Jeffrey Bernard was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

, best known for his weekly column "Low Life

Low Life

Low Life is a story, published in 2000 AD, set in the world of Judge Dredd which was created by Rob Williams and Henry Flint.-Publication history:Simon Coleby, Rufus Dayglo and D'Israeli have also illustrated the strip...

" in the Spectator

The Spectator

The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...

magazine, and also notorious for a feckless and chaotic career and life of alcohol abuse

Alcohol abuse

Alcohol abuse, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the recurring use of alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences. Alcohol abuse eventually progresses to alcoholism, a condition in which an individual becomes dependent on alcoholic beverages in order to avoid...

. He became associated with the louche and bohemian atmosphere that existed in London's Soho

Soho

Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...

 district. He was later immortalised in the comical play Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell

Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell

Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell is a play by Keith Waterhouse about real-life journalist Jeffrey Bernard. Bernard was still alive at the time the play was first performed in the West End in 1989.Bernard wrote the "Low Life" column in The Spectator...

by Keith Waterhouse

Keith Waterhouse

Keith Spencer Waterhouse CBE was a novelist, newspaper columnist, and the writer of many television series.-Biography:Keith Waterhouse was born in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...

.
Born in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, the son of Oliver Percy Bernard

Oliver Percy Bernard

Oliver Percy Bernard OBE MC was an English architect, and scenic, graphic and industrial designer. He was instrumental in developing conservative Victorian British taste in a modernist European direction and much of his work is frequently characterised as art deco.-Early life:Born in Camberwell,...

 and Dora Hodges (1896–1950), an opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 singer, he was the brother of Oliver Bernard

Oliver Bernard

Oliver Bernard is an English poet and translator. Bernard is most famous for translating Rimbaud into English as part of the Penguin classics collection....

, a poet, and Bruce Bernard, an art critic, picture editor and photographer.