Edgar Bergen 1952 11 09 (607) Guest Marilyn Monroe

# The Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy Show – November 9, 1952

On this luminous November evening in 1952, America's favorite ventriloquist and his impudent wooden partner welcome a guest who had just captivated millions on the silver screen. Marilyn Monroe joins Edgar Bergen and the irrepressible Charlie McCarthy for an evening of witty banter, musical numbers, and the kind of spontaneous comedy that only live radio could deliver. Listeners will delight in the dynamic chemistry between Bergen's sophisticated charm, Charlie's brash interruptions and jealous quips about the glamorous starlet, and Monroe herself—navigating the quick-witted give-and-take with surprising comedic timing. The episode crackles with the energy of a live broadcast, where anything might happen, as the studio audience roars with laughter at Charlie's suggestive wisecracks about Hollywood starlets and Bergen's gentle, cultured rejoinders.

This appearance captures a golden moment in entertainment history, when radio remained America's most intimate medium despite television's emerging challenge. The Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy Show had become a cultural institution since its 1937 debut, pioneering the art of ventriloquism for broadcast and proving that a carved block of wood could become more real to millions than the flesh-and-blood celebrities who surrounded it. Bergen's genius lay in creating a character so vivid, so genuinely unpredictable, that audiences suspended disbelief entirely—and when Monroe, at the height of her stardom, submits to Charlie's flirtations and jibes, it speaks to the show's enduring power and appeal across the entertainment world.

This is radio at its finest: unscripted spontaneity, star power, and the timeless magic of three personalities sparring before a live audience. Tune in to experience a broadcast that proves why millions tuned in weekly to hear what Charlie McCarthy would say next.