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Edgar Bergen came to the attention of American audiences on Rudy Vallée’s NBC Royal Gelatin Hour on December 17th, 1936. Five months later NBC gave Bergen his own show Sundays at 8PM. He was an instant smash hit.

Don Ameche worked with Bergen in those years. He was emcee on December 12th, 1937 when Mae West was the guest for an innuendo heavy skit called “Adam and Eve.” Over the next six seasons his show was never rated lower than fourth. Twice it was the country’s top program.

In October of 1944 Bergen’s rating was 22.5. Roughly eighteen million people tuned in on October 29th when the guest was Orson Welles for the first of back-to-back appearances on the show.