where did the kray twins live in london
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Two plays were produced in the 1970s that were based on thinly-veiled versions of the Krays: Kray twins Ronald "Ronnie" Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald "Reggie" Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000), identical twin brothers, were English criminals, the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London during the 1950s and 1960s. With their gang, known as "The Firm", the Krays were involved in murder, armed robbery, arson, protection rackets and assaults. As West End nightclub owners, the Krays mixed with politicians and prominent entertainers such as Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland.
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Two plays were produced in the 1970s that were based on thinly-veiled versions of the Krays: Kray twins Ronald "Ronnie" Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald "Reggie" Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000), identical twin brothers, were English criminals, the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London during the 1950s and 1960s. With their gang, known as "The Firm", the Krays were involved in murder, armed robbery, arson, protection rackets and assaults. As West End nightclub owners, the Krays mixed with politicians and prominent entertainers such as Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland.
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Kray twins Ronald "Ronnie" Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald "Reggie" Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000), identical twin brothers, were English criminals, the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London during the 1950s and 1960s. With their gang, known as "The Firm", the Krays were involved in murder, armed robbery, arson, protection rackets and assaults. As West End nightclub owners, the Krays mixed with politicians and prominent entertainers such as Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland. In the 1960s, they became celebrities, being photographed by David Bailey and interviewed on television. The
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one-time Smiths rhythm guitarist Craig Gannon—all of whom also appear on the B-side, "Lucky Lisp". The song mythologizes the notorious pair of vicious London gangsters known as the Kray twins (Ronnie and Reggie Kray), who held a tight rein on the East End of London during the 1960s. "NME" gave the single a negative review, with Stuart Maconie saying the track was "'Panic' without the magnetism and the blinding self-confidence" and finished by saying "I would still chain myself to a disused railway line in Bacup for him, but the lad can do better" However in a retrospective review, Ned
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feared figure, he often associated with such people as the Kray twins, Henry Simpson, Ronnie Biggs and Charles Bronson. He was also known in the London nightclub scene as a bouncer, where he often managed security. In his later life, McLean became an actor, playing Barry The Baptist in Guy Ritchie's 1998 British gangster comedy film "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". Lenny McLean was born into a large working-class family in Hoxton in the East End of London. His father, Leonard McLean senior, had been a Royal Marine during the Second World War, but after being debilitated by a
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imaginary hedgehog whose reported size varied on Dinsdale's mood. During the end of the sketch, which also ends the episode, the creature is apparently revealed as real and appearing beside various English landmarks as the credits roll. The sketch constitutes a loose pastiche of the real-life story of the Kray twins, gangsters who maintained an underground criminal outfit based in the East End of London in the 1950s and 1960s. Doug and Dinsdale Piranha were loosely based on Reggie and Ronnie Kray, and the policeman who pursued them, Harry "Snapper" Organs, was loosely based on the policeman who led the
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David Litvinoff David Litvinoff (sometimes Litvinov; born David Levy; 3 February 1928 – 8 April 1975) was a consultant for the British film industry who traded on his knowledge of the low life of the East End of London. A man for whom there are few truly reliable facts, it is unclear how genuine his expertise really was, though he certainly knew the Kray Twins and was particularly friendly with Ronnie Kray, according to a biography published in 2016. He entertained his showbiz friends with stories of the Krays' activities and his niece Vida described him as "the court jester
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Roy Shaw Royston Henry Shaw (11 March 1936 – 14 July 2012), also known as Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw, Roy "Mean Machine" Shaw and Roy West, real estate investor, author and businessman from the East End of London who was formerly a criminal and Category A prisoner. During the 1970s–1980s, Shaw was active in the criminal underworld of London and was frequently associated with the Kray twins. Shaw is best remembered today for his career as a fighter on the unlicensed boxing scene, becoming an arch-rival with Lenny McLean. Shaw was born in Stepney, London, to a working-class family and
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Israel as a result of the personal grudge. Bazoft was executed for spying by Saddam Hussein's government in 1990; Ryan's involvement in the case is unconfirmed. In a 1993 interview with "The Independent" newspaper, believed to have been given by Ryan himself, he claimed to have been born Michael Rocco Ryan, with his mother being of Sicilian origin, and to have been raised in the East End of London with the Kray twins. In fact, only the part about the East End and the Krays is true. After a stroke in 2001, which affected a hand, Ryan became a recluse.
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well as criminals. The Kray twins accept a norm according to which anyone who fails to show due respect would be severely punished. They were assisted by a banker named Alan Cooper who wanted protection against the Krays' rivals, the Richardsons, based in South London. In the 1960s, the Kray brothers were widely seen as prosperous and charming celebrity nightclub owners and were part of the Swinging London scene. A large part of their fame was due to their non-criminal activities as popular figures on the celebrity circuit, being photographed by David Bailey on more than one occasion and socialising
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Student Canteen TV program hosted by Leila Benitez at CBN (now ABS-CBN) in Aduana, Manila, and afterwards, did a singing concert at the Araneta Coliseum (now Smart Araneta C). At that time, the singer was very popular in the Philippines. She re-signed for Liberty Records in 1968, and recorded in London. By the late 1960s Yuro had performed in venues from London to Las Vegas. She appeared at the Kray twins' clubs in London as she was a favorite of Reggie Kray. In 1965 and 1968 she sang at the Sanremo Music Festival, Italy's most popular music contest. However, her
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Party, in power from October 1964, but with a wafer-thin majority in the House of Commons and the prospect of another General Election needing to be called in the very near future, did not want Driberg's connections to Ronnie Kray (and his sexual predilections) to get into the public realm. Ronnie Kray shot and killed George Cornell, a member of the Richardsons (a rival South London gang), at the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel on 9 March 1966. The day before, there had been a shoot-out at "Mr. Smith's", a nightclub in Catford, involving the Richardson gang and Richard Hart,
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in the Kray family plot. The funeral was attended by celebrities including Diana Dors and underworld figures known to the Krays, such as James Kemmery. To avoid the publicity that had surrounded their mother's funeral, the twins did not ask to attend their father's funeral in March 1983. In 1985, officials at Broadmoor Hospital discovered a business card of Ron's that led to evidence that the twins, from separate institutions, were operating Krayleigh Enterprises (a "lucrative bodyguard and 'protection' business for Hollywood stars") together with their older brother Charlie Kray and an accomplice at large. Among their clients was Frank
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Jack McVitie Jack D. McVitie (1932, Battersea, London – 29 October 1967, Stoke Newington, London), more commonly known as Jack the Hat, was a notorious English criminal from London of the 1950s–1960s. He is posthumously famous for triggering the imprisonment and downfall of the Kray twins. He had acted as an enforcer and hitman with links to the Krays' gang, "The Firm", and was murdered by Reggie Kray in 1967. Kray was arrested the following year for the murder, being found guilty and received life imprisonment at his trial in March 1969. He remained in prison until just before his
