Edgar Bergen, a legendary ventriloquist, gained fame through his radio performances with wooden creations Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. He also appeared in films and TV shows and received an honorary Oscar in 1937. The Vent Haven Museum in Kentucky is the only ventriloquism museum, housing 800 mannequins. Johnny Carson, Ted Knight, and Don Knotts started their comedy careers as ventriloquists, and Paul Winchell was an inventor and the first to patent an artificial heart.
Legendary ventriloquist Edgar Bergen was no fool. Not only did the comedian win an audience just by pitching his voice, but he made it to fame doing it where no one could catch his lip movement: on the radio. No, there are no constraints on that statement. Bergen, best known for his wooden creations Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd, was one of America’s most popular entertainers throughout much of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Such was Bergen’s talent that he was also called upon by film and television producers. Between their credits, Bergen and Charlie achieved major exposure in the 1938 film The Goldwyn Follies, and could be seen regularly as guest stars on a variety of TV shows. And to show that they were in on all the fun, members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Bergen an honorary Oscar in 1937. Unlike its metal counterparts, the statuette given to Bergen was made of wood and had a mobile mouth.
Smile when you say that:
The Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky is the only ventriloquism museum in the world; it houses about 800 mannequins.
Johnny Carson, Ted Knight and Don Knotts began their comedy careers as ventriloquists.
Famed ventriloquist Paul Winchell was also an inventor and the first person to obtain a patent for an artificial heart.
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