I have done a couple videos showing the Effanbee Charlie McCarthy dolls from the 1930’s but had no done pictures until now.
The only true Charlie McCarthy that was made as a doll or toy, licensed by Edgar Bergen are those that were made by the Effanbee Co. They released the Charlie McCarthy figure in two sizes a twenty inch and a fifteen inch. They were all marked on the back of the neck Edgar Bergen’s Charlie McCarthy an Effanbee Product. If you have a toy Charlie McCarthy and that is not marked as such on the back of the neck it is not a Charlie and not an Effanbee product.
K&S Toys, Regal Toys and Ralph Freundlich & Co all put out figures which resembled Charlie to hop on the great popularity of Charlie McCarthy at that time but they were in fact just toys. They were sold under the name Dummy Dan and Willie Talk.
Today you will see many so called Charlie McCarthy toy figures being sold but just remember the true Charlie was only offered in two sizes and was always marked on the back of the head. They came in a wonderful box with a great end label and had the top hat and lapel pin. They came in quite a number of outfits and I have pictures two for you. The tuxedoed version is 20″ tall and the brown suit is 15″ tall.
Click here for more about Effanbee Charlie McCarthy Toy Ventriloquist Figures
Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com
***************************************************
Dan Willinger is a ventriloquism enthusiast and ventriloquist figure collector. He has been collecting for over 25 years. He created the Ventriloquist Central Collection. It now has over 100 ventriloquist figures and over 50 of them are Frank Marshall figures. Because of his love for the art of ventriloquism, Mr. Willinger created the website Ventriloquist Central. For more information about the website, go to: http://www.ventriloquistcentral.com
Copyright 2012 by Dan Willinger
NOTE: You may use this blog article provided you run it with the bio box intact. Please email a copy of your publication with the blog article in it to: webmaster@ventriloquistcentral.com
You know I wouldn’t mind an Effanbee Charlie McCarthy just as a collector piece, although I don’t aspire to have a collection as large as yours Dan.