July 9 (Bloomberg) — Former National Football League quarterback Steve McNair was murdered by his “distraught” girlfriend, who then committed suicide, Nashville police said.

McNair and his 20-year-old girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi, were found shot to death July 4 at a Nashville condominium that the former Tennessee Titans player owned with a friend.

Nashville Police Chief Ronal Serpas said at a televised news conference that Kazemi was “spinning out of control” in the days before the shootings, upset by money concerns and the belief that McNair was seeing another woman.

“While we may never know exactly what drove Miss Kazemi to make that decision on that Saturday morning, the totality of the evidence clearly points to a murder-suicide,” Serpas said.

Investigators determined that McNair was probably asleep sitting up on the couch when Kazemi shot him once in the right temple, twice in the chest and then once in the left temple. She then positioned herself next to him and killed herself with a single gunshot to the head.

McNair, who was married with four children, had been dating Kazemi for several months before the shootings. She bought the semi-automatic pistol two days before the killings.

“Over the last five to seven days of Miss Kazemi’s life, our investigation is learning that she was very distraught,” Serpas said. “On two occasions she told friends and associates that her life was all messed up and she was going to end it.”

Co-MVP

McNair was the NFL’s co-Most Valuable Player in 2003, sharing the award with Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. He retired from the NFL in April 2008 after 13 seasons with the Houston Oilers-Titans franchise and the Baltimore Ravens.

McNair met Kazemi about six months ago while she was working as a waitress at a Nashville restaurant and took her on trips to Florida, Las Vegas, California and Hawaii, the Tennessean newspaper reported. He bought her a Cadillac Escalade for her 20th birthday and told her he planned to get a divorce, Kazemi’s nephew told the Tennessean.

Police said Kazemi was helping to make payments on the Cadillac as well as a second vehicle, and her roommate was about to move out, doubling her rent payments.

In addition, police said Kazemi thought McNair had another girlfriend. She had followed a woman who left the condominium several days before the shootings, Serpas said. McNair co-owned the residence with sporting goods dealer Wayne Neeley, who found the bodies.

“One of the stressers was whether or not her relationship with Mr. McNair was unraveling,” Serpas said. “We can’t put ourselves in the minds of people who do these terribly irrational acts, but we do believe there’s evidence that she was spinning out of control.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

According to his publicist Howard Bragman, the former “Tonight Show” announcer passed away at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in California this morning.

Earlier this year, McMahon was in and out of the hospital for pneumonia and other medical issues, according to sources close to him.

While Bragman did not give a cause of death, he said McMahon had “a multitude of health problems the last few months.”

McMahon had bone cancer, among other illnesses, according to a person close to the entertainer. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

FAST FACTS: Ed McMahon’s Life and Career

Best known for his famous catchphrase “Heeeeeere’s Johnny,” said every night when Johnny Carson took the stage, McMahon spent three decades as the legendary comedian’s sidekick.

McMahon and Carson had worked together for nearly five years on the game show “Who Do You Trust?” when Carson took over NBC’s late-night show from Jack Paar in October 1962. McMahon played second banana on “Tonight” until Carson retired in 1992.

“You can’t imagine hooking up with a guy like Carson,” McMahon said an interview with The Associated Press in 1993. “There’s the old phrase, hook your wagon to a star. I hitched my wagon to a great star.”

PHOTOS: Click here for photos of Ed McMahon through the years.

McMahon, who never failed to laugh at his Carson’s quips, kept his supporting role in perspective.

“It’s like a pitcher who has a favorite catcher,” he said. “The pitcher gets a little help from the catcher, but the pitcher’s got to throw the ball. Well, Johnny Carson had to throw the ball, but I could give him a little help.”

VIDEO: Death of a Television Icon.

The highlight for McMahon came just after the monologue, when he and Carson would chat before the guests took the stage.

“We would just have a free-for-all,” he told the AP. “Now to sit there, with one of the brightest, most well-read men I’ve ever met, the funniest, and just to hold your own in that conversation. … I loved that.”

When Carson died in 2005, McMahon said he was “like a brother to me” and recalled bantering with him on the phone a few months earlier.

“We could have gone on (television) that night and done a ‘Carnac’ skit. We were that crisp and hot.”

