Charlie McCarthy

Biography

Frank Marshall, the famous woodcarver from Chicago, always claimed that he made the dummy that would become Charlie McCarthy. A recently discovered document backs his story. He also made Paul Winchell's Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff dummies, Jimmy Nelson's Danny O'Day and Farfel the Dog (famous for Nestlé's commercials), and Terry Bennett's Red Flannels and Rusty Hinges, as well as many other famous dummies. Edgar Bergen used three Charlie McCarthy dummies over the years. One can be seen in the Smithsonian Institution; one is in the Museum Of Broadcasting & Communications in Chicago; and the third was purchased by magician David Copperfield for $110,000. Bergen retired in 1978 and died three weeks later; he was 75. Charlie still lives on... display.