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One might think being a ventriloquist on radio was an added skill for a comedian to have - not only could you tell jokes, but you had a prop there with you, a built-in counterpart for witty banter. In fact, as Edgar Bergen found, ventriloquism was seen by many producers and evaluators of talent as something to be overcome. Well, Bergen successfully overcame this deficiency, if one could call it that, for 20 years on radio. Charlie McCarthy was (and is) one of the best-loved figures on radio.
I, like I'm sure many other children on hearing Bergen & McCarthy, checked out a book on ventriloquism from the library and tried to learn the tricks of the trade. As I quickly learned (and didn't have the patience to overcome), speaking without moving your mouth isn't that hard until you get to the "B", "M" and "P". Those are a bit trickier. Poor Bergen... everytime Charlie called his name, he had do the "B" sound.