His medical and financial problems kept him in the headlines in his last years. It was reported in June 2008 that he was facing possible foreclosure on his Beverly Hills home.

By year’s end, a deal was worked out allowing him to stay in his home, but legal action involving other alleged debts continued.

Among those who had stepped up with offers of help was Donald Trump.

“When I was at the Wharton School of Business I’d watch him every night,” Trump told the Los Angeles Times in August. “How could this happen?”

McMahon even spoofed his own problems with a spot that aired during the 2009 Super Bowl promoting a cash-for-gold business. Pairing up with rap artist MC Hammer, he explained how easy it is to turn gold items into cash, jokingly saying “Goodbye, old friend” to a gold toilet and rolling out a convincing “H-e-e-e-e-e-ere’s money!”

Born Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. on March 6, 1923, in Detroit, McMahon grew up in Lowell, Mass. He got his start on television playing a circus clown on the 1950-51 variety series “Big Top.” But the World War II Marine veteran interrupted his career to serve as a fighter pilot in Korea.

He joined “Who Do You Trust? in 1958, its second year, the start of his long association with Carson. It was a partnership that outlasted their multiple marriages, which provided regular on-air fodder for jokes.

While Carson built his career around “Tonight” and withdrew from the limelight after his retirement, McMahon took a different path. He was host of several shows over the years, including “The Kraft Music Hall” (1968) and the amateur talent contest “Star Search.”

He was a longtime co-host of the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, a Labor Day weekend institution, and was co-host with Dick Clark of “TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes.”

McMahon and Clark also teamed up as pitchmen for American Family Publishers’ sweepstakes, with their faces a familiar sight on contest entry forms and in TV commercials. McMahon was known for his ongoing commercials for Budweiser as well.

He had supporting roles in several movies, including “Fun with Dick and Jane” (1977) and “Just Write” (1997). He took on his first regular TV series job in the 1997 WB sitcom “The Tom Show” with Tom Arnold.

McMahon married his third wife, advertising executive Pam Hurn in 1992, and adopted her son. McMahon and his second wife, Victoria Valentine, had an adopted daughter, and McMahon and first wife Alyce Ferrill had four children.

One son, Michael Edward McMahon, who worked as a counselor for abused children, died of cancer in 1995 at 44.

Ed McMahon released his autobiography, “For Laughing Out Loud: My Life and Good Times,” in 1998. In it, he recounts the birth of “Tonight.”

“Let’s just go down there and entertain the hell out of them,” Carson told him before the first show. Wrote McMahon: “That was the only advice I ever got from him.”

In 1993, he recalled his first meeting with Carson after they left “Tonight.”

“The first thing he said was, ‘I really miss you. You know, it was fun, wasn’t it?”‘ McMahon recalled. “I said, ‘It was great.’ And it was. It was just great.”

Besides his wife, McMahon is survived by children Claudia, Katherine, Linda, Jeffrey and Lex.

Bragman said no funeral arrangements have been made.

Her spokesman, Paul Bloch, confirmed that the iconic actress died Thursday morning at 9:28 a.m. PDT.

Her long-time partner Ryan O’Neal told People magazine Thursday, “She’s gone. She now belongs to the ages … She’s now with her mother and sister and her God. I loved her with all my heart. I will miss her so very, very much. She was in and out of consciousness. I talked to her all through the night. I told her how very much I loved her. She’s in a better place now.”

Other “Charlie’s Angels” stars paid tribute to her.

“Farrah had courage, she had strength, and she had faith. And now she has peace as she rests with the real angels,” Jaclyn Smith said.

Said Cheryl Ladd: “She was incredibly brave, and God will be welcoming her with open arms.”

Her former producer Craig Nevius told FOXNews.com, “She will be remembered as
the modern Mona Lisa and so much more. I will remember her as my friend.”

Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in September 2006 and, despite going into remission and enduring extensive chemotherapy and surgery both in the U.S. and Germany, it was revealed earlier this year that the cancer had spread to her liver. She stopped receiving treatment in May.

Fawcett documented the trials and tribulations of her battle with cancer in the NBC documentary “Farrah’s Story.”

VIDEO: The life and death of an icon.