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his stepfather's name sometime later. Reportedly one of seven children born to unwed parents (although records suggest eight), he was a tough, loyal enforcer who worked for the Richardson Gang; he was known for being totally fearless. A childhood friend of the Kray twins, Cornell was a prominent criminal in east London during the 1960s. Upon moving to South London he joined up with the Kray twins' rivals, the Richardson Gang, led by brothers Charlie Richardson and Eddie Richardson. Cornell, along with Richardson Gang colleague and friend "Mad" Frankie Fraser, became an enforcer for the Richardsons and was primarily used
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a powerful organised gang in 1960s London. The Krays (film) The Krays is a 1990 British drama film based on the lives and crimes of the English gangster twins Ronald and Reginald Kray, often referred to as The Krays. The film was written by Philip Ridley and directed by Peter Medak. The film charts the lives of the Kray twins from childhood to adult life. The plot focuses on the relationship between the twins and their doting mother (Whitelaw). Ronald (Gary Kemp) is the dominant one, influencing his brother Reginald (Martin Kemp) to perform several acts of violence as they
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up to applaud signs of relief from his threats, others weeping at the loss of a patron who protected them from police harassment and prevented social crimes like child abuse and rape. The Kray twins commanded both fear and admiration from the residents. Ronnie and Reggie's older brother Charlie Kray was released from prison in 1975 after serving seven years for his role in their gangland crimes, but was sentenced again in 1997 for conspiracy to smuggle cocaine in an undercover drugs sting. He died in prison of natural causes on 4 April 2000, aged 73. The Kray twins have
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March 2004, it tells of the now-deceased Kray Twins, Ronnie and Reggie, who dominated the gangland scene of London for a number of years until they were arrested for murder in 1968, as well as O'Mahoney's correspondence with them during their imprisonment. It also tells of the notorious three "Essex Boys" drug dealers who terrorised Essex with drug dealing and violence during the early to mid-1990s before they were found shot dead in a Range Rover in December 1995. The book also discusses British crime-figure Dave Courtney, and the Kray twins and gives O'Mahoney's opinions on books published by criminals.
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party. Upon entering the premises, he saw Ronnie Kray seated in the front room. As Ronnie approached him, he let loose a barrage of verbal abuse and cut him below his eye with a piece of broken glass. It is believed that an argument then broke out between the twins and McVitie. As the argument got more heated, Reggie Kray pointed a handgun at McVitie's head and pulled the trigger twice, but the gun failed to discharge. McVitie was then held in a bear hug by the twins' cousin, Ronnie Hart, and Reggie Kray was handed a carving knife. He
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a name initially sought after by the police. With Donoghue's testimony, Hart was hunted down, found and arrested. Offering the same terms as the others arrested, Hart then told Read everything that had happened during McVitie's murder, although he did not know anything about what happened to the body. This was the first time that the police knew exactly who was involved, and offered them a solid case to prosecute the twins for McVitie's murder. Although Read knew for certain that Ronnie Kray had murdered George Cornell in the Blind Beggar pub no one had been prepared to testify against
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Krays were arrested on 8 May 1968 and convicted in 1969, as a result of the efforts of detectives led by Detective Superintendent Leonard "Nipper" Read. Each was sentenced to life imprisonment. Ronnie remained in Broadmoor Hospital until his death on 17 March 1995 from a heart attack; Reggie was released from prison on compassionate grounds in August 2000, eight and a half weeks before his death from bladder cancer. Ronnie and Reggie Kray were born on 24 October 1933 in Hoxton, East London, to Charles David Kray (10 March 1907 – 8 March 1983), a wardrobe dealer, and Violet
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to them as it enabled them to expand their empires legally. The Kray twins were London gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray. They acquired Esmeralda's Barn as a result of their attempt to extort landlord Peter Rachman although the exact nature of Rachman's interest in the club, if any, is unclear. Ronnie Kray had become aware of the wealth that Rachman was accumulating through his property empire and wanted a share of it. With his associates he visited Rachman in Soho and succeeded in extracting a cheque from Rachman. The cheque bounced and when Ronnie tried to collect the money Rachman
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club in the—at the time—very disreputable area of West London known as Notting Hill. He was acquitted amid talk of "jury nobbling" and interference with witnesses, but the following year was accused of Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH), convicted and sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment. It was at the Astor in December 1965 that the infamous East End (East London) Kray twins had a confrontation with the South London criminals known as the Richardson Gang; during that face-off, the gangster George Cornell is said to have referred to Ronnie Kray as a "fat poofter" (in another version, "a big fat poof"),
Astor Club
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Annie Lee (5 August 1909 – 4 August 1982). The brothers were identical twins, with Reggie being born ten minutes before Ronnie. Their parents already had a six-year-old son, Charles James (9 July 1927 – 4 April 2000). A sister, Violet (born 1929), died in infancy. When the twins were three years old, they contracted diphtheria. The twins first attended Wood Close School in Brick Lane, and then Daniel Street School. In 1938, the Kray family moved from Stean Street in Hoxton to 178 Vallance Road in Bethnal Green. At the beginning of the Second World War, 32-year-old Charles Kray
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should not be less than thirty years." In March 1969, both were sentenced to life imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 30 years for the murders of Cornell and McVitie, the longest sentences ever passed at the Old Bailey (Central Criminal Court, London) for murder. Their brother Charlie was imprisoned for ten years for his part in the murders. Ronnie and Reggie Kray were allowed, under tight security, to attend the funeral of their mother Violet at Chingford Mount Cemetery in East London on 11 August 1982 after her death from cancer. They were not allowed to attend her burial
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seeded an extensive bibliography leading to many autobiographical accounts, biographical reconstructions, commentaries, analysis, fiction and mere speculation. They have contributed a large influence in topic films, audio tapes, walking tours, and parody. Their nefarious careers successfully engaged the cultural outreach of public appreciation, the magnetism and public agitation of their reputation. After the imprisonment of the Kray twins, the film culture developed a new breed of nattily attired businessmen taking over narcotics, pornography, prostitution, and real estate. The Kray twins were a large influence on the depiction of the original gangster in American filmography. In addition to films explicitly about
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oyster-wives. The market is depicted during Tudor times in Rosemary Sutcliff's 1951 children's historical novel "The Armourer's House". The writer George Orwell worked at Billingsgate in the 1930s, as did the Kray twins in the 1950s. In 1982, the fish market was relocated to a new building complex on the Isle of Dogs in Poplar, close to Canary Wharf and Blackwall. The freehold owner of the site is the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, but the City of London Corporation still runs the market; they pay an annual ground rent stipulated in an agreement between the two councils as "the
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body still inside the car. With no alternative than to dump the corpse in the churchyard, and attempt to plant a gang south of the River Thames, the body was left in the car and the three gangsters returned home. Bender then went on to phone Charlie Kray informing them that it had been dealt with. However, upon finding out where they had left McVitie's corpse, the twins were livid and desperately phoned Foreman, who was then running a pub in Southwark, to see if he could dispose of the body. With dawn breaking, Foreman found the car, broke into
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it and drove the body to Newhaven where, with the help of a trawlerman, the body was bound with chicken wire and dumped in the English Channel. This event started turning many people against the Krays, and some were prepared to testify to Scotland Yard as to what had happened, fearing that what happened to McVitie could easily happen to them. Leonard "Nipper" Read reopened his case against them. Inspector Leonard Read of Scotland Yard was promoted to the Murder Squad and his first assignment was to bring down the Kray twins. It was not his first involvement with them.
