Ed McMahon, 86, The World’s Top Second Banana

Robert Lloyd: “Notwithstanding the dozen years of hosting Star Search, a role in the 1997 Tom Arnold sitcom The Tom Show, a high-profile Cash4Gold ad during the last Super Bowl and all that knocking on people’s doors in the name of American Family Publishers, McMahon was a professional sidekick, a less-than-equal partner in an enterprise of which he was nevertheless a vital part. … But in a world where everyone is innately a star, what does it mean to settle for life as a mere moon?”

Moscow International Ballet Competition Declines To Award Grand Prize

Gold medals were given in men’s and women’s solo (to Vladimir Shklyarov and Maria Semeniachenko) and duet categories as well as for choreography (to Yury Smelakov). Yet “no single dancer was deemed impressive enough to win the Marina Semyonova grand prix – the competition is dedicated to the legendary Russian dancer – and the $10,000 cash prize that goes along with it.”