FAST FACTS: Farrah Fawcett Biography

Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1947 to a homemaker and an oil field contractor, Fawcett was encouraged to pursue a career in Hollywood while attending the University of Texas at Austin after her photo as one of the “Ten Most Beautiful Coeds” landed on the lap of a Los Angeles publicist. After scoring a string of commercials for consumer products and a few small television roles she finally hit the big-time with “Charlie’s Angels.” But Fawcett, eager to pursue greater acting challenges, left the show after just one season.

Police said there were no signs of forced entry to Mays’ residence and foul play is not suspected. Authorities said an autopsy should be complete by Monday afternoon.

“Although Billy lived a public life, we don’t anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days. Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times,” Mays wife, Deborah, said in a statement on Sunday.

Mays was well known for his numerous television promotions of such products as Orange Glo and OxiClean. He was also featured on the reality TV show “Pitchmen” on the Discovery Channel, which followed Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs.

Born William Mays in McKees Rocks, Pa., on July 20, 1958, Mays developed his style demonstrating knives, mops and other “as seen on TV” gadgets on Atlantic City’s boardwalk. For years he worked as a hired gun on the state fair and home show circuits, attracting crowds with his booming voice and genial manner.

After meeting Orange Glo International founder Max Appel at a home show in Pittsburgh in the mid-1990s, Mays was recruited to demonstrate the environmentally friendly line of cleaning products on the St. Petersburg-based Home Shopping Network.

Commercials and informercials followed, anchored by the high-energy Mays showing how it’s done while tossing out kitschy phrases like, “Long live your laundry!”

Recently he’s been seen on commercials for a wide variety of products and is featured on the reality TV show “Pitchmen” on the Discovery Channel, which follows Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs. He’s also been seen in ESPN ads.

His ubiquitousness and thumbs-up, in-your-face pitches won Mays plenty of fans. People line up at his personal appearances for autographed color glossies, and strangers stop him in airports to chat about the products.

“I enjoy what I do,” Mays told The Associated Press in a 2002 interview. “I think it shows.”

Mays was on board a US Airways flight that blew out its front tires as it landed at a Tampa airport on Saturday, MyFOXTampa.com reported.

US Airways spokesman Jim Olson said that none of the 138 passengers and five crew members were injured in the incident, but several passengers reported having bumps and bruises, according to the station.

Authorities have not said whether Mays’ death was related to the incident.

Discovery Channel spokeswoman Elizabeth Hillman released a statement Sunday extending sympathy to the Mays family.

“Everyone that knows him was aware of his larger-than-life personality, generosity and warmth,” Hillman’s statement said. “Billy was a pioneer in his field and helped many people fulfill their dreams. He will be greatly missed as a loyal and compassionate friend.”

Police said there were no signs of forced entry to Mays’ residence and foul play is not suspected. Authorities said an autopsy should be complete by Monday afternoon.

“Although Billy lived a public life, we don’t anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days. Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times,” Mays wife, Deborah, said in a statement on Sunday.

Mays was well known for his numerous television promotions of such products as Orange Glo and OxiClean. He was also featured on the reality TV show “Pitchmen” on the Discovery Channel, which followed Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs.

Born William Mays in McKees Rocks, Pa., on July 20, 1958, Mays developed his style demonstrating knives, mops and other “as seen on TV” gadgets on Atlantic City’s boardwalk. For years he worked as a hired gun on the state fair and home show circuits, attracting crowds with his booming voice and genial manner.

After meeting Orange Glo International founder Max Appel at a home show in Pittsburgh in the mid-1990s, Mays was recruited to demonstrate the environmentally friendly line of cleaning products on the St. Petersburg-based Home Shopping Network.

Commercials and informercials followed, anchored by the high-energy Mays showing how it’s done while tossing out kitschy phrases like, “Long live your laundry!”

Recently he’s been seen on commercials for a wide variety of products and is featured on the reality TV show “Pitchmen” on the Discovery Channel, which follows Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs. He’s also been seen in ESPN ads.

His ubiquitousness and thumbs-up, in-your-face pitches won Mays plenty of fans. People line up at his personal appearances for autographed color glossies, and strangers stop him in airports to chat about the products.

“I enjoy what I do,” Mays told The Associated Press in a 2002 interview. “I think it shows.”

