Candice Bergen is an actress that audience members will best recognize thanks to her time playing the titular character on the television series Murphy Brown. Though Candice has managed to make a name for herself in the entertainment industry, she had little help from her famous father. Candice’s father was a famous ventriloquist by the name of Edgar Bergen, who made waves during Hollywood’s Golden Age with his dummy, who he called Charlie McCarthy. As Candice was growing up, she was neglected as a result of her father spending more time with his dummy than her! Upon his 1978 passing, Edgar left his dummy $10,000 and didn’t leave a cent to Candice. She still has hard feelings about it. Join Facts Verse as we explore how Candice Bergen was always overshadowed by her cruel father.
Candice Bergen Wasn’t Enough of a Dummy for Her Father
Candice Bergen is a star that audiences will most closely associate with the titular role on the television series Murphy Brown. However, Candice was a notable figure in the industry long before receiving the lead role on that 1988 television series. Candice was introduced to the world of show business at a young age as a result of her famous father. The actress’s father was a man by the name of Edgar Bergen, who made a name for himself with his ventriloquist talents during Hollywood’s Golden Age. Edgar’s dummy was named Charlie McCarthy. Not only did Candice come to view Charlie as somewhat of a sibling during her childhood years, but she also grew understandably jealous of him.
For whatever reason, Edgar Bergen always preferred his dummy to his flesh-and-blood daughter. Candice has recalled memories of sitting on her father’s lap during breakfast. She was sitting on one of her father’s knees, while Charlie McCarthy was perched on the other. Edgar taught young Candice the parlor trick of acting as his ventriloquist dummy. When Edgar would lightly tug on the back of Candice’s neck as he would a dummy, she would perform the appropriate action of opening and closing her mouth. Using this method, Edgar would force Candice and Charlie to make conversation at the breakfast table. In actuality, Edgar was the only person that was making any noise.
Edgar seems to have been perfectly fine spending time with his daughter when she was young enough for him to control, but grew more and more tired of her as she grew into an adult woman with her own agency. As Edgar grew tired of his daughter, his dummy remained by his side to keep him company. This was the late Edgar Bergen’s reasoning when he decided to leave $10,000 to Charlie McCarthy in his will, and not a cent to his own flesh-and-blood daughter.
Edgar Bergen Was a Golden Age Legend
Edgar Bergen was born in the early 1900s, and he made a name on the vaudeville circuit as a young man thanks to his ventriloquist talents. During Hollywood’s Golden Age, Edgar and his dummy became major talents on the screen. In 1939, they could be seen on cinema screens via a pair of feature films called You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man and Charlie McCarthy, Detective. In 1941, they appeared alongside Lucille Ball in Look Who’s Laughing. Later on in the 1940s, Edgar and his dummy made an appearance in the Walt Disney feature film Fun and Fancy Free, which remains one of the most well-known films they appeared in.
Edgar Bergen remained a successful performer up until his retirement at the age of 75. Edgar ended his show-business tenure with a series of packed shows in Las Vegas, and he passed away not long afterwards. Both Edgar and Candice had appeared on The Muppet Show during the 1970s. Muppet creator Jim Henson always had a great deal of respect for Edgar, and he dedicated 1979’s The Muppet Movie to the ventriloquist shortly after his 1978 passing.
When her father passed away, Candice Bergen wasn’t sure how to feel. On the one hand, she was understandably upset at the loss of her parent. However, there was also the guilt-inducing feeling of relief that came from knowing that she was never going to have to compete for attention with Charlie McCarthy again. Once Candice came to terms with the fact that her father left money to his dummy but not to her, the actress was able to move on and finally make a name for herself in Hollywood outside of her father’s shadow. Despite not receiving any inheritance from her famous father, Candice has had no trouble supporting herself over the course of her lifetime thanks to her own popularity. After being ushered into show business at the behest of her father at a young age, Candice became a professional model during her young adulthood and eventually managed to become an actress in her own right.
