Jack Perlman (1894-1982) was a vaudeville comedian who found fame during the 1920s playing a character named Baron Munchausen, an inveterate teller of tall tales, played by Pearl with an exaggerated German (with inflections of Yiddish) accent. His popular catchphrase, when confronted with scepticism, was “Vass you dere, Sharlie?”.
Pearl appeared in about twenty Broadway revues, latterly partnered with Ben Bard, and, in 1932, he launched his Munchausen character on radio, with great success. The following year, he starred as Munchausen in an MGM comedy called Meet the Baron (1933).
Baron Munchausen also appeared as a character in the Metro musical Hollywood Party.
Pearl’s popularity declined, but he continued to work on stage, radio and television into the 1960s.
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