Sam is dressed as Edgar Bergen with a ventriloquist dummy of himself as Charlie McCarthy.

"Hard work never killed anyone."

- Edgar Bergen

"Still, there's no use taking chances."

- Charlie McCarthy

Edgar Bergen was one of the greatest ventriloquists who ever lived. He created a dummy partner for his act named Charlie McCarthy. Charlie was a girl-crazy, top hat wearing little kid with an Irish lilt. As a puppet, He could get away with spicy jokes that were off limits for other entertainers in the 1920s-30s.

Charlie was so edgy for his time that he even got Mae West in a little hot water.

The Quotable Mae West
Come up and see her sometime.
Sparks flew between Mae West and Charlie McCarthy.

Charlie was POPULAR with audiences. He and Bergen were so huge that they became two of the biggest stars on the radio. Let that sink in for a minute. A puppet. On the radio.

The Quotable W.C. Fields
A man who hates children and dogs can’t be all bad.
W.C Fields' final performance was on The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Radio Show on NBC.

At their peak Bergen and McCarthy were everywhere: movies, TV, even his own nationally syndicated comic strip.

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