Edgar Bergen Biography

Edgar John Bergen the actor and radio performer was born on February 16, 1903 in Chicago, Illinois. Bergen came from a Swedish family. At a young age, Bergen studied ventriloquism. Bergen attended Lake View High School and later Northwestern University in Chicago. Shortly after, he dropped out to appear in vaudeville as well as one-reel movie shorts. Bergen made an appearance on the Rudy Vallee radio program which lead to his own series entitled, "The Charlie McCarthy Show". Charlie McCarthy was Bergen's sidekick dummy. Other characters included, Mortimer Snerd and Effie Clinker. The series started in 1937 and lasted until 1955.

Bergen starred in several comedy shorts with Charlie McCarthy including, "The Operation" (1930), "The Eyes Have It" (1931), "Africa Speaks -- English" (1933), "At the Races" (1934), "Two Boobs in a Balloon" (1935) and "All-American Drawback" (1935) with Errol Flynn. Bergen and McCarthy made their film debut in the 1938 musical entitled, "The Goldwyn Follies". The duo would star in a total of eight films together including, "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man" (1939) with W.C. Fields, "Look Who's Laughing" (1941) with Lucille Ball and "Here We Go Again" (1942).

In 1938, Bergen received an Honorary Award from the Academy Awards for, "For his outstanding comedy creation, Charlie McCarthy". At the height of Bergen's radio success with McCarthy, he was making $100,000 from toys alone marketed after the dummy. In 1939, Bergen created a comic strip called "Mortimer & Charlie". In 1945, Bergen married model Frances Westerman. The marriage would endure until his death. The union produced two children, future actress Candice of "Murphy Brown" fame and son Kris who would become a TV and film editor. In 1948, Bergen appeared in the family drama film, "I Remember Mama" with Irene Dunne and Barbara Bel Geddes.

After the end of his radio series, Bergen made several guest appearances in television including, "Five Fingers" (1959), "The DuPont Show with June Allyson" (1960), "Bachelor Father" (1962), "The Dick Powell Show" (1961, 1962), "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1964), "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1964) and "Burke's Law" (1964, 1965). In 1967, Bergen starred in the film comedy, "Don't Make Waves" with Tony Curtis and Sharon Tate. In 1976, Bergen appeared in the picture, "Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood" with Bruce Dern, Art Carney, Phil Silvers, Teri Garr and Milton Berle. Bergen's last acting role came in 1979 with "The Muppet Movie". On September 30, 1978 Bergen passed away from kidney disease. He was 75 years old. The following year, the Screen Actors Guild selected Bergen for their Lifetime Achievement Award. Bergen is currently buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.