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photographic evidence. Bindon lived his hard man persona on and off screen. He was believed to be running protection rackets in west London pubs and was alleged to have connections to the Kray twins and the Richardson Gang. In the late 1970s in addition to acting work he provided security for actors and musicians, most notoriously for Led Zeppelin on their 1977 US tour, where he was sacked for brawling backstage. In 1978 Bindon was tried for the murder of London gangster Johnny Darke. Bindon pleaded self-defence and was acquitted, but the case damaged his reputation, and this coupled with
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Margaret Rose Doohan (1935 – December 1993), a native of Ireland who died from breast cancer. Kensit has an elder brother, Jamie, born in 1963. Her mother was a publicist; her father was an associate of the notorious London gangsters the Kray twins. Nicknamed "Jimmy the Dip", he also reportedly worked for the rival Richardsons, running long firms for the gang. He served time in prison before Kensit was born; she believed he was an antiques dealer. Kensit's parents did not marry until 1986. Her paternal grandfather was a robber and counterfeiter. She attended Newland House School, St Catherine's School,
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stars – Colin Morgan, Taron Egerton and Kit Harington”. In the fall of 2015, Morgan was featured as Frankie Shea, brother-in-law and personal driver of Tom Hardy's Reggie Kray, in the 1960s London gangster film "Legend" based on the book "The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins" by John Pearson. For two days in Blackpool, from 9 to 10 May 2015, Morgan filmed "The Laughing King", a short film by White No Sugar TV and Funky Films in support of the UK charity Campaign Against Living Miserably's (CALM) push to raise awareness regarding depression, mental
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joined the Masseria Family. While Lucky Luciano was the underboss in the Masseria Family, Gambino worked for him. After Luciano had Masseria killed, Luciano became the boss, and Gambino was sent to the Scalise Family. Later Scalise was stripped of his rank, and Vincenzo Mangano became boss until 1951, when Mangano disappeared. His body was never found. The Kray twins, Reginald and Ronald Kray, were leading criminals in London, England in the 1950s and 1960s. They were involved in armed robberies, arson, protection rackets, violent assaults including torture and the murders of Jack "The Hat" McVitie and George Cornell. As
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be partly based on Dimes. Dimes died in November 1972 at his home on Oakwood Avenue, Beckenham, South London from cancer. Death records exist in both his birth name of Dimeo, and the adopted Dimes. His funeral was held on 20 November 1972 in Beckenham. The Kray Twins sent a wreath that read "To a fine gentleman – From Reg & Ron Kray". The wreath was reportedly destroyed by friends of the family who believed the association brought shame. Dimes was survived by his wife Hilda Kathleen (née Brewer), whom he married in 1939 and their 3 children Albert, Doreen
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Eileen Sheridan (model) Eileen Elizabeth Sheridan (born 1936) is a former British beauty pageant contestant who was also known for her association with the London underworld 'firm' headed by the Kray twins; notably attending the funeral of their elder brother, Charlie, in 2000. And also attended the funerals of Ron and Reg Kray. Eileen was a character witness at Charlie Krays' drug trail, and provided the famous "Legend" wreath at Reg Krays funeral. Miss Sheridan became friends with the Krays after becoming the first winner of the Miss United Kingdom title in 1958. Her future husband persuaded her to enter
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East End of London named the "Guv'Nors" along with Charlie Kray, elder brother of the Kray twins, reputed to be the "most legitimate" of the three brothers. McLean was also been described as a "fixer" and a "minder" (or bodyguard) for criminals and celebrities including Mike Reid, Freddie Starr,Henry Simpson, Boy George, and the casts of television shows such as "EastEnders" and "The Bill". According to McLean's autobiography, his name was useful for the smooth progress of various criminal dealings, and to warn off members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and the Mafia. In 1992, McLean released an album
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was recorded in the late 1967 by the Japanese singer Yoko Kishi. The song appears twice in the 2015 British gangster film "Legend" (based on the story of London's Kray twins); once as a 'live' performance in cabaret by Welsh singer Duffy, portraying Timi Yuro, in a nightclub scene, and then again when the original Timi Yuro single version is played over the film's closing credits. Yuro was allegedly a favourite singer of Reggie Kray and was often booked to perform at the Krays' nightclubs when she was touring Europe in the 1960s. Make the World Go Away "Make the
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Montfort. The pub was built in 1894 on the site of an inn which had been established before 1654, and named after the legend of Henry de Montfort, a son of Simon de Montfort. In 1865, William Booth preached his first open-air sermon outside the Blind Beggar, which led to the establishment of the East London Christian Mission, later to become the Salvation Army. William Booth is commemorated by a nearby statue. The Blind Beggar is notorious for its connection to East End gangsters the Kray twins. On 9 March 1966, Ronnie Kray shot and murdered George Cornell, an associate
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hook-laden hard rock proved to be a popular draw on the local club scene during the early 1970s. However the band did not have commercial success with its record releases. At one stage Charlie Kray (brother of the Kray twins Ronnie and Reggie), was their manager. Gadd left the band in 1975 due to artistic differences and was replaced on vocals by Pete Dyer. The group's early musical style consisted of blues rock, acid rock and psychedelic rock. They then went on to join the hard rock and progressive rock movement. The band served as the rhythm section alongside a
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the twins out of fear. Upon also finding out the twins intended to cajole him, 'Scotch Jack' Dickson also turned in everything he knew about Cornell's murder. Although not a witness to the actual murder he was an accessory, having driven Ronnie Kray and Ian Barrie to the pub. The police still needed an actual witness to the murder. They then managed to track down the barmaid who was working in the pub at the time, gave her a secret identity and she testified to seeing Ronnie killing Cornell. Frank Mitchell's escape and disappearance was much harder to obtain evidence
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and regularly appears in pantomimes. In 1993 he was due to tour in the play "Entertaining Mr Sloane" with Barbara Windsor but left during rehearsals and was replaced by John Challis. Dean appeared in pantomime in December 2015 as the evil Abanazar in Aladdin at Harpenden Public Halls. Dean participated in the BBC series The Real Marigold Hotel, series 3, broadcast in August 2018. Born in Hoxton, East London, Dean was an acquaintance of the Kray twins while he was growing up. He went to primary school in Holloway and technical school at King's Cross, where he learnt plumbing and
