His first job was as a salesman in Chicago, earning $70 a week. He began acting on stage in New York, then wrote gags for Danny Thomas and Milton Berle, acquiring a well-earned reputation for wit. He enjoyed his first major success as writer and producer for the radio comedy show 'My Friend Irma', which he based on recollections of people he had met in Manhattan. This later spawned several feature films and a television series. In the late 1950's, he worked at Desilu for five years as producer and script supervisor.