In the mid-1960s, Berman and wife Sarah adopted two children, son Joshua (1965-October 29, 1977) and daughter Rachel. The Bermans were planning Joshua's bar mitzvah when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Joshua died on October 29, 1977 at age 12.
One of the jobs he had before he got into show business was a dance instructor at an Arthur Murray Dance Studio.
In 1955 he joined The Compass Players in Chicago, a comedy improv group that had a cabaret on the city's North Side.
Studied drama at Herbert Berghof HB Studio in Greenwich Village, New York City.
He was the son of Irene (Marks) and Nathan Berman. His father was born in Illinois, to Polish Jewish parents. His mother was born in England, to a Russian Jewish father and a Latvian Jewish mother.
Interviewed in "The Great Comedians Talk About Comedy" by Larry Wilde (1968).