Edgar John Bergen (born Edgar John Berggren, February 16, 1903 â€"
September 30, 1978) was an American actor, comedian and radio
performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his
characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. He was the father of
actress Candice Bergen.Bergen was born in Chicago, Illinois, one of
five children and the younger of two sons of Swedish immigrants Nilla
Svensdotter (née Osberg) and Johan Henriksson Berggren. He lived on a
farm near Decatur, Michigan until he was four, when his family
returned to Sweden, where he learned the language. He taught himself
ventriloquism from a pamphlet called "The Wizard's Manual" when he was
11, after his family had returned to Chicago. He attended Lake View
High School. After his father died, when Edgar was just 16, he went
out to work as an apprentice accountant, a furnace stoker, a
player-piano operator, and a projectionist in a silent-movie
house.Edgar so impressed the famous ventriloquist Harry Lester that he
gave the teenager almost daily lessons for three months in the
fundamentals of ventriloquism. In the fall of 1919, Edgar paid Chicago
woodcarver Theodore Mack $36 to sculpt a likeness of a rascally
red-headed Irish newspaperboy he knew. The head went on a dummy named
Charlie McCarthy, which became Bergen's lifelong sidekick. He had
created the body himself, using a nine-inch length of broomstick for
the backbone, and rubber bands and cords to control the lower jaw
mechanism of the mouth.For college, he attended Northwestern
University, where he enrolled in the pre-med program to please his
mother. He later switched to Speech & Drama, but never completed his
degree. He gave his first public performance at Waveland Avenue
Congregational Church located on the northeast corner of Waveland and
Janssen. He lived across the street from the church. In 1965, he gave
the church a generous contribution, a thoughtful letter, and a
photograph of himself which had been requested by the minister and was
displayed in the church's assembly room which was dedicated to Bergen.
He cut out an "R" and a "G" from his family name and went from
Berggren to Bergen on the showbills. Between June 1922 and August
1925, he performed every summer on the professional Chautauqua circuit
and at the Lyceum theater in Chicago. Bergen had an interest in
aviation, becoming a private pilot.
September 30, 1978) was an American actor, comedian and radio
performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his
characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. He was the father of
actress Candice Bergen.Bergen was born in Chicago, Illinois, one of
five children and the younger of two sons of Swedish immigrants Nilla
Svensdotter (née Osberg) and Johan Henriksson Berggren. He lived on a
farm near Decatur, Michigan until he was four, when his family
returned to Sweden, where he learned the language. He taught himself
ventriloquism from a pamphlet called "The Wizard's Manual" when he was
11, after his family had returned to Chicago. He attended Lake View
High School. After his father died, when Edgar was just 16, he went
out to work as an apprentice accountant, a furnace stoker, a
player-piano operator, and a projectionist in a silent-movie
house.Edgar so impressed the famous ventriloquist Harry Lester that he
gave the teenager almost daily lessons for three months in the
fundamentals of ventriloquism. In the fall of 1919, Edgar paid Chicago
woodcarver Theodore Mack $36 to sculpt a likeness of a rascally
red-headed Irish newspaperboy he knew. The head went on a dummy named
Charlie McCarthy, which became Bergen's lifelong sidekick. He had
created the body himself, using a nine-inch length of broomstick for
the backbone, and rubber bands and cords to control the lower jaw
mechanism of the mouth.For college, he attended Northwestern
University, where he enrolled in the pre-med program to please his
mother. He later switched to Speech & Drama, but never completed his
degree. He gave his first public performance at Waveland Avenue
Congregational Church located on the northeast corner of Waveland and
Janssen. He lived across the street from the church. In 1965, he gave
the church a generous contribution, a thoughtful letter, and a
photograph of himself which had been requested by the minister and was
displayed in the church's assembly room which was dedicated to Bergen.
He cut out an "R" and a "G" from his family name and went from
Berggren to Bergen on the showbills. Between June 1922 and August
1925, he performed every summer on the professional Chautauqua circuit
and at the Lyceum theater in Chicago. Bergen had an interest in
aviation, becoming a private pilot.
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