The zany comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, whose Broadway revues were fast-paced collections of songs and blackouts, hired Joe Besser to join their company. Besser's noisy intrusions were perfect for their anything-can-happen format. Besser's work caught the attention of the Shubert brothers, who signed Besser to a theatrical contract. Columbia Pictures hired Besser away from the Shuberts, and Besser relocated to Hollywood in 1944, where he brought his unique comic character to feature-length musical comedies like "Hey, Rookie" and "Eadie Was a Lady" (1945). On May 9, 1946 Besser appeared on the pioneer NBC television program "Hour Glass", performing his "Army Drill" routine with stage partner Jimmy Little. According to an article in the May 27, 1946 issue of "Life" magazine, the show was seen by about 20,000 people on about 3,500 television sets, mostly in the New York City area. During this period, he appeared on the Jack Benny radio program in the episode entitled "Jack Prepares For Carnegie Hall" in June, 1943. Besser also starred in short-subject comedies for Columbia from 1949 to 1956. By this point, his persona was sufficiently well known that he was frequently caricatured in "Looney Tunes" animated shorts of the era. He appeared in the action film "The Desert Hawk" (1950).