Apr

Old-Time Radio With A Smile – Edgar And Charlie

Filed Under (Article) by musician on 18-04-2011

The Edgar Bergen / Charle McCarthy Show was an absolute winner of an old time radio show, but it may come as a surprise to you as this show actually had a ventriloquist! This was in large part due to the comedic timing and talent of Edgar Bergen.

Bergen was born in 1903 and learned the art of ventriloquism at a young age. Eventually, Edgar had a local work worker create his eventual showbiz partner, the dummy known as Charlie McCarthy.

So, the duo Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy started playing at local talent skits while Bergen studied at college. Eventually he left school and began to perform his act full-time.

His show really took off in the 1930s, with performances across Europe and South America, as well as New York. Film and radio really shot up in popularity at this time, which was why vaudeville began losing a lot of its own success.

By 1936 Edger and Charlie could be heard on NBC's Royal Gelatin Hour. He became a great radio celebrity thanks to his own humor, despite the odd fact that he was a ventriloquist on the radio.

The Edgar and Charlie Show soon followed on NBC in 1937, which was a ratings hit. It wasn't until 1956 that the show came to an end, a testament to its success, and it remained on the same network too.

The Mae West "Adam and Eve" performance piece brought somewhat of a controversy to Bergen, and all this happened in just his first year of the show. By 1938 the FCC got involved, and this was due to the remarks that were made by him, which were generally accepted to have been unnecessary. Eventually, the controversy passed and so the old radio shows gained yet more ratings.

Many more dummy characters joined his act soon enough as the years passed by. While one would normally consider a ventriloquist act dependent on visualization, the show continued to be popular on the radio. As it happens, Edgar Bergen rarely performed on TV.

Charlie was soon donated to the Smithsonian following Bergen's decision to retire in 1978. He expired just a week after this, immediately after performing in a show featuring Andy Williams.

The Radio Hall of Fame and Museum in Chicago currently houses three of the puppets Bergen used, including of course Charlie. In 1990 The Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy show was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.