"WHEN I GET SMITTEN, I STAY SMUT!"

Despite living on the wrong side of the Atlantic, I've been smitten by Charlie McCarthy for years: I love the radio shows and while others may mock the idea of ventriloquism on the wireless, Edgar Bergen proved with Master McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd - as did his British counterpart, Peter Brough, with his equally successful radio shows featuring Archie Andrews - that any vent act (seen or only heard) succeeds solely because of the character and personality of the doll.

Charlie's Disney connections began in 1938 when he appeared in animated form alongside a cartoon W C Fields Humpty Dumptyesque egg in the Silly Symphony, Mother Goose Goes Hollywood...

Photo: Michael Sporn Animation Inc

In 1947, Charlie - along with Mortimer and supported by Edgar Bergen - co-hosted Disney's Fun and Fancy Free, entertaining little Luana Patten with the saga of 'Mickey and the Beanstalk'...


Then, three years later in 1950, Edgar and Charlie were on hand to help Walt launch his first-ever TV show, One Hour in Wonderland, that was a thinly-veiled promotion for the upcoming release of Alice in Wonderland. Charlie chatted with Kathryn Beaumont (dressed in Alice costume) and, here, with Walt's daughters Sharon (left) and Diane (centre)...

Photo: MiceAge

All of the above is a justification for reproducing a couple of items from my collection: an autographed photo of the suave, top-hatted duo...

And One Simple Simoleon: a piece of Charlie McCarthy Mazuma in the form of a One Smacker bill ("Money talks but this doesn't even whisper") that was given away at their live shows. Take a close look at the detail on the note to catch all the witty McCarthyisms...