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The Krays (film) The Krays is a 1990 British drama film based on the lives and crimes of the English gangster twins Ronald and Reginald Kray, often referred to as The Krays. The film was written by Philip Ridley and directed by Peter Medak. The film charts the lives of the Kray twins from childhood to adult life. The plot focuses on the relationship between the twins and their doting mother (Whitelaw). Ronald (Gary Kemp) is the dominant one, influencing his brother Reginald (Martin Kemp) to perform several acts of violence as they rise to power as the leaders of
The Krays (film)
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the time of the interview. Bernie Fineman Bernie Fineman is a British automotive manager, technician and workshop controller. He was born in Bow, London. In the 1960s he was a mechanic for the Kray Twins and has admitted to fixing their vehicles after they were used in the Kray's crimes. He is best known for his appearance in the reality television "Bangla Bangers" and "" along with his partner Nizamuddin "Leepu" Awlia, where they built super cars from old run down vehicles. He also presented "Classic Car Rescue" along with Mario Pacione. A 2013 interview with Fineman by express.co.uk reports
Bernie Fineman
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Bernie Fineman Bernie Fineman is a British automotive manager, technician and workshop controller. He was born in Bow, London. In the 1960s he was a mechanic for the Kray Twins and has admitted to fixing their vehicles after they were used in the Kray's crimes. He is best known for his appearance in the reality television "Bangla Bangers" and "" along with his partner Nizamuddin "Leepu" Awlia, where they built super cars from old run down vehicles. He also presented "Classic Car Rescue" along with Mario Pacione. A 2013 interview with Fineman by express.co.uk reports that he was 68 at
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"Swing" and the 1990 film "The Krays", where he played the part of Jack "The Hat" McVitie, one of the Kray twins' murder victims. He played the dour owner of a run-down seaside waxworks museum in Thames tv's sitcom "Hope It Rains", written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey and directed by John Howard Davies. There were two series (13 episodes in all) aired in 1991–92. Although he tended to eschew live performance, his few stage appearances included a rôle in the 1979 UK première of "Bent", Martin Sherman's play about homosexuality, staged at the Royal Court Theatre. He played
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twins were called up to serve with the Royal Fusiliers in 1952. They reported, but attempted to leave after only a few minutes. The corporal in charge tried to stop them, but Ronnie punched him on the chin, leaving him seriously injured; the Krays walked back to the East End. They were arrested the next morning and were turned over to the army. While absent without leave, they assaulted a police constable who tried to arrest them. They were among the last prisoners held at the Tower of London before being transferred to Shepton Mallet military prison in Somerset for
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only rescued him when a policeman appeared. Bindon had a violent temper and a naturally intimidating personality. He was accused of running a protection racket in west London, targeting pubs, restaurants and cafés. There were also suggestions of connections to the Richardson Gang and the Kray twins, who supported his control of west London, as well as rivalries with gangs from south London. The south London rivalries were suggested to have contributed to his bankruptcy, when he accrued drug debts. The extent of his involvement in the English underworld has never been reliably established. Bindon's best known film roles were
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the Krays were working for Jay Murray from Liverpool and were involved in hijacking, armed robbery and arson, through which they acquired other clubs and properties. In 1960, Ronnie Kray was imprisoned for 18 months for running a protection racket and related threats. While Ronnie was in prison, Peter Rachman, head of a violent landlord operation, gave Reggie a nightclub called Esmeralda's Barn on the Knightsbridge end of Wilton Place next to a bistro called Joan's Kitchen. The location is where the Berkeley Hotel now stands. This increased the Krays' influence in the West End by making them celebrities as
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and the Pervert Peer" (2009), showed that Ronnie Kray was a rapist of men. The programme also detailed his relationship with Conservative peer Bob Boothby as well as an ongoing "Daily Mirror" investigation into Lord Boothby's dealings with the Kray brothers. Ronnie died on 17 March 1995 at the age of 61 at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, Berkshire. He had suffered a heart attack at Broadmoor Hospital two days earlier. Reggie was allowed out of prison in handcuffs to attend the funeral. During his incarceration, Reggie Kray became a born-again Christian. He was freed from Wayland on 26 August
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End of London (the infamous Kray twins being the most notable). Due to the restructuring of the East End, and the influx of migrants to the area, traditional Cockney families have moved to South London, parts of North London (mainly Islington), and the counties surrounding London (such as Essex and Kent). Working-class neighbourhoods are often still home to family-based crime groups involved in drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution, armed robbery, contract killing, money laundering, counterfeiting and kidnapping. Some of the more notorious South London crime families include the 'Brindles' and the 'Walkers', while the Arifs are the most notorious crime family
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for 12 years. The Kray twins paid £400 for him to go to the East 15 Acting School as a teenager, because they "liked his attitude". They never asked for the money back, and Murray later appeared as a character witness for Charlie Kray who had been accused of smuggling cocaine. Murray made his acting debut in the 1963 film "Two Left Feet" where he played a minor uncredited role. He then had small roles in the films "Poor Cow" (1967), "Corruption" (1967), "Up the Junction" (1968) and "Performance" (shot 1968, released 1971). From the 1970s through to the early
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The Rise of the Krays The Rise of the Krays is a 2015 low-budget film about the Kray twins who terrorised London during the 1950s and 1960s. The film was funded by Terry Brown and David Sullivan and was in development right after the production team learned of "Legend", the blockbuster scheduled for release the same year, in the hopes that they could make a quick buck off of Legends hype. The film focuses on the early life of the Krays before their downfall. In comparison to "Legend" it aims for a gritty authenticity with less glamorising, portraying The Twins
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playing Hammond organ. J.G. is bent on stealing the Winjin' Pom and using his special abilities for his own benefits. Although he talks like Marlon Brando, the voice is actually supplied by. Ronnie and Reggie, the Crow Twins: a pair of nasty but single-minded crows, Ronnie and Reggie are twin brothers, and J.G.'s snivelling, incompetent associates. They occasionally manage to hijack the Winjin' Pom, but systematically end up failing. Named after the Kray Twins, the famous London gangland mobsters. The Crows, who also have a mother (I wonder if her name is Violet?), are voiced by comedy pair Mark Arden
