Jeffrey Bernard

Jeffrey Bernard
Bernard in the mid-1980s
Born(1932-05-27)27 May 1932
Hampstead, London, England
Died4 September 1997(1997-09-04) (aged 65)
Soho, London, England
OccupationJournalist

Jeffrey Joseph Bernard (/bərˈnɑːrd/;[1] 27 May 1932 – 4 September 1997) was an English journalist, best known for his weekly column "Low Life" in The Spectator magazine, and also notorious for a feckless and chaotic career and life of alcohol abuse.

He became associated with the louche and bohemian atmosphere that existed in London's Soho district and was later immortalised in the comical play Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell by Keith Waterhouse. He was played by his friend Peter O'Toole when the play first opened. The title refers to a notice The Spectator would put in the place of Bernard's column on occasions in which he was unable to write.

  1. ^ Wordsworth, Dot (6 September 2008). "Mind Your Language". The Spectator.