Sara Berner

Sara Berner (born Lillian Ann Herdan; January 12, 1912 – December 19, 1969) was an American actress. Known for her expertise in dialect and characterization, she began her career as a performer in vaudeville before becoming a voice actress for radio, TV, and animated shorts. She starred in her own radio show on NBC, Sara's Private Caper, and was best known as telephone operator Mabel Flapsaddle on The Jack Benny Program.

Columnist Erskine Johnson described Berner in 1944 as "the most famous voice in Hollywood."

Early life and career Born Lillian Ann Herdan in 1912 in Albany, New York, she adopted her stage name by combining her mother's first name (Sarah) and her maiden name of Berner. and her family relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma when she was a teenager. She became interested in performing after watching silent movies and vaudeville shows at a theater and then imitating scenes in front of the women's restroom attendant. She and her family then moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she worked in a Wanamaker's department store until she was fired for mimicking a customer. She snuck out during a shift to audition for Major Edward Bowes's amateur hour, and was hired the next day.

Career Radio After the Major Bowes tour ended, Berner began working in network radio in Hollywood, with recurring roles on Fibber McGee & Molly and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. On The Jack Benny Program, she voiced one-time parts before joining the principal cast as the recurring characters of Jack Benny's girlfriend Gladys Zybisco, and wisecracking telephone operator Mabel Flapsaddle, 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. 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.

Sara's Private Caper 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, as well as confusion over whether to market the program as a mystery, comedy, or drama.

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, 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).

In August 1953, Berner provided the debut voice of another Walter Lantz character, the anthropomorphic penguin Chilly Willy. Though she received onscreen credit for her work, her duties consisted only of her singing the cartoon's opening theme, as the character himself was mute until his speaking voice was developed by Daws Butler in the 1960s.

Film and television

Berner filmed supporting roles in motion pictures from 1942 to 1957, including voicing a camel named Mabel in Road to Morocco (1942). During production, the film's casting director introduced her to Paramount Pictures executive Buddy DeSylva as "Mrs. Camel" instead of her actual name. DeSylva, who had to approve her voice for the character, addressed Berner by the title thereafter, which she disdained.

Aside from playing Mabel Flapsaddle in three episodes of The Jack Benny Program, Berner appeared on television mainly on variety shows and anthology series through the 1950s, and was the guest of honor on a December 10, 1952 episode of Ralph Edwards' reality series This Is Your Life. However, she worked little in the 1960s, aside from performing at the 1961 Grammy Awards in a comic-relief role alongside Mort Sahl, and appearing as a guest on Gypsy Rose Lee's daytime talk show in November 1966. Her final acting role was on an episode of CBS Playhouse that aired on January 29, 1967.

Personal life and death In November 1950, Berner was photographed outside a mobile X-ray unit as part of an awareness campaign by the Los Angeles County X-ray Survey Foundation that encouraged screenings to help combat the spread of tuberculosis.

Berner married her theatrical agent, Milton Rosner, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 11, 1951; the couple had one daughter, Eugenie, whom they adopted two years later at eight months old. Rosner remained Berner's agent despite their separation in 1954, but she filed for divorce in May 1958, citing "extreme" verbal cruelty. Though she was awarded custody of their daughter, Berner was arrested in December 1959 on a misdemeanor charge of child endangerment. She had been recovering from major surgery at a Culver City convalescent home two months before her death. Berner's personal property was sold at auction in Van Nuys in November 1971. Her radio voice work gained unwelcome attention after a columnist described it as "being in bad taste". Journalist Kay Gardella remarked in 1953 that interviewing Berner was "a Herculean feat" and "like trying to interview a trapeze artist while he's performing" due to Berner's switching to multiple dialects.

Berner was an in-demand entertainer for American servicemen during World War II, giving over 300 performances at Army bases in addition to 84 appearances at the Hollywood Canteen and one on the in 1944.

Filmography Shorts

MGM Red Hot Riding Hood (1943, Tex Avery) (voices) The Zoot Cat (1944, Tom and Jerry) (voice) Swing Shift Cinderella (1945) (voice) The Mouse Comes to Dinner (1945) (voice) Lonesome Lenny (1946) (voice) King-Size Canary (1947) (voice)

Warner Bros. Daffy Duck in Hollywood (1938) (voice) Confederate Honey (1940) (voice) The Hardship of Miles Standish (1940) (voice) The Henpecked Duck (1941) (voice) The Daffy Duckaroo (1942) (voice) The Hep Cat (1942) (voice) Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942) (voice) An Itch in Time (1943) (voice) Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears (1944) (voices) A Gruesome Twosome (1945) (voice) The Bashful Buzzard (1945) (voice) Book Revue (1946) (voices) Baby Bottleneck (1946) (voice) Bacall to Arms (1946) (voice) Hare Splitter (1948) (voice)

Walter Lantz Productions Life Begins for Andy Panda (1939) (voice) Knock Knock (1940) (voice) Chilly Willy (1953) (voice, opening theme only)

Walt Disney Productions Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (1938) (voices) The Autograph Hound (1939) (voices)

Radio

Fibber McGee and Molly (1939) The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1940-1949) The Jack Benny Program (1940-1955) Command Performance (1942-1948) Lux Radio Theatre (1942-1948) The Red Skelton Program (1944-1949) Cavalcade of America (1944) The Rudy Vallee Show (1945-1946) The Baby Snooks Show (1946) The Eddie Cantor Pabst Blue Ribbon Show (1947-1948) Sara's Private Caper (1950) Life with Luigi (1950-1952) The Amos 'n' Andy Show (1950-1955) The Jimmy Durante Show

Film

Year Title Role Notes 1942 Road to Morocco Mabel the Camel Voice, Uncredited 1943 Lucky Jordan Helen Uncredited 1945 Anchors Aweigh Jerry Mouse Voice, Uncredited 1945 The Sailor Takes a Wife Elevator Girl Uncredited 1947 Wife Wanted Agnes 1947 Backlash Dorothy the maid 1948 The Gay Intruders Ethel 1949 City Across the River Selma 1949 The Story of Molly X Amy 1952 Carrie Mrs. Oransky 1954 Rear Window Wife living above the Thorwalds 1955 The Naked Street Millie Swadke 1957 Spring Reunion Paula Kratz

Television