the line for them to connect his call. Intended as a one-time appearance, they began recurring roles in the 1945–46 season, and in early 1947, Berner and Benaderet momentarily took over the actual NBC switchboards in Hollywood for publicity photos. Other radio work included waitress Dreamboat Mulvany on Arthur's Place; Mrs. Horowitz on Life with Luigi; Helen Wilson on Amos 'n' Andy; and an Italian housekeeper on The Jimmy Durante Show. She was cast alongside Rudy Vallée on his show The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour; however, she sued Vallée in 1945 for $19,500 in damages over claims he reneged on an "oral agreement" that he would hire her for 39 appearances on his show at $500 weekly. As a result of her radio successes, Berner was given her own series on NBC, Sara's Private Caper, in which she starred as a police department stenographer who moonlighted as an amateur sleuth to solve crimes. Billed as "a satire on private detective stories" that claimed to feature Berner's actual voice, the show premiered on June 15, 1950 but was canceled after just eleven weeks, with its final broadcast on August 24. It had been hampered by multiple title changes prior to its debut, as well as confusion over whether to market the program as a mystery, comedy, or drama. Berner returned to supporting roles, but was temporarily removed from The Jack Benny Program for an eighteen-month period between 1954 and 1955 due to an undisclosed dispute with Benny, and was substituted by Shirley Mitchell as Mabel Flapsaddle in that duration. Animation Berner was active in vocal characterization for animated cartoons, working with several studios from the late 1930s through the 1940s. She was initially utilized for her imitations of Hollywood film actresses, such as Katharine Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, and Martha Raye. This led to her being cast in celebrity-ensemble shorts such as Disney's Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (1938) and The Autograph Hound (1939); Walter Lantz Productions' Hollywood Bowl (1938); and Warner Bros.' Hollywood Steps Out (1941). Her mimicking of Hepburn led to her being hired by Lantz as the debut voice of Andy Panda, which she played only twice, in Life Begins for Andy Panda (1939) and Knock Knock (1940). Berner focused on voicing animals thereafter, with her work for Warner Bros. Cartoons (where she replaced Bernice Hansen) ranging from Mama Buzzard in Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942)