Bernard Black
From Black Books Wikia
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Bernard Ludwig Black, the owner of the eponymous bookshop Black Books, is a heavy alcoholic and smoker and has been known to be rude and obnoxious to the customers in his shop. The only people Bernard can be said to share a friendship with are Manny Bianco, his assistant and flat mate, and Fran Katzenjammer, his best friend and neighbour.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Bernard was born In Ireland on the nineteenth day of an unknown month in the 1960s to Mr. and Mrs. Black. He was born and brought up in Ireland, possibly in Dublin.
[edit] Move to London
Bernard moved to London in the early 1990s and met Gerald, who lent him money and helped him find a job. Sometime around 1995, Gerald helped Bernard find a building on Little Bevan Street in Bloomsbury. It is unknown what purpose the building was serving then, however, Bernard rented it and turned it into a bookshop called Black Books.
Bernard then became acquinted with Fran Katzenjammer, the owner of the shop next door, and the pair became friends. Sometime after this Fran and Bernard had a sexual relationship, however, it was short lived as the pair were drunk at the time and stayed as friends.
[edit] Hiring of Manny Bianco
In the year 2000, Bernard hired Manny Bianco while drunk. Bernard wakes up the following morning to find Manny staring at him. He can't remember the evening before and Manny has to recount it for him.
Bernard still doesn't want Manny ro work in his shop and fires him, however, Fran, who has taken a liking to Manny, persuades Bernard to re-hire him. Manny continues to work in the shop, proving to be a valuable asset and a keen salesman. Bernard, however, remains unconvinced and abuses Manny's willingness to help. He calls him names and teases him about his personality and appearance.
[edit] Loss of Manny Bianco
A few years after he was hired, Manny decides to leave Black Books to work in the new bookshop next door, Goliath Books. After Manny's departure, Bernard's health quickly deteriorates and his shop becomes wrecked and more messy than ever. Manny, meawhile, feels at home in his new job, until his new boss, Ian, tries to take what is most precious to him, his appearance.
Manny decides to return to Black Books rather than change his appearance, only to find the shop in the worst state it was ever been in, overflowing with books and filled with hermit crabs and dead badgers. Bernard, delighted to see Manny, defends him when Ian comes looking for him, and agrees that his attitude towards Manny must change. However, once he has rehired Manny, he quickly returns to insulting and abusing him.
[edit] Personality and traits
[edit] Personality
Bernard is a drunken, unhygienic and possibly depressed pessimist who enjoys drinking, smoking and reading. He has a hatred of customers entering his shop and often insults and harasses them. He considers customers buying from his bookshop a 'bad thing', as he hates reordering books he sells and, on one occasion, paid a customer to take away the books he was trying to sell, in order for Bernard not to have to catalogue and price them. Despite having a hatred for customers. Bernard also has a hatred of mobile phones in his shop, and once took a customer's mobile phone and smashed it with a mallet. Bernard has a certain fondness for the shop itself, and when told that it need refurbishing, stated that "it is a lovely place" and defended the shop whenever any of its bad qualities were mentioned.
Bernard is extremely unhygienic, allowing mushrooms to grow in his hair and wearing a white suit that is so dirty it appears black. On one occasion, Bernard's health begins to decline rapidly when Manny leaves home in search of new work at the bookshop next door, Goliath Books. Bernard begins brushing his teeth with a dustpan brush and consuming slug pellets and oven cleaner as medicine. Bernard begins to feel like he has "been beaten up, underwater" and his "brain is falling away like a wet cake". Bernard's usual physical condition, however, is somewhat better. He 'freshens up' by spraying himself with a shower hose and urinates into the toilet from a distance while reading a book. Manny described him as a "filth wizard, friend only to the pig and the rat" on seeing the state of the house. Manny once called in a cleaner to try and clean up the house. However, only a few days after the cleaner had finished, the house had returned to its original condition.
Bernard's negative and pessimistic outlook on life, and his attitude towards other people, is due to the fact that Emma, his former fiance, faked her own death as not to marry him. Many people have kept this secret from him, including Fran, Bernard's parents and Mr. Singh at the newsagent's.
