British novelist and screenwriter, born in London of French parents. He was formerly a crime reporter and correspondent for the Evening Standard, covering the Pacific theatre during the Second World War.
Son of Lionel Labern from Holborn, London, and Lizzy, formerly Charlotte Colombo, from Clerkenwell, London. La Bern adopted his new name and claimed Huguenot descent in order to seem more "posh" than his background would imply.
Made and spent a lot of money, so that he was virtually destitute in his later years.
He strongly disliked the Alfred Hitchcock film "Frenzy", based (loosely) on his novel "Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square", although the reissue of the novel as a tie-in edition at the time of the film must have earned him some much-needed royalties.