Mays was on board a US Airways flight that blew out its front tires as it landed at a Tampa airport on Saturday, MyFOXTampa.com reported.

US Airways spokesman Jim Olson said that none of the 138 passengers and five crew members were injured in the incident, but several passengers reported having bumps and bruises, according to the station.

Authorities have not said whether Mays’ death was related to the incident.

Discovery Channel spokeswoman Elizabeth Hillman released a statement Sunday extending sympathy to the Mays family.

“Everyone that knows him was aware of his larger-than-life personality, generosity and warmth,” Hillman’s statement said. “Billy was a pioneer in his field and helped many people fulfill their dreams. He will be greatly missed as a loyal and compassionate friend.”

Well, to be honest, I had all these great things to say about the Michael Jackson memorial, but then the sight of his young daughter sobbing into a microphone just completely knocked the snark out of me. Honestly, that poor kid. My god. It’s going to take me a while to get over that. But the blog must go on! And since this was the biggest televised event in the history of televised events, let’s run down some of the highlights and lowlights of Hollywood’s tribute to the biggest star the world has ever known.

This probably sounds weird, but I actually loved all the Jackson brothers wearing one sparkly glove. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but it just felt like a nice, loving gesture. Also, sparkles for the win, in any situation.

Brooke Shields gave the most genuine, heartfelt eulogy by any non-Jackson of the morning by far. It was like she was the only person there who understands what funerals are. She was also one of the few people there who never made money off of Michael, as our lovely recapper Cindy McLennan reminded me. Very classily done, Brooke.

And while that may have been the most appropriate eulogy, Magic Johnson had the best Michael anecdote ever. KFC with the King of Pop? Amazing. I don’t know if he has, because I follow basketball about as closely as I follow professional curling, but he should have been telling that story to everyone who would listen for years by now.

This is going to be controversial in the comments, but for my money, Jennifer Hudson’s performance blew me away the most out of anybody’s. Did not expect anyone to sing the Free Willy song, and I certainly never expected the Free Willy song to be so powerfully entertaining. She looked fantastic, too, despite being 47 months pregnant.

Now for some less-than-impressive moments. First of all, there was a tendency throughout the whole thing to express that Michael Jackson did supernatural things like make Magic Johnson a better point guard just by being such an amazing entertainer, for example. And of course Michael Jackson was an amazing entertainer and in several aspects a very inspirational figure, but Magic Johnson was a phenomenal point guard because Magic Johnson was a phenomenal point guard. It is possible to pay tribute to someone without cheapening it by just making overreaching crap up. Brooke Shields managed to do it without saying the Thriller album made her Calvins fit better.

Al Sharpton was Al Sharpton. Nothing more, nothing less.

Personally, I was disappointed that the rumors of a Beyonce performance turned out to not be true. You already know how I feel about Justin Timberlake, so it shouldn’t be a shock that I was relieved he didn’t show up.

So let me get this straight — that Congresswoman came to shout a lot and then alert us to the fact that she’s enacting a congressional resolution that declares that Michael Jackson was a very famous person? Now, I know that congressional resolutions are often meaningless like this — I’ve seen The West Wing — but, you know, c’mon, lady. This was a funeral, not a voter’s rally, and her speech was ridiculously tacky.

Usher sang with aviators on, and then had the nerve to touch the casket during his performance, the only performer to do so. I understand he may have had the glasses on because he was embarrassed about crying or something, and I do admit that he sounded great, as he always does, but take those sunglasses off, jackass.

And how dare you, John Mayer.

Lionel Richie sounded so good! I’m not familiar with the song “Jesus is Love,” but I guess it’s really well-known? It sounds familiar? Anyway, he did a nice, tasteful job, and didn’t seem to me like he was making it all about him. Ditto for Stevie Wonder.

And now, it’s time to talk about the Britain’s Got Talent kid, Shaheen Jafargholi. Obviously, the kid is wildly talented, and a genuine Michael Jackson superfan. I am not questioning those two things. But yikes, bringing him on to perform at a funeral for someone who was so psychologically damaged from (among many things) entering show business at too young an age, seemed… inappropriate. But, hey, more power to the kid. He sounded great.

And Janet was just breathtakingly gorgeous. Her helping Paris with her mic stand and then hugging her when she cried just killed me. So sad.