Edgar Bergen
Edgar John Bergen ( actually Edgar John Bergren; born February 16, 1903 in Chicago, Illinois, USA, † September 30, 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada ) was an American actor and ventriloquist. He is the father of actress Candice Bergen.
Life and career
The Swedish parents grew up in Decatur, Michigan. He taught as a child with the help of a brochure himself ventriloquism at and was a wooden puppet named Charlie McCarthy make that remained his trademark for a lifetime.
Bergen's performances with Charlie were so successful that in 1937 got his own radio show. Although you could of course do not see in this radio show the wooden dummy Charlie and the ventriloquist, the show became a big hit and ran until 1956. Particularly popular thereby the battles of words between Charlie McCarthy and comedian WC Fields. Developed as a counterpoint to the subtle Charlie McCarthy mountains the " late bloomer " Mortimer Snerd and Effie Klinker and the hungry men.
The success of his radio show brought mountains soon numerous film offers a. He joined, among others, in the comedy Honesty on the longest, the drama mystery of the Mother and the adventure film Captain China.
He was married from 1945 until his death in 1978 with the 20-year younger Frances Westerman, which used as a model the artist name Frances Westcott. They had two children.
Edgar Bergen played in the original The Waltons pilot movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971 ) the role of the grandfather. In the series, he was replaced by Will Geer.