June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson's sidekick on ``The Tonight Show'' for three decades, may lose his home to foreclosure. The Mediterranean-style estate near Beverly Hills, California, has been up for sale for two years.

A default notice for $643,596 was filed against the 85-year- old McMahon by ReconTrust Co., a unit of Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. home lender. The default involves a $4.8 million mortgage issued by Calabasas, California-based Countrywide, according to property-record data collected by Discovery Bay, California-based ForeclosureRadar.

McMahon's six-bedroom, five-bathroom home is one of the almost 650,000 properties that were in some stage of foreclosure during the first quarter, according to Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac Inc. Falling home prices have left homeowners unable to sell or refinance to avoid defaulting on their mortgages.

``Ed is not alone,'' Howard Bragman, McMahon's spokesman, said in an interview today. ``There are hundreds of thousands of Americans in the same situation. Despite his own situation, he's very empathetic to what other people are going through right now.''

McMahon's 7,013-square-foot (652-square-meter) home went up for sale at about $7 million in mid-2006, said Alex Davis, his real estate broker. The price was later dropped to $5.75 million and then, two months ago, increased to $6.25 million. The boost was needed to pay what McMahon owes on the house, Davis said.

McMahon's estate is off Mulholland Drive in the 90210 ZIP code, just north of Beverly Hills. A Web page offering the house for sale says the master suite has a ``sweeping canyon'' view and that the ``foreign imported doors and meticulously chosen fireplaces are unlike any other.''

Celebrity Premium

The price increase won't put off buyers, Davis said, pointing to the strength of the luxury home market in Los Angeles, even as overall home prices and sales drop in Southern California.

``If the house is defaulted on, foreclosed on, I think it's worth a lot less,'' Davis said. ``I truly believe if the McMahons are living there, that it'll be able to sell at this price,'' he said, adding that ``people pay a premium in Los Angeles for celebrity-owned homes.''

The default notice was filed on March 3, according to ForeclosureRadar. Its filing was reported earlier today by the Wall Street Journal. A message left for a Countrywide spokesman was not immediately returned.

McMahon was the ``Tonight Show'' sidekick from 1962 until Carson retired in 1992, supplying both the drawn-out ``Heeeere's Johnny!'' introduction and constant laughter at the host's gags. McMahon also hosted the syndicated talent show ``Star Search'' and was a pitchman for the American Family Publishers sweepstakes.

Negotiations

McMahon is in negotiations over his mortgage, said Bragman, who wouldn't discuss why the entertainer has been unable to keep his payments current.

``I'm not going to discuss his financial well-being, what happened to his money, or anything like that,'' Bragman said.

McMahon isn't the only celebrity with mortgage problems. Former baseball star Jose Canseco, who last played in the major leagues in 2001 and wrote a 2005 book revealing steroid use in the sport, also is losing his Los Angeles home to foreclosure, television show Inside Edition reported last month.

``It's happening to anyone and everyone,'' Canseco told Inside Edition at the time.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Taub in Los Angeles at dtaub@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 4, 2008 14:52 EDT