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then stabbed McVitie in the face and stomach, driving the blade into his neck while twisting the knife, not stopping even as McVitie lay on the floor dying. Reggie had committed a very public murder, against someone who many members of the Firm felt did not deserve to die. In an interview in 2000, shortly after Reggie's death, Freddie Foreman revealed that McVitie had a reputation for leaving carnage behind him due to his habitual consumption of drugs and heavy drinking, and his having in the past threatened to harm the twins and their family. Tony and Chris Lambrianou and
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fictional agent James Bond. However, Pearson declined an offer to write further Bond novels. Pearson then did fictional tie-in works about Upstairs, Downstairs ("The Bellamys of Eaton Place") and Biggles. Pearson has three children from his first marriage. He married his current wife, Lynette Dundas, on 17 December 1980. John Pearson (author) John George Pearson (born 5 October 1930) is an English novelist and an author of biographies, notably of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, and of the Kray twins. Pearson was born in Epsom, Surrey. He was educated at King's College School, Wimbledon, and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where
John Pearson (author)
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During the first half of 1964, Read had been investigating their activities, but publicity and official denials of Ron's relationship with Boothby made the evidence that he collected useless. Read went after the twins with renewed activity in 1967, but frequently came up against the East End "wall of silence" which discouraged anyone from providing information to the police. Nevertheless, by the end of 1967 Read had built up enough evidence against the Krays. Witness statements incriminated them, as did other evidence, but none made a convincing case on any one charge. Early in 1968, the Krays employed Alan Bruce
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Our Story (book) Our Story is an autobiographical book by Ronnie and Reggie Kray with Fred Dinenage. It was first released in 1988 by Sidgwick & Jackson, and in paperback on 8 September 1989 by Pan Books. "Our Story" is an autobiography by the Kray Twins, assisted by their ghostwriter, first published in 1988. The twins were notorious East End underworld gang leaders during the "swinging" sixties. This book tells their story from their humble beginnings in Bethnal Green to their life imprisonment in 1969, largely in their own words. The hardback and the Pan paperback versions contain 16 pages
Our Story (book)
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gay was still a criminal offence in the U.K. Although no names were printed in the piece, the twins threatened the journalists involved, and Boothby threatened to sue the newspaper with the help of Labour Party leader Harold Wilson's solicitor Arnold Goodman (Wilson wanted to protect the reputation of Labour MP Tom Driberg, a relatively open gay man known to associate with both Boothby and Ronnie Kray, just weeks ahead of a pending General Election which Labour was hoping to win). In the face of this, the newspaper backed down, sacking its editor, printing an apology and paying Boothby £40,000
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favour to the twins and disposed of his body at sea. The Krays' criminal activities remained hidden behind both their celebrity status and seemingly legitimate businesses. Reggie was allegedly encouraged by his brother in October 1967, four months after the suicide of his wife, Frances, to kill Jack "the Hat" McVitie, a minor member of the Kray gang who had failed to fulfil a £500 contract, £400 of which had been paid to him in advance, to kill their financial advisor, Leslie Payne. McVitie was lured to a basement flat in Evering Road, Stoke Newington on the pretence of a
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roughly before deciding that he was not the man they were looking for. Supposedly, they held him out of a window by his ankles. In May 1968 the Kray twins were arrested on charges which included conspiracy to murder. In the autumn of 1968 shooting started on the film "Performance", (released 1970) written by Donald Cammell and co-directed by Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, and starring James Fox and Mick Jagger. Litvinoff got the job of "dialogue coach and technical adviser". He had been a friend of Cammell since childhood, and through knowledge gained from his friendship with the Kray twins,
David Litvinoff
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Legend (2015 film) Legend is a 2015 biographical crime thriller film written and directed by American film director Brian Helgeland. It is adapted from John Pearson's book "The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins", which deals with the rise and fall of the Kray twins; the relationship that bound them together, and charts their gruesome career to their downfall and imprisonment for life in 1969. This is Helgeland's fifth feature film. Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, David Thewlis and Christopher Eccleston star with Chazz Palminteri, Paul Bettany, Tara Fitzgerald and Taron Egerton as well as singer
Legend (2015 film)
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was conscripted into the army, but he refused to go and went into hiding. The influence of their maternal grandfather, Jimmy "Cannonball" Lee, caused the brothers to take up amateur boxing, then a popular pastime for working class boys in the East End. Sibling rivalry spurred them on, and both achieved some success. They are said to have never lost a match before turning professional at age 19. The Kray twins were notorious for their gang and its violence, and narrowly avoided being sent to prison many times. Young men were conscripted for national service at this time, and the
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Tempest-Jones. In the book, the TV show the girls audition for is a TV adaptation of "The Twins at St. Clare's". However, in the TV movie, the book is called "The Terrible Tempest Twins". In the book the twins live in London. However, in the TV movie, they live in Birmingham. "Publishers Weekly" described it as "an unexceptional mix of familiar plot devices" and recommended it (or did not) for readers age 9 to 12. Double Act (novel) Double Act is a children's novel by Jacqueline Wilson, written in the style of a diary, which features identical twins Ruby and
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War II, he saw active service in Italy, Egypt and Palestine. Following the end of his military service, Stuart-Smith began his career in law. He was called to the bar at Middle Temple in 1948. He practised as a barrister from 1948 to 1955. During this part of his career, he defended one of the Kray twins. He successfully convinced the jury to find him not guilty as it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt which of the identical twins did the crime. In 1955, Stuart-Smith joined the office of the Judge Advocate General as a legal assistant. He
James Stuart-Smith
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with the Kray Twins and her efforts to secure their release. Her involvement with the Kray family went back to her time as hairdresser for the twins' mother Violet. She also wrote the book "Intimate Secrets of an Escort Girl" (Everest books, 1974). The book was serialized in the magazine "Tit-Bits", accompanied by a blurb which said “Britain’s most photographed model lays bare the facts of her working life in the sauciest story of the year.” Her memoir, "One of the Family", was published in 2015. In 1997, Flanagan made a one-off return to nude modeling as a mature woman,
Flanagan (model)
