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He was born in Chicago, Illinois to a Swedish family, grew up in Decatur, Michigan, and taught himself ventriloquism from a pamphlet when he was only 11. A few years later he commissioned a woodcarver to make a portrait of a rascally Irish newspaperboy he knew. The head went on a puppet named Charlie McCarthy, who became Bergen's lifelong sidekick.
His first performances were in vaudeville and one-reel movie shorts, but his real success was on the radio. He and Charlie were seen at a Hollywood party by Noel Coward, who recommended them for an appearance on Rudy Vallee's program - the appearance was so successful that the next year they were given their own show. They were on the air from 1937 to 1956.
For the radio program, Bergen developed other characters, notably the slow-witted Mortimer Snerd and the man-hungry Effie Clinker. The star, however, was Charlie, who was always presented as a child – albeit in top-hat, cape, and monocle – a debonair, girl-crazy, child-about-town. As a child, and a wooden one at that, Charlie could get away with double entendre that adult humans could not, even in those more-censored times.
Similar lines given to human Mae WestMae West ( August 17, 1893 November 22, 1980) was an American actress. She was born Mary Jane West in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of John Patrick West and Matilda Delker Doelger. Her younger sister and brother were Mildred West, called Beverly, and J in a sketch on the show resulted in her 15-year broadcasting ban.
Charlie's feud with W. C. FieldsFields ( January 29, 1880 December 25, 1946) was an American comedian and actor. Fields created one of the great American comic personas of the first half of the 20th century a misanthrope who teetered on the edge of buffoonery but never quite fell in, an was a regular feature of the show.
Bergen was not the most technically skilled ventriloquist – Charlie McCarthy frequently twitted him for moving his lips; but his sense of comedic timing was superb, and he handled Charlie's snappy dialogue with aplomb. Bergen's brilliant wit in creating McCarthy's striking personality and that of his other characters was the making of the show. And moving his lips hardly mattered, as he was a radio ventriloquist.
Bergen and McCarthy are sometimes credited with "saving the world" because, on the night of October 30October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining. Events 1470 Henry VI of England returns to the throne after Earl of Warwick defeats Yorkists in battle. 1831 In Southampton County, Virginia,, 1938Events January -June January 3 The March of Dimes is established by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. January 11 Frances Moulton is the first woman to become president of a US national bank. January 20 Wedding of king Farouk I of Egypt and Farida Zulficar in Cai when Orson WellesCarl Van Vechten, 1937 George Orson Welles ( May 6, 1915 October 10, 1985) is commonly considered one of Hollywood's greatest directors, as well as a fine actor and screenwriter. Early career Welles was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He had an unusual childh performed his War of the Worlds radio play that so panicked the nation, most of the American public had tuned in to hear Bergen and McCarthy and never heard Welles' play.
After the radio show ended, Bergen and McCarthy appeared on the televisionSee TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band Television is a telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound over a distance. The term has come to refer to all the aspects of television p show Do You Trust Your Wife? , and also in live performance.
In addition to his work as a ventriloquist, Bergen was also an actor. He appeared as the shy Norwegian suitor in I Remember Mama (1948). He also appeared in Captain China (1949) and Don't Make Waves (1965). He and McCarthy appeared in The Goldwyn Follies (1938) and in The Muppet Movie (1979). It was his last appearance, and the film was dedicated to him. In 1938 Bergen was presented an Honorary Oscar (in the form of a wooden Oscar stauette) for his creation of Charlie McCarthy.
He attended Northwestern University, but did not graduate. Later the school gave him an honorary degree as Master of Innuendo and Snappy Comeback.
Edgar Bergen died of kidney disease in Las Vegas, Nevada at age 75; he is interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California. He was elected to the Radio Hall of Fame in 1990, the same year that The Charlie McCarthy Show was selected as an honored program.
Bergen was the father of actress Candice Bergen, whose first performances were on the radio show; although she came to be weary of being called "Charlie's little sister".
In 1940 he was grand marshall of the Tournament of Roses Parade.