LONDON, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- After a long battle with Alzheimer's disease, British journalist and author Bernard Levin has died in London at the age of 75.
He died Saturday, the BBC reported Monday.
Levin began his career writing for the magazine Truth, later wrote for the Daily Mail, was a theater critic for the Daily Express and later wrote a political column for the Spectator. He died Saturday.
In the 1960s he was a regular on the satirical BBC-TV show "That Was the Week That Was."
In 1971, he began a regular column for the Times of London where he coined the term "Nanny State" for what he characterized as an erosion of human rights disguised as benevolent government. He continued the column until ill health forced him to quit in 1997.
"Bernard Levin was one of the most gifted and influential columnists to write for the Times," said Robert Thomson, editor of the Times. "The beauty of his language and originality of his thought ensured that he had an enthusiastic audience far beyond the borders of Britain."
He also wrote several books including: "The Pendulum Years," "Taking Sides," "Speaking Up" and "The Way We Live Now."