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Legend of the Kray Twins". In 2010 Pearson put up for auction more than 160 previously unseen letters and photographs from the Kray twins. The items sold for £20,780. Another of Pearson's books, "The Gamblers", is an account of the group of gamblers who made up what was known as the Clermont Set, including John Aspinall, James Goldsmith and Lord Lucan. Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to the book in 2006. "The Gamblers" was made into a two-part TV drama, "Lucan", starring Rory Kinnear and Christopher Eccleston, broadcast on ITV1 in December 2013. Pearson's book "Facades" was the first
John Pearson (author)
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to central London also make it popular with film crews. In the 1960s the square was notorious as the base of the Richardson Gang, a south London rival to the Kray twins. They ran a private drinking club from the square, which had "Mad" Frankie Fraser and two dancing bears in residence. According to the gang's Old Bailey trial in 1967, the club was used to kangaroo court and torture rivals. The bears escaped onto Camberwell Road one night. In more genteel times, one of the founders of the National Trust, Robert Hunter was born in the square in 1844,
Addington Square
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Inspector Arthur Walls in Eastbourne during a burglary attempt), Edith Thompson, Robert Hoolhouse, Neville Heath, Charles Jenkins (hanged in 1947 together with Christopher Geraghty for fatally shooting Alec de Antiquis following a botched London jewel robbery), and James Hanratty. (N.B. This is not the same as the similarly titled 1961 book "Hanged in Error" by Leslie Hale, which contains a different set of case histories.) In academic circles, he is especially well known for his studies of the criminal underworld of London from Victorian times, through World War II to the Kray twins. He has written seven biographies and a
Donald Serrell Thomas
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Tower of London. As such he was one of the last Englishman to be incarcerated in the Tower of London (the Kray twins were held there in the 1950s). He was transferred to RAF Bomber Command HQ at High Wycombe and planned the infamous Operation Millennium bombing raid on Cologne. He flew without Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris's permission in the second flight on 31 May 1942. George was so distressed at the civilian population carnage at Cologne that he attempted to resign from the RAF. Given sensitivities he was promoted to Air Commodore and posted to Lord Mountbatten’s
George Salaman
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from newspaper messenger boy to print journalist reporting for the Evening Standard on the trial of the notorious gangsters, the Kray twins, and from the troubles in Northern Ireland. His broadcasting career began in 1970 at BBC Radio London, newly founded as one legitimate answer to Britain's avalanche of illegal UK pirate radio stations that had changed listeners' expectations. With a potential audience in Greater London of 7.5million, he was to spend 13 years helping shape the sound of local FM radio long before commercial competition arrived. By the miners' strike of 1974 and the resulting three-day week that limited
Robbie Vincent
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and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 (Ranulf Flambard) until 1952 (Kray twins), although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard I, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established by the
Tower of London
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(Edinburgh Festival and the Queens theatre Hornchurch) which told the story of Tony Lambrianou's involvement with the "Kray Twins" and Freebird (Bristol Old Vic, Cockpit London, Pleasance - Edinburgh Festival and tour) a motorcycle based comedy. After leaving ITF, Ivay adapted and directed the screen version of Freebird. Working with the producers and production team from the British movies Layer Cake and Kick-Ass. Freebird was shot in London, Hay-on- Wye, Brecon Wales and Los Angeles. The film starred Phil Daniels, Gary Stretch and Geoff Bell. Supporting cast included Peter Bowles, Arthur Brown (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown), Laila Rouass
Jon Ivay
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Sinatra, who hired 18 bodyguards from Krayleigh Enterprises on his visit to the 1985 Wimbledon Championships. Documents released under Freedom of Information laws revealed that although officials were concerned about this operation, they believed that there was no legal basis to shut it down. Ronnie Kray was a Category A prisoner, denied almost all liberties and not allowed to mix with other prisoners. He was eventually certified insane, tempered his paranoid schizophrenia with constant medication, in 1979 and lived the remainder of his life in Broadmoor Hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire. Reggie Kray, constantly being refused parole, was locked up in
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Church. The Quakers hold regular meetings in Old Ford Road. There are at least eight Islamic mosques or places of worship in Bethnal Green for the Muslim community. These include the Baitul Aman Mosque and Cultural Centre, Darul Hadis Latifiah, the Senegambian Islamic Cultural Centre and the Globe Town Mosque and Cultural Centre. Bethnal Green, being the cultural heart of the East End, has long been a hotbed of organised crime. Its most famous criminals were the Kray twins, known as Ronald "Ronnie" Kray and Reginald "Reggie" Kray who were identical twin brothers and were active in during the 1950s
Bethnal Green
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war involving rival Turkish and Turkish-Kurdish gangs in north London. It is believed that the feud is between two organised drug gangs, the Turkish 'Tottenham Boys' and the 'Bombarcilar' or 'Bombers' from Hackney. The Bombers were led by Abdullah Babysin who was said to be Britain's largest importer of heroin, he was convicted in 2006. Britain has a number of traditional organised crime firms or local British crime families. Some of the most well known include the Kray twins, The Richardson Gang and Terry Adams Clerkenwell crime syndicate in London. Outside the capital there are the Noonans in Manchester, Thomas
Gangs in the United Kingdom
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and legend surrounding the Krays. Both wrote best-selling books about their lives and, in 1990, a full-length biographical film entitled "The Krays" was released (featuring real-life brothers Martin and Gary Kemp as the Kray twins). Jack McVitie was portrayed by actor Tom Bell in this film before also appearing in the 2004 film "Charlie", this time depicted by Marius Swift. In the 2015 film about the Krays, "Legend", he is played by Sam Spruell. Jack McVitie Jack D. McVitie (1932, Battersea, London – 29 October 1967, Stoke Newington, London), more commonly known as Jack the Hat, was a notorious English
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a breakdown due to the appearance of his first-born sons and was put into a lunatic asylum until he recovered a month later. The twins' parents did not allow any thorough examination of them as they believed it would diminish their fame. The twins' father took them to Turin to be exhibited in the freak show, where the twins were examined by professors of the Turin Academy of Medicine. The professors determined they would not live long. However, a Paris tour followed, and they were examined by two doctors in Lyon, France. They determined the twins would live long, against
Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci
