William H. Bernard

Born in Auckland, New Zealand , he and his wife (Roy Elizabeth Ayrd) were in South Africa with the Chambers Theatre Company in 1890, William appearing as a juvenile lead, playing heroic characters in plays such as The Bells of Haslemere and In the Ranks.

While in Port Elizabeth that year their daughter, the silent film actress Dorothy Bernard (1890–1955) was born there. Bernard subsequently moved to Portland, Oregon in the USA, where he worked as a stock company manager and was a well-respected actor.