HARRISBURG, Pa., April 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ed McMahon, a noted author, attorney, lecturer and expert on creating and sustaining livable and prosperous communities, will speak at a free public event on Monday, April 12, at Allenberry Resort and Playhouse in Boiling Springs, Cumberland County.

The 44th annual Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon will be opened in Las Vegas by singer Wynonna Judd, organizers say. The Las Vegas Review-Journal said Friday that Judd will kick off the live Labor Day telethon Sunday night at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa in Las Vegas, that is scheduled to run for 21 1/2 hours. Also among the telethon's performers will be singers Bo Bice, Tony Orlando and Joshua Bell, along with the Las Vegas Mass Choir and the Ten Tenors. Comedian George Wallace and ventriloquist Ronn Lucas are also slated for telethon appearances. Lewis said this year's telethon will be particularly emotional because of the June death of anchor Ed McMahon, who previously helped Lewis run the live broadcast that began in 1966. It's hard to imagine doing the show without him, Lewis said in a statement Ed was a dear, dear friend.

Celebrities such as Britney Spears and David Letterman are expressing their sorrow regarding the death of U.S. television icon Ed McMahon.

Famed US television personality Ed McMahon has died, his agent said Tuesday. The former Tonight Show sidekick and Star Search host was 86.

Ed McMahon's publicist said the ailing U.S. television personality is still fighting the good fight. TMZ said the former Tonight Show sidekick and Star Search host remains hospitalized in an Intensive Care Unit where he is being treated for pneumonia, bone cancer and other medical problems.