Charlie McCarthy Show with Walt Disney & Donald Duck (September 21, 1947)

Edgar Bergen was a ventriloquist who had a weekly radio show with his dummies Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd that started in the 1930's. Bergen and his characters starred in feature films and were like the Muppets of their era. (Jim Henson had Bergen and his characters on the Muppet Show, cameo in The Muppet Movie and dedicated that film to his memory.) In 1947 Walt Disney cast Bergen and his dummies as themselves in his package feature Fun & Fancy Free. Bergen was a friend and neighbor of Walt Disney and Walt called on him again to star in his first TV show One Hour in Wonderland in 1950. To promote Fun & Fancy Free, Walt appeared on Bergen's show with Donald Duck. When the film debuted, Bergan and his dummies were given top billing. When the film was released to VHS, DVD, and streaming many decades later, they're no longer featured in the promotional materials. The irony is this film is probably the only piece of media that most modern audiences of today have seen with Bergen and his dummies. His daughter is actress Candince Bergen.

Original airdate September 21, 1947

Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.