The only person in history to have ever received a wooden Oscar
Masterfully designed, the Oscar is a thing of beauty, so sleek and so shiny that any magpie across the world would chop off their left wing just to get their beak on it. While the younguns among us may presume the statuette itself is made from solid gold, the sad reality is that an Oscar is constructed of gold-plated bronze on a black base, weighing precisely 3.856kg.
Some of Hollywood’s most beloved stars have had their sweaty mitts on the gold-plated statuette, too, with actors like John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Ron Howard and Michael Caine clutching tightly onto their prize like a baby with a rattle. Yet, only one icon of the industry has ever walked away with a wooden Oscar, with the ‘lucky’ recipient of the carved stick being the 1930s ventriloquist Edgar Bergen.
Bergen, alongside his wooden dummy McCarthy, created an unbeatable ventriloquist act, with the latter being the insolent pest to the former’s straight act, throwing insults at his master while offering compliments to the women of the audience. While their success started with the Chautauqua vaudeville, as their fame grew, they began selling out larger venues before one private party changed Bergen’s life forever.
The private doo took place at the iconic Rainbow Room in New York City and was held in honour of the English playwright and composer Noël Coward, with Bergen and McCarthy being hired to entertain the esteemed guests, which included high-profile radio executives. Despite the fact that the magic of ventriloquism is somewhat lost without visual reference, the pair were given their own radio show in 1937, The Chase and Sanborn Hour, which became better known as The Charlie McCarthy Show.
A massive hit with audiences, once TV came calling, Bergen and McCarthy were hurried onto the small screen, with the pair starring in the curiously titled Do You Trust Your Wife?, gaining even more fame in the process.
It was as a result of their hasty rise to the very top that the pair received an ‘Honorary Oscar’ in 1937, with the wooden statuette being carved to suit the nature of their unique double act. Thanks to the nod of approval from the Academy, the pair went on to experience considerable success on the silver screen, starring in 14 major movies, including 1938’s Letter of Introduction.
Take a look at a clip of when Bergen and McCarthy joined the Muppets for a singalong below.
