Beulah Witch hand puppet
Puppet
Hand puppet of the character Beulah Witch created by Chicago puppeteer Burr Tillstrom around 1947 for the popular children's television show Kukla, Fran and Ollie.
Tillstrom, Burr (creator)
Owned by Chicago Historical Society. Gift of Estate of Burr Tillstrom
Chicago History Museum
Circa 1947
Alexandra Gradwohl
© Chicago Historical Society, published on or before 2016, all rights reserved
plastic (organic material)
cloth
paint (coating)
metal
Length: (18 in)
Puppet
Physical Object
Beulah Witch hand puppet
Charlie McCarthy Puppet
Charlie McCarthy was the creation of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (1903-1978). Bergen was born to Swedish immigrant parents in Chicago in 1903, and at 16, began taking lessons in ventriloquism from Harry Lester. Bergen paid a Chicago woodcarver, Theodore Mack, $36 to sculpt a likeness of a local redheaded newsboy. This head went on a dummy's body to become Bergen's lifelong sidekick, Charlie McCarthy. Bergen gave his first performances with Charlie at the Waveland Avenue Congregational Church in Lakeview. They performed on a long-running radio show and in movies for the rest of Bergen's career.
Mack, Theodore
National Museum of American History
1922
Bergen, Edgar
Wood, plastic, cloth, human hair, glass, leather
Puppet