded to these concerns with the Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act to regulate direct mailing businesses. Most of AFP's entry envelopes had windows on the back revealing an OCR code to identify the customer and sweepstakes, as well as any magazine subscription stamps on the entry form.

Another source of revenue for the company comes from advertising on PCH’s digital properties. Contrary to popular belief, Ed McMahon has never been a spokesperson for our company, and has never had any affiliation with Publishers Clearing House. Mr. McMahon worked for American Family Publishers, which is no longer in business. PCH puts its TV advertising spotlight on real sweepstakes winners who are surprised and videotaped live by PCH employees that make up the PCH Prize Patrol.