COSTLY DUMMY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 26 November 1938, Page 6

COSTLY DUMMY

‘lt isn’t tne cost—it’s the upkeep, 1 said Edgar Bergen about Charlie McCarthy, his pal and working partner in his current picture, “Letter of Introduc- 1 tion.” Bergen was bewailing the rapid 1 rate at which Charlie’s clothes wear out. “I can’t get a suit lor Charlie that £ j lasts more than a couple of months,” he declared. They’re all tailor made, cost me £ls each, and the imp wears them out at the rate of about six suits a year. ’ The excess wear and tear, Bergen explained, comes from transporting Charlie arouna in the special- £ ly-made suitcase which is Charlie’s * travelling home. "His shirts cost £1 10s, his toes one dollar each. His hats (which wear out almost as rapidly as 1 his clothes) set me back a cool £5. c They have got to be specially made for him. I get a break on his shoes, for I can fit him in the children’s department £ of almost any shoe store.” Bergen also revealed that he has spent nearly £2OO trying to get an acceptable stand-in for j Charlie. He has spent as high as £SO for a carved head, and has already had six of them made. He rejected them all. “The lowest price was £25,” he states. ‘Now lam having another constructed, this time of a rubber composition.” A stand-in is necessary, Bergen explained, because Charlie must be on hand during his (Bergen’s) rehearsals. The stand-in is placed before the camera while lights and lenses are lined up.