Ed Shaughnessy, ‘Tonight Show’ drummer, dies at 84

Ed Shaughnessy, a jazz drummer who worked on the Tonight Show for nearly 30 years, has died at age 84.

According to The New York Times, his son Dan confirmed that he died of a heart attack at his Calabasas, California home.

Shaughnessy was an acclaimed jazz drummer, having worked with the likes of Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Billie Holiday and others. For four years, he had the tedious job of being the CBS Television Studios staff drummer. That made him think twice about working with Johnny Carson, who asked him to join the Tonight Show in 1963. He eventually said yes and he stayed on the show even when it moved from New York to California and when Jay Leno took over.

The Los Angeles Times reports that he stayed on the show until 1992. He recalled his experiences in the 2010 memoir Lucky Drummer.

Shaughnessy is survived by his son Dan and three grandchildren. His wife, Ilene Woods, who voiced Cinderella in the 1950 Disney film, died in 2010.