Born in 1951, Bern Boyle received his B.A. from Villanova University and an M.A. in Teaching English from Hunter College. In 1988, he received an M.A. in Museum Studies from The City College of New York. He lived in Philadelphia, San Francisco, and New York City.

In 1973, Boyle helped to found Giovanni's Room in Philadelphia, the nation's oldest and largest LGBT bookstore and cultural center, and is also credited with founding the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival in 1976, (today it is known as the Frameline Film Festival). In New York City he lived in the East Village and was known for his participation in the mail art scene. An active member of the New York City film community, Boyle acted in the 1975 horror parody film "Thundercrack," and appeared as himself in the 1990 film "Silence = Death" alongside Keith Haring, David Wojnarowicz, and other downtown artists and writers struggling with AIDS. He also directed a small number of short films and documentaries.

Boyle is most well known for his curatorial and photographic work. Among the many art shows he curated are "The North American Coastal New Wave" at the Foro de Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City; "Mexican Illustrators: 1920-1950" at the Anglo-Mexican Institute of Culture, Mexico City; "The History of Books for the Blind" at The Catholic Center, New York City; and "Booth: Photo Booth Work by Herman Costa" at St. Mark's Graphics, New York City.

As a photographer, Boyle documented a wide range of subjects, from street art in Alphabet City and Loisaida, to portraits of Coney Island sideshow performer Michael Wilson (aka "The Illustrated Man" or "Tattoo Mike"). In 1986, amidst the panic of the AIDS epidemic and dismay at learning of many of his friends' diagnoses (and perhaps his own), he photographed himself once a day using a photobooth, which ultimately led him to curate the "Photomaton" exhibition in 1987, which was the first exhibition to showcase the work of artists working with photobooth technology.

Bern Boyle died of AIDS-related complications on June 17, 1992 in New York City.