The son of a Viennese railroad stationmaster, he studied at the University of Vienna and did his acting training under the aegis of Max Reinhardt at the State Academy of Dramatic Art. He served his apprenticeship on the stages of Berlin, Zurich and Salzburg, eventually leaving Europe to settle in New York in 1939. He first taught drama at the New School, the American Theater Wing, the Neighborhood Playhouse and Columbia University. In 1945, he opened his first acting school in Manhattan and, two years later, became a charter member of the Actor's Studio. The later Herbert Berghof Studio was located in Greenwich Village. Berghof also had a distinguished career on Broadway, both as a performer and as a director, from 1939 to 1980.
