Tomorrow marks the 107th anniversary of Edgar Bergen's birth. Bergen was a ventriloquist whose famous wooden pals included Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. The fascinating thing about Bergen is that he made his mark as a ventriloquist on the radio. Think about that one for a minute! It is a tribute to Bergen that his wooden characters, particularly Charlie McCarthy were so real, that audiences flocked to the Chase and Sanborn Hour, the radio program featuring Bergen. Charlie was a sophisticated, wise-cracking, girl-crazy boy and as such, he could get away with lines that a sophisticated, wise-cracking, girl-crazy man could not. According to Wikipedia, it was a conversation with Charlie that got Mae West banned from the radio for 15 years when she remarked, "Charles, I remember our date and have the splinters to prove it."
Edgar Bergen and his wooden entourage appeared in several movies and shorts. One such short appears below. Whether you're a fan or have never before heard of America's original ventriloquist, you owe it to yourself to view it. After all, it is always character that makes for humor and Charlie McCarthy is one of the immortal characters in American humor. At 9:54 The Eyes Have It is longer than most clips that I post, but hey, you're probably still snowed in so what else do you have to do?
Oh, and if Edgar's last name sounds familiar, he made one other contribution to American entertainment; he was the father of Candice Bergen. And if you don't know who that is, just nod and smile politely so you don't make me feel too old.
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