Charlie McCarthy Charlie McCarthy is Edgar Bergen ' s famed ventriloquist dummy partner . Charlie was part of Bergen ' s act as early as high school , and by 1930 , was attired in his famous top hat , tuxedo , and monocle . Charlie ' s personality was that of a mischievous little boy ( with an Irish lilt ) , who could crack wise , misbehave , and flirt shamelessly in a way that Bergen couldn ' t ( much the same way that the Muppet characters behaved more outrageously than any of their human co - stars ) . The original McCarthy dummy was built by noted carpenter / dummy - maker Theodore Mack , and was later rebuilt by Frank Marshall . Charlie and Bergen made their radio debut on NBC ' s " The Chase and Sanborn Hour " ( sponsored by a noted coffee brand ) in 1937 , supported by singer Nelson Eddy ( a role later filled by Dale Evans , amongst others ) . The following year , Charlie would be joined by a much dumber dummy , Mortimer Snerd . After a famous feud with W . C . Fields in the 1930s ( during which Charlie often vowed to the comedian that he ' d " mow him down " ) , the dummy became a true icon . By 1939 , Charlie was commanding 35 . 7 % of the audience share , and was programmed opposite " The Mercury Theater on the Air " on CBS , a struggling intellectual program helmed by Orson Welles . On October 30 , many listeners fiddled with the dial during Nelson Eddy ' s musical interlude , intending to switch back for Charlie ' s next comedy spot , and stumbled on Welles ' production of " The War of the Worlds " , engendering a panic . As later reported , noted critic and wit Alexander Woolcott sent the young Welles a telegram on the subject : " This only goes to prove , my beamish boy , that the intelligent people were all listening to the dummy , and that all the dummies were listening to you . " Ironically , by 1944 , Orson Welles had become a recurring guest , with the dummy puncturing the pomposity of the genius . Though shortened to 30 minutes as " The Chase and Sanborn Program " , it wasn ' t until 1947 , in a rare case of star taking precedent over sponsor in the title , that the series was officially renamed " The Charlie McCarthy Show " . After a year ' s hiatus while the duo toured the stage , 1949 brought a switch to CBS and change of sponsors to Coca - Cola . In 1955 , Charlie and Bergen entered their last format , with the ventriloquist taking top billing for once , in " The New Edgar Bergen Hour " , which ran until 1956 . During this lengthy tenure , Charlie ' s guest roster was filled by many of the biggest stars of the day , including Henry Fonda , the Andrews Sisters , Rosemary Clooney , Roy Rogers , Frank Sinatra , Carol Channing , Groucho Marx , Dinah Shore , Liberace , Bergen ' s wife Frances Bergen , and in occasional appearances , Charlie ' s " sister " Candice Bergen . Bergen and McCarthy also co - starred with Mickey Mouse in the 1947 Disney film " Fun and Fancy Free " . In 1977 , Charlie appeared with Bergen and Mortimer Snerd on of " The Muppet Show " . Fozzie ' s dummy Chuckie is based on Charlie . Bergen and McCarthy made their final film appearance in " The Muppet Movie " , as guest judges of the Bogen County Fair beauty contest . Bergen died in 1978 shortly after filming this sequence , and the film is dedicated to his memory . As for Charlie , he ' s now on permanent display in the Smithsonian Institute .