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Sam Spruell Sam Spruell (born 1 January 1977) is an English-American actor. His film credits include "The Hurt Locker" (2008), "Defiance" (2008), "" (2007), "London to Brighton" (2006), "To Kill a King" (2003) and "" (2002). Spruell played hit man Jack "The Hat" McVitie in the 2015 film "Legend" the story of the Kray twins. His television roles include the recurring cameo of Jason Belling in "Spooks" (2007 in Episode 6.9 and 2004 in "Project Friendly Fire") and the recurring role of Wilkes in "P.O.W." (2003). In 2012, Spruell had a starring role in the film "Snow White & the
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in the city's underworld declined. The battle almost spread to politics when Dimes tried to use National Labour Party members against rivals Bud Flanagan and Spot, Jewish gangsters involved in funding the 43 Group. In 1966, Dimes helped to arrange a conference between New York mafiosi and the Corsican Francisci brothers, apparently regarding investing in London casinos. An associate of Charlie Richardson, his presence in Soho delayed the Kray twins from moving into the area for several years. The character Johnny Bannion, played by Stanley Baker in the 1960 film "The Criminal", was reportedly claimed by director Joseph Losey to
Albert Dimes
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Senior Judge at The Old Bailey in 1964, and was knighted in 1968. A long-serving president of the Lawn Tennis Association, he died on 17 March 1991; his wife died in 2005. In 1966, he received the Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria Carl Aarvold Sir Carl Douglas Aarvold, OBE, TD (7 June 1907 – 17 March 1991), was an English barrister who became Recorder of London. Among other cases, he presided at the 1965 trial of the Kray twins. In his earlier days, he was also an England rugby union international player
Carl Aarvold
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Craig Parkinson Craig Parkinson (born 11 March 1976) is an English actor and podcaster. He has appeared as Shaun in the E4 series "Misfits", the twins Jimmy and Johnny Kray in the ITV series "Whitechapel", and DI Matthew 'Dot' Cottan in BBC Two's "Line of Duty". He has also acted in several independent films including "Control", "Soulboy", "The Unloved", and "Four Lions". Parkinson grew up in Blackpool, Lancashire. He began acting at an early age in school plays. He studied at Blackpool and The Fylde College before moving to London aged seventeen to attend Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Parkinson's
Craig Parkinson
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on the face, never across or upwards. Always down. So that if the knife slips you don't cut an artery. After all, chivving is chivving, but cutting an artery is usually murder. Only mugs do murder." Hill was mentor to twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray, advising them in their early criminal careers. In late 1956 Home Secretary Gwilym Lloyd George authorised the tapping of Hill's phone. At the time gang warfare had broken out in London between Hill and erstwhile partner in crime, Jack Spot. In 1956, Spot and wife Rita were attacked by Hill's bodyguard, Frankie Fraser, Bobby Warren
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completed the musical "England, England", written with playwright Snoo Wilson, and described as "an evocation of the Kray Twins". The musical, directed by Dusty Hughes, was performed on stage in August 1977 at the Jeannetta Cochrane Theatre, in Holborn, London. It was one of the first theatre pieces to reference the fascist associations of a kind of British nationalism that later became more prevalent with the rise of the National Front and the election of Margaret Thatcher. From 18 August to 24 September 1977 it played at the Bush Theatre in Shepherds Bush. In 1978 Coyne collaborated with fellow Derby
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the end of that year. The site is now home to The Berkeley, a five-star hotel. Esmeralda's Barn Esmeralda's Barn was a nightclub in Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, London, that was owned by the Kray twins from 1960 until its closure in 1963. The Krays used the club as a way of expanding their criminal activities into London's West End. In the 1950s, Esmeralda's Barn was a conventional nightclub run by Stefan de Faye. After the Betting and Gaming Act 1960 legalised gambling in the United Kingdom from 1961, de Faye turned Esmeralda's Barn into a gambling club. According to John
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Esmeralda's Barn Esmeralda's Barn was a nightclub in Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, London, that was owned by the Kray twins from 1960 until its closure in 1963. The Krays used the club as a way of expanding their criminal activities into London's West End. In the 1950s, Esmeralda's Barn was a conventional nightclub run by Stefan de Faye. After the Betting and Gaming Act 1960 legalised gambling in the United Kingdom from 1961, de Faye turned Esmeralda's Barn into a gambling club. According to John Pearson, the Act, which was intended to drive criminals out of gambling, instead proved a boon
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open for business, though it has been refurbished several times. The Kray Twins also used the Blackwall Buildings, by then dilapidated, as a form of punishment by locking a victim in a flat alone with Ronnie's German Shepherd dog. Whitechapel Road is the equal cheapest property location on the British version of the Monopoly game board. Both it and the Old Kent Road are priced at £60. In reality, increasing property prices across London meant that the average house price on Whitechapel Road in 2013 was £295,082. Citations Sources Whitechapel Road Whitechapel Road is a major arterial road in Whitechapel,
Whitechapel Road
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Philip Ridley Philip Ridley (born 1964 in East London) is an English storyteller working in a wide range of artistic media. In the visual arts he has been cited as a contemporary to the 'Young British Artists', and had his artwork exhibited internationally. As a novelist he has created fiction for both children and adults, and has had particular success and recognition as a children's author. In the field of cinema he is perhaps best known for his award-winning screenplay for the 1990 film "The Krays" (1990), a biopic about the Kray twins which was directed by Peter Medak. As
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be the most dangerous road in Britain. By 2009, 97,000 vehicles per day were using the M4 over flyover. The flyover was not originally built to motorway standards. The structure was half a mile long (0.8 kilometres) and wide with hard-shoulders of no more than wide. One hundred tonnes of concrete went into the columns supporting the road. Rumours arose that the bodies of the victims of the Kray twins, notorious London gangsters, were entombed in the concrete pillars of the flyover. Chiswick flyover The Chiswick flyover is a short elevated section of the M4 motorway in the western approaches
Chiswick flyover
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inheriting the mantle of Bunhill Fields, the company was made over in 1884 and run as a commercial venture. Chingford Mount was the first new site to open under this regime, followed by Hendon Park and Greenford. Following the collapse of the managing company in the 1970s, plans were submitted to turn over unused parts of the burial ground for redevelopment as housing. Objections from local residents halted this plan and the cemetery is now under the care of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Among those buried in the cemetery are the Kray twins and other members of their
Chingford Mount Cemetery
