Up Close & Peculiar
More than 100 years ago, the globetrotting Robert Ripley began collecting artifacts from his journeys around the world, which today form the heart of the greatest collection of oddities ever assembled. Up Close & Peculiar brings the curious history of these pieces to a personal level as our very own, Allyson Iovino, explores the strange relics that lie within our Warehouse walls! Become a part of the story as we share pieces for every history buff, pop culture junkie, and oddities collector alike.
Today: Charlie McCarthy
Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his beloved doll, Charlie McCarthy, were one of the most popular acts in the 1930s. But how did this dummy become one of the most influential comedians of all time?
Edgar Bergen learned ventriloquism from a book he bought for just twenty-five cents when he was eleven years old. After a few years of practicing, a famous vaudeville performer named The Great Lester took notice and started to give him free lessons.
Bergen described in an interview how he first used his ventriloquism skills to answer roll calls for missing classmates in his freshman year of high school. In his senior year, he got Charlie and the rest was history.
Believe It or Not!, Charlie was custom-made by a wood carver for just thirty-five dollars! He was modeled after a newsboy who lived on Bergen’s block, who had the same red hair and brown eyes, and also was named Charlie.
They toured across the States for around ten years, until movies took over and vaudeville went out of style. In 1936, they made their radio debut on Rudy Vallee’s radio show, and they were a hit!
Being on the radio gave Bergen more freedom to take Charlie wherever he wanted, even places they could never go in real life, like climbing a mountain or skiing down icy slopes. Bergen and Charlie could go wherever their imaginations could take them!
Bergen and Charlie ended up getting their very own radio show, just in time for the golden age of radio to kick off. Everyone went on this show to meet Charlie! Celebrities like Mae West, Frank Sinatra, and Marilyn Monroe all went on the show. Charlie even had feuds with other human comedians like W.C. Fields, who called him a “flop house for termites.”
One of the most notable flexes of his fame was in October of 1938, when Charlie’s show aired at the same time as Orson Welles’ infamous War of the Worlds broadcast. Many reporters cited that the broadcast caused nationwide panic, making people believe that the world was coming to an end and aliens were invading, but according to radio polls that night, only about two percent of listeners were tuned into the infamous broadcast. The rest were tuned in to Charlie’s show.
Welle’s even reportedly received a telegram from a critic after the incident, that said, “This only goes to prove that all the intelligent people were listening to that dummy… and that all the dummies were listening to you.”
Charlie and Edgar went on to appear in various movies together throughout the years, with their last ever performance being in 1979 when they appeared in The Muppet Movie. Edgar died shortly after they filmed his scene, and Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, went on to dedicate the movie to him and Charlie, stating that the work they did was “magic,” and that he left the world a much happier place.
Do you want to get Up Close with Charlie? Visit Ripley's Believe It or Not! Wisconsin-Dells to see him for yourself!
