Bert Bernard

Bert Bernard, born Herbert James Maxwell in Boston, Massachusetts, began his showbiz career on the American vaudeville stage and in musical comedies as a juvenile dancer. He teamed up with George Bernard in 1932, changing his name to accommodate a billing with his new partner as the Bernard Brothers. In 1938, their act, which was largely about dancing, took them to Paris, France, where they appeared in the Folies Bergeres. It also took them that same year to London, England. Returning to the U.S. at the start of WWII, the act was put on hold while Bert served in the US Army Air Force, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. George, in turn, continued to perform, primarily traveling with USO shows. They resumed their association after the war, discovering, while joking around at parties, a well-received talent they had for lip-syncing and miming popular recordings of songs. Calling their routine 'Off the Record' and adding the cross-dressing feature of being in drag, th