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to drink but spent time with the family. As a result, both birth rate and infant death rate fell drastically and local prosperity increased. It is true that the infamous gangsters, the Kray twins lived in Bethnal Green in the 1960s. However, by the beginning of the 21st century, Bethnal Green and much of the old East End began to undergo a process of gentrification. The former Bethnal Green Infirmary, later the London County Council Bethnal Green Hospital, stood opposite Cambridge Heath railway station. The hospital closed as a public hospital in the 1970s and was a geriatric hospital under
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old post office was sold and it became the Doric Restaurant in Queens Square. It is now the town hall. The new post office was built in Exchange Street. There were two local airfields during the Second World War, one at Deopham Green (Station 142) and one at Old Buckenham (Station 144). Structurally the town changed little during the 1950s and there were no great leaps in population growth, other than the arrival of the notorious London gangsters, the Kray twins, who took over a local hostelry. The '60s were different, the overspill programme and new town development brought new
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convicted associate of the Kray twins, later wrote that, despite the restrictive door policy at Sibylla's, "I always welcome at the club" due to O'Leary's presence. In October 1966, Macdonald, who was suffering from depression, died after jumping from a rooftop in west London. Author Steve Turner describes him as an early casualty among London's psychedelic drug users, at a time when the full psychological effects of LSD were not widely known. Tara Browne, who was a regular at the club in the company of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, died after crashing his sports car into a parked
Sibylla's
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Brian Helgeland Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for "L.A. Confidential" (for which he received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay), "Mystic River", and "". Helgeland also wrote and directed "42" (2013), a biopic of Jackie Robinson, and "Legend" (2015), about the rise and fall of the infamous London gangsters, the Kray twins. Helgeland was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Norwegian-born parents Aud-Karin and Thomas Helgeland, and was raised in nearby New Bedford, Massachusetts. He majored in English at University of
Brian Helgeland
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In January 1967, police in Tattingstone, Suffolk, discovered two suitcases containing mutilated body parts of Bernard Oliver. According to some accounts, Meek was afraid of being questioned by the Metropolitan Police, as it was known they were intending to interview all of the gay men in London. This was enough for him to lose his self-control. Meek always walked everywhere outside the studio wearing sunglasses, fearing recognition by local gangsters such as the Kray twins, who he feared would attempt to steal his acts or blackmail him regarding his homosexuality. Meek's depression deepened as his financial position became increasingly desperate.
Joe Meek
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Carl Aarvold Sir Carl Douglas Aarvold, OBE, TD (7 June 1907 – 17 March 1991), was an English barrister who became Recorder of London. Among other cases, he presided at the 1965 trial of the Kray twins. In his earlier days, he was also an England rugby union international player Born in Hartlepool, he was educated at Durham School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge and from 1928 until 1933 played rugby 16 times for his country, captaining the side six times. He was called to the bar in 1932. Two years later he married Noeline Hill at St George's, Hanover Square,
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viveur’’ John Wodehouse, 4th Earl of Kimberley, as well as socialising with other actors and the Kray twins at their El Morocco club, one of the haunts of the Krays’ acquaintance the Conservative politician Robert Boothby, who used the Krays to supply him with rent-boys. Corri died at her home in London on 13 March 2016 from coronary artery disease at the age of 85. She was the author of ‘’The Search for Gainsborough’’, a book written in diary form, detailing her efforts to establish the provenance of a painting of David Garrick that she believes to be by a
Adrienne Corri
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bet on their side to lose a match in December 1962 against Ipswich Town. The three were convicted of conspiracy to defraud, Kay on the basis of a taped conversation, one of the first times such evidence was admitted in an English court. Kay was fined £150 and sentenced to four months imprisonment. On his release, after serving ten weeks, he was banned from football for life by the Football Association though the ban was rescinded seven years later. Kay claims subsequently to have been summoned to London to explain the use of taped evidence to the Kray twins. Kay
Tony Kay
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with lords, MPs, socialites and show business characters, including actors George Raft, Judy Garland, Diana Dors and Barbara Windsor. They were the best years of our lives. They called them the swinging sixties. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones were rulers of pop music, Carnaby Street ruled the fashion world... and me and my brother ruled London. We were fucking untouchable... The Krays also came to public attention in July 1964 when an exposé in the tabloid newspaper "Sunday Mirror" insinuated that Ronnie had conceived a sexual relationship with Robert, Lord Boothby, a Conservative politician, at a time when being
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and cultural freedoms that the decade introduced. In 1963 he met the Kray twins, prominent London gangland figures, and began a lengthy friendship with them and their associates. In July 1964 two backbench Conservative MPs reported to their Chief Whip that Driberg and Lord Boothby (a well-known Conservative peer) had been importuning males at a dog track, and were involved with gangs of thugs. At parties which Driberg and Boothby attended at the Krays' flat, "rough but compliant East End lads were served like so many canapés", according to Wheen. While Driberg avoided publicity, Boothby was hounded by the press
Tom Driberg
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serious crimes. The Quality Street Gang was reportedly named after an advertisement for Quality Street confectionery which featured a group of fashionably dressed people: as the "gang" walked into a pub, a wag supposedly shouted "It's the Quality Street Gang" and the name stuck. Another story says the name came about because most of the gang members were overweight. The gang was also at one point attached to a story about the Kray twins coming to Manchester to expand their turf, but being turned around at Manchester Piccadilly station and put back on the train to London. In 2008 Daniel
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also be executive producers for whichever project is picked up by HBO. Brian Helgeland Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for "L.A. Confidential" (for which he received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay), "Mystic River", and "". Helgeland also wrote and directed "42" (2013), a biopic of Jackie Robinson, and "Legend" (2015), about the rise and fall of the infamous London gangsters, the Kray twins. Helgeland was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Norwegian-born parents Aud-Karin and Thomas Helgeland, and was raised
Brian Helgeland