Charlie McCarthy and his Benzine Buggy

Research notes

Charlie McCarthy was the sharp-tongued, monocle-wearing wooden sidekick of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (friend of Marx). Their Sunday night radio program, "The Chase and Sanborn Hour", completely dominated the late 1930s; The term "Benzine Buggy" was an early 1900s slang for the first gasoline-powered motor vehicles, poking fun at how primitive and dangerous they felt; original price $.49; a variant has a red and white steering wheel

Featured in

• Greenberg's Guide to Marx Toys vol.2 — p. 117
• The Guide to Mechanical Toy Collecting — p. 49
• The Price Guide to Metal Toys — p. 95