He began his career in 1955 with performing stand-up comedy in various small nightclubs and hotel lounges around the country, from New York, to Chicago, to Miami and Los Angeles.
Early in the 1950s, according to Dick Brooks, Vernon bounced around the country working whatever stand-up comedy jobs he could find, mostly in strip joints and hotel lounges.
[1] During the 1960s, Vernon occasionally worked as the opening act for both Dean Martin and Judy Garland and was a regular fixture on The Merv Griffin Show, where he informed the host that his original stage name had been "Nosmo King," which he had seen on a sign (i.e., "no smoking").
[citation needed] Vernon was also known to perform unique and darker sketches, such as his ultimately tragic attempt to turn a watermelon into a house pet.
Vernon's signature deadpan expression and delivery often had the roast audiences laughing hysterically, long before the punch line of the jokes.
Vernon's X-rated story-style jokes about people engaging in extreme sexual depravity became legend, often with the added tag line, "and I thought to myself... what a neat guy!"
[2] Vernon said that for the first few years after starting standup in the 1950s, he would write letters to his hero, Charlie Chaplin, although he never got a reply or any acknowledgement of his letter-writing.
"[3] Vernon supplied the voice of the title character of the popular family friendly Rankin-Bass television special Frosty the Snowman (1969), which has been broadcast annually on CBS since its debut.