Edgar Bergen’s will contained a heartfelt explanation for why the late ventriloquist chose to leave such a sum of money to his dummy. However, the will didn’t contain any stipulation that explained how exactly the inanimate object that was Charlie McCarthy was meant to claim it’s inheritance. Because of this, whatever actually happened to the $10,000 remains a bit of a mystery. However, the success story that would become of Candice Bergen is anything but! The actress would go on to become a household name thanks to her titular performance on the 1988 television series Murphy Brown. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Candice Bergen Followed in her Father’s Footsteps
Candice Bergen was born in 1946, which means that she was 30 years old by the time that her father passed away. It wasn’t until this point that the neglected daughter was finally allowed the chance to break out of her father’s shadow. According to Candice, she spent the majority of her early life trying to gain her father’s approval. She never got it, and she ended up coming to terms with this after his death. Despite the fact that Candice didn’t have a very happy upbringing, she has managed to not make the same mistakes as her father when it came to starting up a family of her own.
Long before becoming known for her titular role on Murphy Brown, Candice Bergen was a fledgling actress on the big screen. During her early acting days, the actress got the chance to appear alongside such notable figures as Jack Nicholson, Sean Connery, and Harrison Ford. However, it was her appearance alongside Burt Reynolds in 1979’s Starting Over that proved her big break. This was the role that first gave Candice the chance to explore her comedic chops. Previously, the actress had simply been viewed as a pretty face, but Starting Over made both producers and the audience realize that Candice was actually very funny.
Chances are that Candice Bergen inherited a good deal of her comedic skills from her famously funny father. Sadly, by the time that Candice had learned how to use them, her father was no longer alive to witness it. Still, it’s doubtful that Edgar would’ve found it in himself to be very impressed by his daughter’s comedic talents. After all, she wasn’t a piece of dead wood that he could control to his liking!
Once audiences realized that Candice Bergen knew how to be funny, it was only a relatively short period of time before the actress was cast on Murphy Brown. The show premiered in 1988, and became a massive hit for the NBC network. Over the course of the show’s run, Candice won five separate Emmy Awards for her role on the series. Candice’s titular character on the series was a reporter for a popular news program. In addition to her great sense of humor, Candice also lent some old-fashioned professionalism to the role. Murphy Brown went on to last for ten seasons before airing it’s final episode in May of 1998.
Where Is Candice Nowadays?
In 2018, Murphy Brown was brought back for a short-lived revival, with Candice Bergen returning to portray the titular character. Though the reboot didn’t prove all that successful and only lasted for a season, many audience members were still glad for the chance to see how Candice Bergen and her iconic character were doing after all these years. Today, Candice Bergen is 76 years old, and she’s still got it! This comes in spite of the fact that the actress has suffered from health scares over the years, including a few small strokes.
Due to her traumatic upbringing, Candice Bergen understandably put off trying to start a family until after her father’s passing. Candice married for the first time in 1980, and her first husband was venerated French film director Louis Malle. Candice was wise to wait until she was older to get married, as her marriage to Louis proved a success. The two had a daughter by the name of Chloe, and remained married until Louis’ passing in 1995. Louis died of lymphoma, and Candice was widowed before the age of 50.
In the year 2000, Candice Bergen married for a second time, and it seems that the actress is still with her second husband to this day. That second husband is a man by the name of Marshall Rose, who is said to have been a businessman. However, it seems that Marshall no longer works in his old age, and has been suffering from some serous health problems over the past few years. Candice has never had any kids in her life besides Chloe, who is now 36. Chloe has a family of her own now, and she lives just across the street from her mother with her husband and son.
Though Murphy Brown star Candice Bergen had a traumatic childhood as a result of being forced to compete for the affection of her father with an inanimate object, she was able to leave this trauma behind and start a healthy family as an adult. Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that famed ventriloquist Edgar Bergen left his inheritance to a piece of wood instead of his famous daughter Candice, and that he allegedly used to force Candice to act as his ventriloquist dummy at the breakfast table? As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
