Late night voice that made us smile

"Heeeeeeeeeee's Johnny!"

Word of Ed McMahon's passing Tuesday made a lot of folks in my generation repeat that famous expression with a smile.

It was the Tonight Show announcer's signature introduction for Johnny Carson, America's late night TV host for 30 years.

It was a catchphrase that defined an era.

So did McMahon's "Hi-yohhh!"

Know how some people will say they stay up just late enough to hear David Letterman's Top Ten List?

That was us 25 years ago, waiting up just to hear Johnny's monologue before hitting the sack.

I used to stay up to watch in high school when the show was still in New York City.

Same in college.

Starting out in the working world, too, when the show moved to Burbank, Calif., in 1972.

No matter how the day had gone, hearing Doc Severinsen and the NBC Orchestra play the Tonight Show's familiar theme song, followed by McMahon's booming voice lightened your mood.

Hi-yohhh!

To be able to hear that again live.

God speed, Ed McMahon.