If one person is responsible for ventriloquism being popular today, you're looking at him. No...not the goofy looking guy at the top of the screen. I'm talking about the man to the right. This is a picture of Edgar Bergen and his puppet, Charlie McCarthy. It is possible to argue that, without these two celebrities, ventriloquism might not be popular today.Bergen was born on February 16, 1903. In writing this, I am unclear about his place of birth and I will research it and include it later. My resources are limited to the internet (which is often unreliable anyway) and 2 books I have. One book says he was born in Chicago. Another book states he was born "on their Decatur, Michigan dairy farm" and (later in life) moved to Chicago. Either way, he was not born in Cincinnati, where I was born. So I can't brag about either birth place.
Growing up, Bergen sent away for a book called "The Wizard's Manual." This gave him a basic introduction to ventriloquism. Bergen began performing at school shows with a paper-mache puppet. In 1922, Bergen decided to upgrade his partner. He approached Theodore Mack, a furniture maker, to create a figure. Now, it is very unclear what happened after this and how Charlie McCarthy came to be (and even where his name came from). The most famous story is that he drew several sketches of a paper boy where he lived and those sketches were used as a guide for much of the work of McCarthy, which might have been made by Frank Marshall, a very well respected figure maker that worked at the company at the time. Others denounce this idea. Either way, it was Theodore Mack's company that created the figure and, ultimately, brought the legendary team together.
Bergen always played the straight man in the comedy duo while Charlie was the snappy, quick witted child that constantly disregarded his elders. Bergen played a more fatherly or grandfather type role trying to point Charlie back on track with the love only a father/grandfather could have.
Bergen worked initially in the vaudeville circuit. He also worked many clubs and began working for Warner Brothers to make small film clips. His most famous act from this time is "The Operation," a skit where Bergen plays a doctor trying to calm McCarthy for a tonsillectomy. He continued to perform this sketch for years.
In 1936, Bergen's talent took him to a place we would not expect to see ventriloquists: The radio. He appeared on the radio show "Helen Morgan Club," which aired on December 16, 1936. The banter between Bergen and McCarthy was so real and perfect for the show, that they eventually got offered their own program during the Chase-Sanborn Hour. The show became so popular that, at one time, it was listened to by approximately 1/3 of the households in America.
One may ask how a radio program can feature a ventriloquist. After all, a ventriloquist is someone who can talk without moving his or her lips. The reality is that there is much more to ventriloquism. With ventriloquism, a character is being created to such a degree that you believe (unless you logically think about it) that this character is real. Somehow, you accept the character's reality and the relationship between the ventriloquist and puppet seems somewhat real while you suspend belief. Bergen was a master at that. Here's a link to download one of this radio programs with guest Judy Garland (Yes...Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz):
http://jack_benny.podomatic.com/entry/eg/2009-08-03T09_42_32-07_00 Skip ahead to about 4:00 into the clip to begin to hear dialog between the two.
You can see how the personalities are distinct. In fact, many people did not know McCarthy was not a real person.
Bergen had 2 other main puppets, which were popular but never reached the fame McCarthy had. Mortimer Snerd and Effie Klinker. Snerd was a country bumpkin figure who was not too smart. Effie Klinker was an innocent looking, not so innocent lady. Below are a few clips of these two, but be warned: The fact that Bergen lost his lip control during his years in radio is well known, even to Bergen at the time. It's a fact that the world's greatest ventriloquist ever simply was not the best technical ventriloquist.
A clip of Mortimer Snerd with Bergen (starting with a clip of Podine Puffington, a full size puppet):
A clip of Bergen with Klinker:
Bergen got married in 1945 to Frances Westerman after a long distance relationship lasting several years. The couple had two children: Candice Bergen (born in 1946) who went on to be the star of Murphy Brown, an American television sitcom that ran for nearly 10 years, and Kris Bergen, who ended up in film and television editing.
On September 30, 1978, while performing in Las Vegas, Bergen finished his act with the words, "All acts have a beginning and an end and I think that time has come for me. So, I think I'll just pack up my jokes and my friends and, as the days dwindle down to a precious few....September....November." That night, Bergen died in his sleep from a kidney disease.
Bergen was a star no matter where he performed: Vaudeville, the radio, the movie screen, the television screen, or even for small venues. There is no question in any ventriloquist's mind that he has had a huge impact on out art form. Even as I watch the old clips, I know I see a ventriloquist and character that can never be recreated again with such perfection.
For videos or radio shows, visit the following amazon site:
http://astore.amazon.com/ventriloquist007-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=8
Next blog (to be posted within a week): The Big 5 - Part 2: Paul Winchell
(Note: Please feel free to leave a comment, add more information, or clarify where I may have made mistakes. I'm honestly learning about this as I go, so all help would be appreciated).
