Publisher, Radio Spirits (March 2011)

During the war years, blackouts, gas rationing and other constrictions kept citizens at home…and tuned in to their radios. It was in this moment that ventriloquist Edgar Bergen with his dummies Charlie McCarthy, Mortimer Snerd and Effie Klinker, provided entertainment light enough to lift spirits and boost national morale.

And, this was no laughing matter. Bergen received a special commendation from the U.S. government for entertaining the troops. Indeed, Charlie was so popular with the soldiers that the Army Air Corps made him a honorary sergeant (though, he was court- martialed when they discovered he'd also accepted a commission from the Marines)!

These 20 digitally re-mastered and restored episodes - including remotes from military bases - feature series regulars Abbott & Costello, Ginny Simms, Dale Evans, Bill Goodwin, Jim Ameche, and Ray Noble. And, the dazzling array of guest stars - including Judy Garland, Claudette Colbert, Charles Boyer, Humphrey Bogart, Olivia de Havilland, Orson Welles, Frank Sinatra, and more - certainly didn't hurt morale any!

Includes a Program Guide by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.

Episodes Include:

Guest: Judy Garland 06-21-42

Guest: Walter Brennan 06-28-42

Guest: Martha Raye 04-11-43

Guest: Ronald Colman 04-18-43

Guests: William Gaxton and Victore Moore 05-09-43

Guest: Claudette Colbert 05-16-43

Guest: Charles Boyer 05-23-43

Guest: Humphrey Bogart 09-12-43

Guest: Leo Carrillo 09-17-44

Guest: Olivia de Havilland 10-01-44

Guest: Gertrude Niesen 10-15-44

Guest: Orson Welles 10-29-44

Guests: Orson Welles and John Robert Powers 11-05-44

Guest: Elsa Maxwell 11-19-44

Guest: Lauritz Melchior 11-26-44

Guest: Don Ameche 12-03-44

Guest: Rudy Vallee and Don Ameche 12-17-44

Guest: Carmen Miranda 01-07-45

Guest: Louis Bromfield 01-14-45

Guest: Frank Sinatra 01-28-45