The more I think about it, Bernard Levin is one of the very few people in public life, past or present, about whom I can say nothing remotely negative. Although his views changed quite a lot during the course of his public life, BL was always on the side of right: you might disagree with him strongly (as I did over his views on smoking, though I believe Levin himself was a non-smoker) but you could never fault the impeccably elegant way in which he argued.
As an interviewer, Levin was in a class by himself: in fact, the most striking thing about his tv interviews (check them out on youtube) is how self-effacing BL himself was - the interview was all about getting the subject to shed light on themselves not to impress the audience with what a clever chap BL is/was. (for an example of what I mean, seek out his interview with Krishnamurti, or any of his numerous interviews with opera singers - you'll find nothing remotely high-falutin about Levin's style and he is always careful to pitch the interview at a level that can be appreciated by anyone, not just someone with a prior knowledge of the subject).
His political development was no less interesting: from a social democratic position in the 50s60s, Levin arrived at a sort of faute de mieux Toryism by the time of his retirement - a journey that reflects that of most people, not just people of his own generation. Unlike his contemporary Paul Johnson, he never embraced modish radicalism, so had nothing to be embarrassed about in his later years.
Although he could be ferociosu in print, Levin was - by all accounts - unfailingly kind and generous in real life (you practically had to strong-arm him into allowing you to buy him dinner, so the stories go). I never had the pleasure of meeting him (and would probably have been too intimidated to seek an introduction - that habitual glowering expression of his could be forbidding) but I'd be interested in hearing the stories of those who had.
Here's the BBC's report of his death, from 2004: predictably, it focuses on his waspish side (nice to see him giving 'Rocco' Forte a well-deserved walloping), but youtube abounds with footage of his more sensitive side:
As an interviewer, Levin was in a class by himself: in fact, the most striking thing about his tv interviews (check them out on youtube) is how self-effacing BL himself was - the interview was all about getting the subject to shed light on themselves not to impress the audience with what a clever chap BL is/was. (for an example of what I mean, seek out his interview with Krishnamurti, or any of his numerous interviews with opera singers - you'll find nothing remotely high-falutin about Levin's style and he is always careful to pitch the interview at a level that can be appreciated by anyone, not just someone with a prior knowledge of the subject).
His political development was no less interesting: from a social democratic position in the 50s60s, Levin arrived at a sort of faute de mieux Toryism by the time of his retirement - a journey that reflects that of most people, not just people of his own generation. Unlike his contemporary Paul Johnson, he never embraced modish radicalism, so had nothing to be embarrassed about in his later years.
Although he could be ferociosu in print, Levin was - by all accounts - unfailingly kind and generous in real life (you practically had to strong-arm him into allowing you to buy him dinner, so the stories go). I never had the pleasure of meeting him (and would probably have been too intimidated to seek an introduction - that habitual glowering expression of his could be forbidding) but I'd be interested in hearing the stories of those who had.
Here's the BBC's report of his death, from 2004: predictably, it focuses on his waspish side (nice to see him giving 'Rocco' Forte a well-deserved walloping), but youtube abounds with footage of his more sensitive side:
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