Goodnight Mr Groucho: friends pay tribute to 'Prince of Soho' Bernie Katz

He was the unforgettable, inimitable manager of Soho’s most iconic member’s club. Here his friends pay tribute…
Kate Spicer21 September 2017

Stephen Fry dubbed him the Prince of Soho. Damien Hirst designed him a logo. To anyone who regularly frequents The Groucho Club, Bernie Katz was more important than the pop art on the walls or the espresso Martinis behind the bar. For many, he made the place.

Until his retirement a few months ago, he was the club’s host: a disco-loving, five-foot-tall titan in Cuban heels who spent 21 years making its members cackle. His flamboyance and fun, coupled with a deep well of compassion, made him spectacularly loved and singularly, rarely, trusted by famous and infamous alike. His death last week at 49 sent shockwaves of grief through Soho. The club defined him, and he it. As broadcaster Richard Bacon says, ‘When you got to The Groucho and realised it was Bernie’s night off, you knew it wasn’t going to be as good or good at all.’ Here, the members who so adored him remember their confidant, cheerleader and friend.

Noel Gallagher

Musician

‘Godspeed, Bernie la. You were a King amongst queens. Who’s gonna call me gorgeous now?’

(GettyImages)
Getty Images

Gwendoline Christie

actress

‘When I first met Bernie, he took my hand and whispered in my ear: “We’re the same, you and I, we understand.” He would grab my hand, hold it aloft and glide me into the room with maximum drama, often pausing centre stage to climb me like a tree and plant one of his infamous kisses on my mouth, ensuring every eye in the room was on us. He celebrated me and spoiled me. He showered me with love during good times and bad. Bernie always reminded me of that quote from Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, “...glittery voyager of secure destination, with whistles whistling and confetti in the air”. Keep voyaging on, wherever you are, my brilliant friend. You will never ever be forgotten.’

Gwendoline Christie
Alamy Stock Photo

Helen McCrory​

actress

‘I never walk down Old Compton Street without looking out for that leopard-print jacket, cowboy boots, fag on the go, black curls bouncing and a wicked grin. He’d seen it all, but it was his capacity for love that I will never forget.’

Damon Albarn

musician

‘To the spirit of Soho/Its Golem moulder and knight/In rhinestones

and green satin/Your faerie dust flight/On to scales under world/For the tailor to sew/You a suit of small mirrors/Reflections of you flow/On to all that have loved you so we can find you again/Sing Bernie forever our magical friend’

Jaime Winstone

actress

‘Bernie made a huge impact on my life, he was my little big brother. I’m heartbroken he has gone. Disco will never be the same and neither will I.’

Lisa Moorish

Actress and singer

‘Bernie was one of my closest, most trusted friends. He was this amazing, flamboyant, loud, talented, charismatic man, but when I would sit on his sofa bed in his flat, he was all mine. If I was ever feeling down, he’d lift me out of it straight away and we’d end up laughing our heads off. We’d talk a lot about his severely autistic nephew. My son has Asperger syndrome, so it helped to talk I think. He raised a lot of money for a charity that supports families with autistic children, with a photo exhibition — which was us members nude, of course. He was kind and loving — and absolutely f***ing wild! There are so many stories. Once a member of staff ran to him, panicking: “Bernie, there’s two people having sex on the toilet!” To which he responded: “Well leave ’em and let ’em finish.” That was Bernie.’

Getty Images

Kate Moss

model

‘Soho will never be the same again. It’s the end of an era.’

Jake Chapman

artist

‘Difficult to find words to sum up a person who by their vivacity exceeded the very boundaries of simple friendliness by an incandescence that occurred with even the slightest brush with him.’

Chris Evans

broadcaster

‘He told it like it was without ever making it about himself. I hate the fact that he’s not here any more. Hate it.’

Stephen Fry

actor and broadcaster

‘I never quite committed to what Soho stands for in terms of bohemianism and a full rejection of the bourgeois. Bernie was the real thing and joins Sebastian Horsley, Jeffrey Bernard, Muriel Belcher and John Deakin in the list of figures who made the square mile exceptional and disgracefully great. I called him the Prince of Soho because if princeliness includes charm, charisma, grace, warmth, liveliness and the right amount of regal style, then Bernie was as princely as anyone I ever knew.’

Alpha-Edward Lloyd

Noel Fielding

comedian

‘Bernie was a fusion of Keith Richards and Sally Bowles, with a touch of Alex from A Clockwork Orange. He would enter a room as if on wheels, arms flying like the blades of a helicopter. He’d regale you with a filthy anecdote and while you were roaring with laughter he would disappear in a puff of smoke. I only saw Bernie once in the daytime in Kentish Town and it was like seeing a genie or a unicorn. He was a mythical creature and I will miss him.’

REX/Shutterstock

Jude Law

actor

‘Bernie’s theatre was Soho and his stage was The Groucho. He was our star. We were all just bit players.’

Sheridan Smith

actress

‘He was always there with a kiss and a hug for everyone. A rare and wonderfully eccentric soul who made so many people feel like family.’

Sadie Frost

actress

‘Bernie, one of my closest confidants, saw me through two marriages. He literally picked me up when I needed picking up — sometimes after giving me too many espresso Martinis — but then he would sober me up as well with coffee and cheese sandwiches. I cried on his shoulder and he on mine. He was an emotionally generous man. In the infamous naughty days of The Groucho, when we were all young, he’d carry me through the back door.’

Can Nguyen/Capital Pictures

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