Edgar Bergen - Inglewood, CA - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

Edgar Bergen was born in Chicago to Swedish parents in 1903. Some boys pursue sports, others dabble in magic tricks, but young Edgar Bergen decided to learn how to be a ventriloquist. He even had an idea for a dummy based on a smart aleck Irish newspaper boy he knew. He gave the dummy the name Charlie McCarthy and he became Bergen’s lifelong sidekick.

Bergen began performing locally in and around the Chicago area and also on the Chautauqua circuit during the summer months. Initially a vaudeville act, he achieved his biggest success in radio appearing regularly on the ‘Chase and Sanborn Hour’ for almost twenty years (1937-1956). It’s a little baffling that a ventriloquist could be successful on radio since you cannot see the dummy “speak,” nevertheless it propelled Bergen & McCarthy to stardom.

Besides Charlie McCarthy, Edgar Bergen developed several other ventriloquist dummy characters, most notably, the stuffy Mortimer Snerd. His skill at characterization and superb comedic timing led to an expansion of Bergen’s career into films and TV appearances. In fact, Edgar Bergen has three stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame: one for radio, one for television and one for the movies.

Shortly before he died, Edgar Bergen donated his Charlie McCarthy dummy to the Smithsonian Institution where they occasionally place it on display in the National Museum of American History. And for those who aren’t old enough to remember Bergen & McCarthy, his daughter, Candice Bergen, also achieved fame as a Hollywood actress.
(Source: Wikipedia)

Description: See Long Description above. Date of birth: 02/16/1903 Date of death: 09/30/1978 Area of notoriety: Entertainment Marker Type: Horizontal Marker Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: 7:00 am - 5:00 pm Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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