Golden Age of Radio

Judy Canova Refuses to Play Second Fiddle To Dummy, So She Breaks With Edgar Bergen ‘ Charlie McCarthy ’ Gets Blame for Ending Engagement, By The United Press HOLLYWOOD , Sept. 1— Judy Canova , film and radio comedienne, broke her engagement to Edgar Bergen today because, she said, she does not want to play second fiddle to dummy.” The other side of the “triangle” s “ Charlie McCarthy ,” the famous wooden dummy Bergen uses in his radio and screen acts. “We had a quarrel Sunday and now it’s all over,” she said. “I’ve heard nothing but Charlie this and Charlie that. The dummy has become an obsession with Eddie.” Bergen for years has worked with “ CharlieMcCarthy .” His fame spread nationally, however, only recently, when Rudy Vallee put Bergen and “Charlie” on a radio broadcast. Later, the dummy became a favorite in a radio feud with W. C. Fields . Miss Canova’s hill-billy roles won her radio fame and landed her in pictures. Though they had kept company for...

St. Petersburg Times – Jul 15, 1945 Loyal Judy Canova Is Wild About Florida Hurricanes Earl Wilson, New York columnist who writes under the heading “It Happened Last Night,” wrote the following interview with Wilson and the New York Post: By EARL WILSON I come from God’s country, meaning the great state of Ohio, the modern Eden, and while gabbing with Judy Canova , who calls herself a Florida Cracker, I found she’s even more loyal to her state than I claim to be. She’s even wild about Florida’s hurricanes. The bums in California wanted her to kid the Florida oranges on her radio program—and she wouldn’t. Personally, I think President Truman’s return to his home state recently may have caused state pride to perk up everywhere. Postmaster General Hannegan of Missouri has a lot of state pride, too, and according to the Republicans here, he’s going to give jobs to all Missouri Democrats not busy reporting to their parole officers. *  *  * “CALIFORNIA...