Edgar Bergen
Biography
Edgar Bergen was an American ventriloquist and comedian who gained his greatest recognition through the characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Born in Chicago in 1903, he taught himself ventriloquism from a pamphlet as a boy and had the Charlie McCarthy head carved in 1919. He worked in vaudeville and one-reel shorts before radio brought him national fame, and from 1937 to 1956 he and McCarthy were on the air under various sponsors, first on The Chase and Sanborn Hour and later on The Charlie McCarthy Show. In 1937 he received a wooden honorary Oscar for creating Charlie McCarthy, and in 1960 he was given three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On screen, Bergen and McCarthy appeared together in You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939), while Bergen alone played the timid suitor in I Remember Mama (1948) and took the role of Grandpa Zeb Walton in The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971).
75years old at death
- Born Chicago
- Died Las Vegas
- Star sign: AquariusThe sign runs January 20 to February 18
- Also credited as Charlie McCarthy and Edgar John Bergen
Movie Career
- Films
- 6
- Career span
- 40 years1939 to 1979
Share
Did you know?!
Behind the award
Bergen was given an Honorary Oscar in 1937 for creating Charlie McCarthy, and it was made of wood, the only wooden Oscar statuette ever awarded.
First role
Edgar handed Chicago woodcarver Theodore Mack $36 in the fall of 1919 to sculpt a red-headed Irish newspaper boy he knew. That head went onto a dummy called Charlie McCarthy.
Behind the camera
Bergen established a syndicated comic strip called Mortimer and Charlie. It appeared in newspapers from July 10, 1939, to May 1940, with Ben Batsford illustrating it first and Carl Buettner later.
Edgar Bergen movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
- Fun and Fancy Free1947 Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical, Romanceas Edgar Bergen / Charlie McCarthy / Mortimer Snerd
IMDb rating 6.311K votes
- You Can't Cheat an Honest Man1939as The Great Edgar / Charlie McCarthy / Mortimer Snerd
IMDb rating 6.92.0K votes
Worked with
Edgar Bergen shares two films with Ellen Corby, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Ellen Corby's page
Irving Bacon's page
Charles Durning's page
Cloris Leachman's page
Carol Kane's page
Elliott Gould's page
All films by James Frawley
Hamilton LuskeDirector, 1 film, 1947
All films by Hamilton Luske
Jack KinneyDirector, 1 film, 1947
All films by Jack Kinney
Awards
Four awards and honors, two of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | |||
| Honorary Award | Honorary | ||
| SAG Awards | |||
| Life Achievement Award | Won | ||
| Other honors | |||
| Peabody Awards | Won | ||
| Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame | Honored | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.