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Decent Quality Since 1847

Master to Master

1/2/2014

3 Comments

 
 It's been pretty clear to me that Jim Henson was a massive fan of Edgar Bergen to the point of hero-worship.  (For which he gets major points, not that he needs them.)  In the original The Muppet Movie, they give Bergen and Charlie McCarthy a solo moment, where the camera fills the screen with them as judges at a state fair.  That's all they do in the movie -- nothing to say, just a stand-out close up.  And if memory serves, the movie is dedicated to Edgar Bergen.  High praise from one master puppeteer to another.

Which is why this video is such a treat.  It's when Edgar Bergen appeared on the The Muppet Show. 

This isn't a good example of Bergen's craft.  He and Charlie have little to do, and when Charlie does talk, you get the sense that Bergen almost was taken by the song around him and forgot that he was a ventriloquist.  He never was known for great technique, just majestic characterization and humor, but this is among the worst you'll see.  There is even a point where he's pretty much "open mouthed."  But that's moot, because the clip is so special for so many reasons. 

And at the top of that list is that it's the Muppets
singing to Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy to "Consider Yourself One of Us."

That's good enough for me.
3 Comments
Douglass Abramson
1/4/2014 10:59:58 am

Guess what movie and scene I just stumbled across on TV? Charlie and Bergen both had throwaway lines in the scene. Standard stuff for them. Charlie says something slightly insulting (and breaks the fourth wall) and Bergen chides him. The whole fair sequence has impressive cameos, in a movie full of them. Elliot Gould, Charlie and Bergen, Bob Hope and Richard Pryor.

Reply
Robert Elisberg
1/4/2014 02:58:04 pm

Ha! What great timing! Okay, so I was wrong about them not having any lines, but as you note, it's just throwaway. Mainly, the point is the get them their close-up and homage.

Reply
Douglass Abramson
1/4/2014 04:19:19 pm

Wrong is way too strong a word. Until I saw the scene tonight, I would have agreed with you and I know that I've watched my DVD copy in the last two or three years.

Reply



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    Robert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 

    Elisberg is a two-time recipient of the Lucille Ball Award for comedy screenwriting. He's written for film, TV, the stage, and two best-selling novels, is a regular columnist for the Writers Guild of America and was for
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