Sidekicks.

Lost among all the frenzy about the death of Michael Jackson was the passing earlier this week of Ed McMahon. Ed lived a bunch of his professional life sitting on a couch, laughing at Johnny Carson's jokes. He wasn't the co host of the Tonight Show; his job was that of being a sidekick.

Sidekicks never get the accolades that their leader receives. They don't receive top billing or the rewards, monetary or otherwise. But there they are, right along side the big guy, loyal to a tee.

Some sidekicks do draw their own attention of sorts. Where would Don Quixote be without Sancho Panza? Sancho plays the everyman, lacking both the knowledge or the madness of his boss, but provides help in keeping him out of trouble.

The Lone Ranger had Tonto. Tonto never played dumb, though a lot of native Americans found his pidgin English annoying. Tonto, too, got the Ranger out of a lot of jams, as well as providing the Ranger somebody to talk to, a literary trick to provide information to the audience.

Lassie had Timmie. Captain Kangaroo had Mr. Green Jeans. Maxwell Smart had Agent 99. Our first President Bush had Dan Quayle. Quayle's job was to make his boss look smart by comparison.

I always thought of myself as a sidekick kind of guy. Not the brightest bulb in the lamp, but providing what illumination I could to the situation. My demeanor doesn't lend itself to leadership, I've found. I'm not the hero, but I've tried to be a good right hand man to a number of people.

The trick is finding the right person to be a sidekick for, though. Some of those Alpha Dog types have sidekicks that end up getting kicked in the side, or worse. Rule: Never be a sidekick to a megalomaniac who wants to take over the world. James Bond will kill you in the third reel.