The Charlie McCarthy Show
On his way home from school one day, the young lad named Edgar Bergen tested a newly-found gift by hailing another boy, who exclaimed, "Who was that calling me, anyhow?" Bergen was aware of his talent, and continued to practice his vocal tricks. He progressed so well that his mother was forever answering the door in response to pleas of old men who begged to be let in, only to discover that it was Bergen himself. When once a man stalked Bergen’s mother, it was his vocal talent through the other side of the door that scared her admirer away. Before long, Edgar’s interests had extended to slight of hand paraphernalia, and spent much of his small savings on magic tricks. One of his purchases was a twenty-five cent book on ventriloquism, with which he set about developing his talent for "voice diffusion." Young Bergen went on to high school, attending the Lane Technical and Lakeview Schools. It was there that Charlie McCarthy was born. The inspiration for the impish dummy was a tough Irish newsboy, and the head was carved in white pine by a carpenter named Theodore Mack, who followed young Bergen’s specifications. In gratitude, Bergen added a Celtic suffix to the carpenter’s name – and Charlie McCarthy was christened. While Charlie’s head cost about thirty-five dollars, Bergen himself made the body. The newly whittled brash youth was an immediate success, delighting Bergen’s classmates and teachers. The dummy, incidentally, once helped his master pass an important history course by completely charming the teacher.
With the eclipse of vaudeville, in the early thirties Bergen polished his
routine for nightclubs. He was very successful with an act he called
"The Operation," in which he played the doctor. Charlie was the
patient and a nurse was in attendance. (Edgar Bergen reprised this
act in the beginning of RKO Studio’s 1941 movie Look Who’s
Laughing.) This act was based on reality: Bergen had recently
undergone an operation – he had argued with the doctors and
experienced the usual qualms of a patient – all of which he
transformed into a satirical comedy. But Bergen’s chance of fame
came one night in 1936, on the invitation of Elsa Maxwell. He
performed at a party where one of the guests, Noel Coward,
congratulated Bergen on his fine dialogue. A week later, on
December 16, Bergen made his first radio appearance on Rudy Vallee’s
The Royal Gelatin Hour, for which he received the sum of one hundred
and fifty dollars. That may not seem much by today’s standards, but in
1936 that was more than a month’s worth of wages. Five months later, in
May of 1937, Chase and Sanborn began sponsoring The Chase and
Sanborn Hour, starring Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.
37/05/09 1 Guest - Ann Harding & Rodgers & Hart 37/05/16 2 Guest - Carole Lombard, Joseph Bentoelli 37/05/30 4 Guest - Josephine Hutchinson, Jose Iturbi
37/06/06 5 Guest - Constance Bennett, Ray Middleton
37/06/13 6 Guest - Joan Blondell, Rogers & Hart
37/07/11 10 Guest - Gladys George
37/08/01 13 Guest - Bruna Castagna
37/08/22 16 Guest - Glenda Farrell
37/09/05 18 Guest - Ida Lupino
37/09/12 19 Guest - Bette Davis
37/12/12 32 Guest - Mae West
38/07/24 64 Guest - Spencer Tracy
38/07/31 65 Guest - Fay Bainter
38/08/14 67 Guest - Ella Logan, Nelson Eddy
38/08/28 69 Guest - Ralph Bellamy, Nelson Eddy
38/10/30 78 Guest - Madeline Carroll 
40/04/21 155 Guest - Charles Laughton
41/03/16 194 Guest - Carmen Miranda
41/09/21 212 Guest - W C Fields
41/12/07 223 Guest - Judy Garland
42/05/03 244 Guest - Edward Everette Horton
42/06/21 251 Guest - Edward Everett Horton
42/06/28 252 Guest - Walter Brennan
42/10/11 258 From Annapolis Naval Academy
42/10/18 259 From Quantico Marine Base
42/11/08 262 Guest - W C Fields
43/02/21 277 Guest - Carmen Miranda
43/03/07 279 Guest - Sidney Greenstreet
43/03/28 282 Guest - Roy Rogers
43/04/04 283 Guest - Bill Thompson, Mary Bolen
43/04/11 284 Guest - Martha Raye, Bill Thompson
43/04/18 285 Guest - Ronald Coleman
43/05/02 287 Barbara Stanwyck Acts as Charlie's Agent
43/05/16 289 Guest - Claudette Colbert, Rags Ragland
43/05/23 290 Guest - Charles Boyer
43/05/30 291 Guest - Walter Pidgeon
43/09/05 292 Guest - Jean Arthur
43/09/12 293 Guest - Humphrey Bogart
