Charlie McCarthy Autographs
Charlie McCarthy was a dummy partner of American ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. Charlie was part of Bergen's act as early as high school, and by 1930 was attired in a top hat, tuxedo and monocle. The character was so well known that his popularity exceeded that of his performer, Bergen.
Charlie's personality was that of a mischievous little boy, who could wisecrack, misbehave and flirt shamelessly in a way that Bergen could not. Bergen's original dummy was built by carpenter/dummy-maker Theodore Mack, and was later rebuilt by Frank Marshall. A 1938 magazine article reported that “When Edgar Bergen was a high school student in Chicago in the post-war period, he got the notion that he wanted a dummy so that he could become a ventriloquist. He came to Mr. Mack’s workshop who assigned Marshall to the problem. Bergen wanted a fresh Irish kid, resembling a newsboy that he knew, and the present Charlie McCarthy was made and sold to Bergen for $35 in 1923. However, it was not until 1933 that Charlie and Bergen breezed into Broadway and were an instantaneous hit which was climaxed by their appearance on the radio.”
Charlie and Bergen made their radio debut on NBC's The Royal Gelatin Hour in 1936, where they proved such a hit that the following year the network gave them a starring role on The Chase and Sanborn Hour. There they were initially supported by emcee Don Ameche, singer Nelson Eddy, actress Dorothy Lamour and comedian W. C. Fields. The following year Charlie was joined by a much dumber dummy, "Mortimer Snerd".
Read more about Charlie McCarthy on Wikipedia
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Current items with a signature of Charlie McCarthy
These are the most current items with a signature of Charlie McCarthy that were listed on eBay and on other online stores - click here for more items.
| Picture | Item Title | Price | Store |
 | Edgar Bergen Charlie McCarthy Merle Oberon autograph Table Tent Vintage 40s | $100.00 |  |
| Edgar Bergen Charlie McCarthy Merle Oberon autograph Table Tent Vintage 40s | $100.00 | |
Traded items with a signature of Charlie McCarthy
The most expensive item with a signature of Charlie McCarthy (20.5" Autographed Rudy Vallee B&W Photo Edgar Bergen Charlie McCarthy Ed Wynn) was sold in August 2025 for $499.99 while the cheapest item (Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergan Publicity Photo Faded Autograph) found a new owner for $0.99 in December 2025. The month with the most items sold (3) was June 2026 with an average selling price of $75.00 for an autographed item of Charlie McCarthy. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in August 2025 with $499.99 and the month that saw the lowest prices with $14.50 was January 2023. In average, an autographed item from Charlie McCarthy is worth $50.00.
Most recently, these items with a signature of Charlie McCarthy were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
