Odd Couple: Ed McMahon and Donald Trump

Ed McMahon has spent years showing up at other peoples' houses with giant checks in hand, and now, someone's finally returning the favor.

Just weeks before the onetime Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes pitchman's Beverly Hills home was set to be foreclosed upon, an impressively coiffed angel swooped down to the rescue: Donald Trump has agreed to buy the house on McMahon's behalf.

"I don't know the man, but I grew up watching him on TV," Trump told the Los Angeles Times.

McMahon was facing foreclosure after defaulting on mortgage loans from Countrywide; the 85 year-old TV veteran has been unable to work due to a neck injury, and fell $644,000 behind on mortgage payments.

No word yet on how much The Donald paid for the home, but the asking price was $4.6 million (the six-bedroom, five-bathroom house had been on the market for about two years). He plans to lease the property back to McMahon and let him continue to live there.

Trump's offer comes after McMahon's listing agent placed an ad in a realty trade publication, imploring his colleagues to help find a last-minute buyer for the home.

Times have been tough for Ed. He's pressing a number of lawsuits related to his neck injury, claiming everything from elder abuse to intentional infliction of emotional distress. Meanwhile, Citibank is suing him for repayment of $200,000 the bank allegedly loaned him.

But things seem to be looking up. In addition to the recent kindness from The Donald, McMahon has gotten work appearing in a number of comedy segments on Jimmy Kimmel Live - the first of which aired at the end of July.

"When I was at the Wharton School of Business, I'd watch him every night," Trump said to the L.A. Times of McMahon. "How could this happen?"

We don't know, Donald. We just don't know.

by Liz Gunnison

Photograph of Ed McMahon's home courtesy of Alex Davis Estates/Splash News