Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy - with Guest Gladys George - Ep 10 - Aired 7-11-37 - Bird Youmans
0The sound on some of these shows has not stood the test of time well and some over zelous editor compressed them far too much. Not all, but some suffer from this and that is one thing that is near impossible to reverse once it is done. But they are passable and are of historic value so we present them.
The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show was a radio comedy variety show that aired from 1936 to 1955. As the title suggests, the show featured ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, and his beloved puppet, the amazing Charlie McCarthy. It is this show which made the duo overnight superstars. The show is also one of the highest paid ever.
The show was first introduced in The Rudy Vallee Hour, and later became a part of the Chase and Sandborn Radio Hour, sharing the spotlight with Dorothy Lamour and Don Ameche. It then went on to become a major hit, even ranking best radio show for a decade. A lot of famous personalities were made guests, and these include Fred Allen, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, Judy Garland, Rita Hayworth, Orson Wells, May West, and many more.
Born in Decatur, Michigan in 1903, Edgar Bergen developed a talent for ventriloquism at a young age. When Bergen asked a local carpenter to create a dummy, the wisecracking Charlie McCarthy was born. The duo began their career as talent show headliners, performing in Chicago while Bergen attended Northwestern University. Bergen eventually left Northwestern to concentrate on performing, but Charlie received an honorary degree from the school in 1938, a “Master of Innuendo and Snappy Comebacks.”
Bergen and McCarthy made their radio debut on Rudy Vallee’s Royal Gelatin Hour in 1936 and were an instant success. In 1937, they were given their own show for Chase & Sanborn. Almost immediately, The Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show became one of radio’s highest-rated programs, a distinction it enjoyed until it left the air in 1956.
During the show’s two decades on the air, Bergen added new characters to the show, including the slow-witted Mortimer Snerd and the man-hungry spinster Effie Klinker. Today, Charlie McCarthy, Mortimer Snerd and Effie Klinker are on permanent display at the Radio Hall of Fame.
Edgar Bergen died on October 1, 1978.
The Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1990.