Born in Portland Oregon, Charles Bernard began his career in entertainment at an early age. In California he pursued his calling in theater at the age of 19.

He later would move to Chicago to work in radio. In 1940, while working as an entertainer at a dude ranch, he met Eleanor Rose Fehr and they were married two years later. Charles Bernard served as a US Navy radioman from 1943 to 1945 he would serve again in the Korean war.