43/09/26 295 Guest - Hedy Lamar
43/10/10 297 Guest - Marjorie Main
43/10/31 300 Guest - Dorothy Lamour
43/12/05 305 Guest - Bert Lahr, Fats Waller & Jane Powell
43/12/12 306 Guest - Bert Lahr, Lena Horne
44/01/23 312 Guest - Greer Garson
44/01/30 313 Guest - Basil Rathbone
44/02/06 314 Guest - Susan Hayward
44/02/20 316 Guest - W C Fields
44/03/05 318 Guest - Cecil B Demille
44/03/12 319 Guest - Charles Ruggles, Vera Felton
44/04/02 322 Guest - Orson Welles, Jane Powell
44/09/17 334 Guest - Leo Carillo
44/09/24 335 Guest - Anne Baxter
44/10/15 338 Charlie Wants More Allowance (with Gertrude Niesen)
44/10/22 339 Charlie Opens a Frog Farm ( Welles, Burke)
44/10/29 340 Halloween
44/11/05 341 Guest - John Robert Powers, Orson Welles
44/11/12 342 Guest - Frank Fay
44/12/03 345 Guest - Don Ameche
44/12/10 346 Charlie Answers Ad for Edgar
44/12/24 348 Guest - Navy Choir 
44/12/31 349 Guest - Charles Laughton
45/01/07 350 Guest - Carmen Miranda
45/01/14 351 Guest - Louis Bromfield
45/01/21 352 Guest - Frank Sinatra
45/01/28 353 Guest - Frank Sinatra
45/02/04 354 Guest - Albert E Wiggem
45/02/18 356 Guest - Ginny Simms, Veronica Lake
45/02/25 357 Guest - Gene Tierney
45/03/11 359 Guest - Joan Blondell
45/03/25 361 Guest - Lynn Bari
45/04/22 364 Guest - Rita Hayworth
45/04/29 365 Guest - Ida Lupino
45/05/02 366 Guest - Dr Max Mason
45/05/20 368 Guest - Janet Blair
45/09/09 372 Guest - Keenan Wynn
45/09/16 373 Guest - Joan Blondell
45/09/23 374 Guest - Ann Baxter
45/09/30 375 Guest - Fred Allen, Portland Hoffa
45/10/14 377 Guest - Hildegarde
45/10/21 378 Guest - Fred Allen
45/10/28 379 Court Case with Edgar Bergen
45/11/04 380 Guest - Elsa Maxwell
45/11/11 381 Guest - Gov Kerr of Oklahoma
45/11/18 382 Guest - Margaret O'Brien
45/12/02 384 Guest - Walter Pidgeon
45/12/16 386 Guest - Susan Hayward
46/02/17 395 Guest - Ray Milland
46/03/03 397 Guest - Walter Slezak (surface noise)
46/03/24 400 Guest - W C Fields
46/03/31 401 Guest - Roy Rogers (weak sound)
46/11/10 420 C&S 101 Anniversary
46/11/17 421 Guest - Talluah Bankhead
46/11/24 422 Guest - Edward Everette Horton
47/01/05 428 Guest - Charles Boyer
47/01/12 429 Guest - Edward Arnold
47/01/19 430 10th Anniversary Show
47/01/26 431 Guest - Roy Rogers
47/02/02 432 Guest - Jane Wyman
47/02/09 433 Guest - Nelson Eddy
47/02/16 434 Guest - Nelson Eddy, Billie Burke
47/02/23 435 Guest - Nelson Eddy, Elsa Maxwell
47/03/02 436 Guest - Nelson Eddy, Chester Morris
47/03/09 437 Guest - Monty Woolley
47/04/06 441 Guest - Don Ameche
47/09/14 450 Guest - Michael Romanoff
47/09/21 451 Guest - Walt Disney
47/09/28 452 Guest - Betty Hutton
47/10/05 453 Guest - Don Ameche
47/10/12 454 Guest - Linda Darnell
47/10/19 455 Guest - Jane Wyman
47/10/26 456 Guest - Richard Widmark
47/11/02 457 Guest - Fred Allen
47/11/09 458 Guest - Maurice Evans
47/11/16 459 Guest - Lana Turner
47/11/23 460 Guest - Carmen Miranda
47/11/30 461 Guest - Edward Everett Horton
47/12/07 462 Guest - Roy Rogers
47/12/14 463 Guest - Gary Cooper
48/01/11 467 Guest - Lucille Ball
48/11/07 493 Guest - Marsha Hunt, Don Ameche
48/12/19 499 Christmas Show with Mario Lanza
48/12/26 500 Last Show for Chase & Sanborn
49/11/13 507 Guest - Dick Powell
49/12/11 511 Guest - Hoagy Carmichael
49/12/18 512 Guest - June Allyson
51/12/16 577 Guest - Frankie Laine
52/05/25 600 Guest - The Mills Brothers
52/10/05 602 Guest - Rosemary Clooney
52/11/09 607 Guest - Marilyn Monroe
52/12/14 612 Guest - Marilyn Monroe
54/01/17 651 Guest - Liberace
54/02/28 657 Guest - June Allyson, Dick Powell
54/06/20 672 Guest - Nelson Eddy
54/12/26 688 Guest - Hopalong Cassidy
55/11/11 703 Charlie Dreams That He Visits Hell
55/11/18 704 Charlie Wants to Be a Gossip Columnist
55/11/25 705 Guest - Jack Benny
55/12/18 708 Guest - Candy Bergen
55/12/25 709 Christmas Show
56/01/01 710 Guest - Lew Ayers
56/01/15 712 Guest - Tad Sanders
56/01/22 713 Guest - Rudy Wissler, Cecil Zon
56/01/29 714 Guest - Stan Erwin
56/03/04 719 Guest - Richard Armour
56/03/18 721 Mc Carthy's Cavalcade of Flops
56/03/25 722 Mortimer's Ups and Downs
56/04/08 724 Interplanetary Western
56/04/15 725 Guest - Ben Him
56/04/22 726 Guest - Lost in the Woods
64/11/15 Chase & Sanborn 100th Ann
66/11/13 NBC Radio 40th Anniversary