One of the few female TV comedy writers of the early 1950s (or indeed any era), Kallen was on the writing team behind Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar from 1950 to 1954. The show launched the careers of a number of comedy legends, including Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, and Larry Gelbart.
Kallen was also the model for the Sally Rogers character on The Dick Van Dyke Show, which Reiner created in 1961. She also wrote six novels. Kallen died January 18th of cancer at age 76 at home in Ardsley, New York.