George and Bert Bernard

They were in fact unrelated: Bernard Franklin George (July 1, 1912–October 22, 1967) and Herbert James Maxwell (June 23, 1917–February 23, 2004).

When appearing in cabaret in Washington, D.C. in 1932, he met vaudeville and comedy dancer Bert Maxwell, who had been born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1917.

They began working together as The Bernard Dancers, presenting a comedic ballet routine and touring in North and South America.

[1][2] In 1941 Bert Maxwell joined the U.S. Army Air Force, in which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, while George Bernard continued to work as a solo entertainer with the USO.

They established a residency at Le Lido in Paris, topped the bill at the London Casino, and in 1948 appeared in the Royal Variety Performance and in Val Parnell's production of the pantomime Cinderella, becoming one of the most popular comedy acts of the period in British variety theatres.