Passed
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Description
20" (51 cm.) Composition shoulder head with hinged mouth that opens and closes by draw-string at the back of his head,painted short brown hair,painted stylized facial features to accurately depict the Edgar Bergen puppet,cloth body,composition white-gloved hands and black shoes. He is wearing his factory-original black formal suit with silk lapels,white shirt and vest,bow tie,and has wire monocle and silk top hat. Marks: Edgar BergenÍs Charlie McCarthy An Effanbee Product. Edgar Bergen taught himself ventriloquism at age 11,and commissioned a wood-carver to create a dummy in the likeness of an Irish newspaper boy that he knew. The dummy-figure became Charlie McCarthy,and became his life-long side-kick,first in vaudeville,then in performances at the Rainbow Room and such,and then on radio. So fine was the dummy performance of Charlie that many listeners refused to believe that he was not a "real person". Excellent condition. Effanbee,circa 1938,their largest size of this model.