[edit] Religious beliefs
Bernard is presumabley a Christian, and once invited a pair of Jehovah's witnesses into his house. The Jehovah's witnesses were not very professional, however after meeting Bernard, they undestood the concept of many religious stories and parables.
[edit] Sexuality
Despite being heterosexual, Bernard thought he 'was gay for a bit', until he found out about 'the prohibitive standards of hygiene, and all that dancing!'. Bernard is often awkward with women, usually going out of his way to impress them by pretending he can play the piano or showering them in flowers and chocolates.
All of the known instances of Bernard trying to impress a woman have failed, however he did have a sexual relationship with Fran, but when asked about it, Bernard stated "she remembers and I'm not allowed".
[edit] Skills and abilities
Bernard is a skilled writer, writing a lengthy book over a weekend, however, it was refused publication. He also wrote a 1030 page long book with an incredibly complex plot in a matter of hours. His skill for creative writing is probably due to the fact that he reads many books.
[edit] Relationships
[edit] Manny Bianco
Bernard bullies and insults Manny on a regular basis. He calls him many names including Gandalf, Ming the Merciless, Thor, Hawkwind, Bigfoot, "half Fu-Manchu, half Iago", Genghis Khan, "Customer-Lover" and Lord of the Rings, in reference to Manny's appearance and personality. Bernard has a particular hatred for Manny's beard, saying that the only thing that will bring him inner piece is a beard-seeking missile and once called Manny "a beard with an idiot hanging off it". Bernard revealed that his hatred of Manny's beard is due to the fact that he "kept finding it everywhere".
Despite their frequent arguments, Manny seems to care for Bernard's welfare, and usually rushes to help if Bernard is in despair . Bernard often orders Manny to do things, as bizarre as to "hoover the roof", "whistle down the chimmnies" and "de-louse the duvet". Despite his willingness to obey, Manny, after a therapy session, successfully stood up to Bernard, calling him a "silly, little man", and asked "isn't it sbout time you had a really good scrub".
[edit] Fran Katzenjammer
Bernard's relationship with Fran, however, is somewhat better. Fran is Bernard's oldest friend and it seems she is the only one who can have some control over him. Fran often persuades Bernard to do things he does not want to do, such as allowing Manny to work in the shop and allowing Manny's parents to stay. She usually does this through violence and shouting insults at him.
Bernard and Fran often confine in one another, and used to close their shops early to share a drink. They usually settle arguments by slapping each other, and keep many secrets from each other. Fran knew that Bernard's ex-finacee faked her own death to get away from him, however, she kept this secret from him for many years.
Bernard did have a sexual relationship with Fran, but when asked about it, stated "she remembers and I'm not allowed".
[edit] Physical appearance
Bernard usually wears a black jacket, black trousers and a dark shirt, however the entire suit is actually a white suit and has gotten so dirty it appears black. Bernard has messy, overgrown hair, and allows Manny to cut it using a bread-knife. Although never appearing with a beard or moustache, there is usually stubble growing around Bernard's chin and upper lip. This may be because his idea of shaving is putting a long trail of shaving cream on his right cheek and brushing it off with a tooth brush.
[edit] Behind the scenes
- Bernard once owned a cat, Nipsey, however it died from unknown causes.
- Bernard was voted 19th in Channel 4's poll "World's Greatest Comedy Character".
- Bernard is based on a real bookshop owner Dylan Moran met in Dublin. Moran stated that "he looks like he's swallowed a cup of sour milk and peed himself at the same time. He has this green bilious expression, years of displeasure have shaped his face. In fact he looks like every other second hand bookshop owner I’ve seen. It seems to go with the job - being miserable".
- Dylan Moran said that Bernard is Irish because Moran is "too lazy to do an accent".
[edit] Name etmology
- Bernard is of German origin which means 'bear' combined with 'hard' or 'brave'.
- Bernard's middle name comes from Ludwig van Beethoven.
- Bernard's surname is a reference to his trademark colour: black.
[edit] External links
[1] Bernard Black's Character Profile on IMBD
[2] Interview with Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan
[3] Unsung Hereos of Television: Bernard Black
