Candice Bergen

EDGAR BERGEN -- FATHER OF A GIRL
Wooden-bodied Charlie McCarthy -- the redwood half of the famed radio team -- today had a flesh and blood rival for the affections of Edgar Bergen since the arrival of a 7 lb., 13˝ oz. daughter last night at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital. Mrs. Bergen, who was married to Charlie’s “stooge” last June, was reoprted "doing well."
-Variety, May 10, 1946

Candice Bergen was born on May 9, 1946 to Edgar Bergen, the very famous radio personality, and Frances Bergen, a model. Edgar Bergen, a ventriloquist, is famous for being the voice of Charlie McCarthy, the wise-cracking dummy, Mortimer Snerd, the country bumpkin, and also the less famous Effie Klinker and Podine. Charlie was the star of the show, famous for his feuds with W.C. Fields. In his time, Charlie McCarthy was more popular than Mickey Mouse. In her childhood, Candice was upstaged by her dummy brother. She was referred to as Charlie’s sister.
Candice grew up in L.A., living in a Spanish style house named Bella Vista. Her bedroom was Charlie's former room, when Candice was born, Charlie moved into the guest bedroom. Candice made her first public appearance as an infant, featured with her parents in a magazine advertisement.

Candice lived the spoiled child life that many of the children of celebrities had at the time. She'd get Christmas presents from Walt Disney, had many friends including Jimmy Stewart's son and Liza Minnelli, and, before she was seven years old, appeared on the radio with her father. Also when she was six, Candice's turtle Toby died. The "funeral" for it was photograhed and filmed, and can be seen on Edgar Bergen's A&E Biography, the prologue to Candice's book Knock Wood, and Candice's second appearance on the Tonight Show.
Candice attended one year of boarding school in Switzerland. Her parents, visiting her after one semester, thought that all Candy had really learned was smoking and drinking, so they brought her back to California with them.

When Candice was fifteen, her mother Frances had another child. Kris Edgar Bergen was born on October 12, 1961. Edgar Bergen was sixty years old.

Candice attended University of Pennsylvania, where she became interested in photography and also got some modeling jobs. She flunked out of the school in her sophomore year and moved to New York. There, she got the part as Lakey in The Group, her first movie appearance. After that she travelled and filmed The Sand Pebbles with Steve McQueen in Taiwan and then travelled through Africa. She filmed The Day the Fish Came Out in Greece and then Live For Life in France.

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