Biography
African-American character actor Jason Bernard is one of those performers who seems to have never been out of work. Bernard's cinematic stock-in-trade has been stern authority figures: the parole officer in
Car Wash (1976), the Mayor in
Blue Thunder (1983), Judge Bochco in
The Star Chamber (1983), Major Donovan in
No Way Out (1987), and so forth. Bernard has appeared numerous times on television as a guest star and as a recurring character. Some of his most famous TV roles include Preston Wade in the daytime drama
Days of Our Lives, mechanical whiz Fletch in the 1983 prime-timer
High Performance, and the chronically humorless publishing executive Mr. Paul Bracken in the 1991 Fox sitcom Herman's Head. For his supporting role in the Lifetime network movie
Sophie and the Moonhanger (1995), Bernard received a Cable Ace nomination. His last feature-film role was that of a judge in the
Jim Carrey comedy Liar, Liar (1997). On October 16, 1996, the 58-year-old Bernard was driving in Hollywood when he suffered a fatal heart attack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide