Jack Pearl

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Comedian | Radio Personality Born Jack Perlman on Oct. 29, 1894 in New York, NY

Jack Pearl was a radio personality whose querying "Vas you dere, Sharlie?" became a byword in the early days of national radio.

Pearl was born Jack Perlman in New York City on Oct. 29, 1894.

He became famous on radio in 1933 as Baron von Munchausen on the "Jack Pearl Show," a two-man comedy program in which the baron told questionable tales. His sidekick, Sharlie, played by Cliff Hall, would express doubt as to the truthfulness of the baron's boasting, producing Pearl's well-known rejoinder.

The veteran comedian had been in vaudeville and on Broadway, where his 18 shows included Florenz Ziegfeld's "Follies." His first radio experience came in 1931, when he appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show." That program was credited with launching the radio careers of Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan and Ziegfeld himself.

Pearl made two films, "Meet the Baron," with Jimmy Durante in 1933, and "Hollywood Part," featuring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy and Durante, in 1934.

He died Dec. 25, 1982, in New York.

— Los Angeles Times Dec. 28, 1982