Bernard Jay was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1946.

At the age of sixteen he began a long and comprehensive career in entertainment administration by learning his craft in management positions at such British government-subsidised theatres as York Theatre Royal, Malvern Festival Theatre and London's Hampstead Theatre.

During this period, Bernard also received a Bursary from the Arts Council of Great Britain to study theatre administration.

At age twenty-four, he was appointed General Manager of the City of London's famous Mermaid Theatre, where he worked alongside Artistic Director Sir Bernard Miles.

During his three-year tenure at the Mermaid, Bernard was responsible for bringing the renowned young actors from the USSR's Theatre for Young Spectators to London. The success - and importance of the political breakthrough - of the company's season at the Mermaid lead to his receiving a second Bursary from the Arts Council; this time to study the practice of children's theatre at the Russian actors' famed home base in Leningrad. After five annual visits, Bernard was honoured to become the first official non-Soviet Member of the Theatre for Young Spectators.

In 1973, Bernard entered the world of commercial theatre production by being appointed General Manager of London's Triumph Theatre Productions.

He was responsible for overseeing many stage productions in a period of two years. Notable among these were: The UK première of Grease, starring Richard Gere and Elaine Paige; and worldwide tours - including a season on Broadway - by Roy Dotrice in his one-man show, Brief Lives.

In 1975, Bernard left Triumph to become Associate Producer of Paul Elliott Entertainments Ltd, based in London, New York, Toronto and Sydney.

The company pioneered the concept of global touring theatre with such successful stage productions as: Rock Hudson and Juliet Prowse in the musical I Do! I Do!; Lee Remick in Bus Stop; Sir Michael Redgrave in the anthology Shakespeare's People; Douglas Fairbanks Jr in the comedy The Pleasure of His Company; and The Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Hedda Gabler - starring Glenda Jackson - and Sherlock Holmes.

In 1976, Bernard was responsible for creating the acclaimed re-birth of the art of cabaret in London - through an innovative policy of American cabaret stars - at Chelsea's Country Cousin Restaurant. These included sell-out engagements by Peter Allen, Barbara Cook, Holly Woodlawn, Wayland Flowers and Lorna Luft.

Bernard immigrated to the United States in 1977 and formed his own personal management and theatre production company.

Based in Manhattan for the next eleven years, he produced off-Broadway (including the 1984 revival of Earl Wilson Jr's musical Let My People Come) and engineered the career development of many American performers as diverse as ex-Supreme Cindy Birdsong, cabaret diva Nancy LaMott and America's most controversial cult "superstar", Divine.

In 1988, Bernard was delighted to find his name included in Marquis' first edition of Who's Who In Entertainment.

Following the untimely death in 1988 of his principal personal management client - Divine - Bernard was commissioned by the publishers Virgin Books to write a personalised biography of the extraordinary star. His book, Not Simply Divine - written over a five-week period in Spain - was published by Virgin in the UK in 1993 and subsequently by Simon and Schuster in the US and in Japan.

In 1993, Computicket founder Percy Tucker invited Bernard to relocate to South Africa to become Entertainment Director of the ticketing company.

In 1997, Bernard joined promoter Attie van Wyk's Big Concerts as Deputy Managing Director, where he was responsible for overseeing such successful presentations as Steve Hofmeyr in the musical Summer Holiday, Michael Flatley's Lord of The Dance, The Magic of David Copperfield and Operama's Aida at the Loftus Stadium in Pretoria.

Bernard was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Johannesburg Civic Theatre on July 1st 2000. He has signed a renewal of his contract, extending his term until June 30th 2012.