Ronald (Ronnie) Kray and Reginald (Reggie) Kray were English organised crime figures, and identical twin brothers from Haggerston, who operated mostly in Bethnal Green and the East End of London from the late 1950s until their arrest in 1968. With their gang, known as the Firm, the Kray twins were involved in murder, armed robbery, arson, protection rackets, gambling and assaults. At their peak in the 1960s, they gained a certain measure of celebrity status by mixing with prominent members of London society, being photographed by David Bailey and interviewed on television.
Reggie is a given name, usually a short form of the name Reginald. It may refer to:
William Albert Murray is an English actor, best known for playing Don Beech in The Bill from 1995 to 2004, Johnny Allen in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2005 to 2006, and Captain John Price in the video games Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
David John Courtney was an English self-proclaimed gangster who became both an author and an actor.
The Krays is a 1990 British biographical crime drama film directed by Peter Medak. The film is based on the lives and crimes of the British gangster twins Ronald and Reginald Kray, often referred to as The Krays. The film stars Billie Whitelaw, Tom Bell, and real life brothers Gary and Martin Kemp, both of whom were members of the band Spandau Ballet.
Jack McVitie, best known as Jack the Hat, was an English criminal from London during the 1950s and 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 Firm, and was murdered by Reggie Kray in 1967.
Royston Henry Shaw, also known as Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw, Roy "Mean Machine" Shaw and Roy West, was a property 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 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 of Lenny McLean.
George Cornell was an English criminal and member of The Richardsons, who were scrap metal dealers and criminals from South London.
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.
Born Fighter is an autobiographical book written by Reginald Kray. In 1969 he and his twin brother Ronnie Kray received life sentences for the murders of George Cornell and Jack McVitie. First published in London in 1990 in hardback by Century and paperback in 1991 by subsidiary Arrow Books.
My Story is an autobiographical book written by Ronnie Kray. He, along with his twin brother Reggie, were said to be some of the most feared gangsters in British history.
Freddie Foreman is an English publican, gangster, former associate of the Kray twins and convicted criminal.
Legend is a 2015 biographical crime thriller film written and directed by American 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 their career and the relationship that bound them together, and follows their gruesome career to life imprisonment in 1969.
Leonard Ernest "Nipper" Read, QPM was a British police officer and boxing administrator.
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.
The Rise of the Krays is a 2015 low-budget biographical 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 before the production team learned of Legend, the larger-budgeted studio film scheduled for release the same year.
The Krays: Dead Man Walking is a British crime drama film written and directed by Richard John Taylor and starring Rita Simons, Josh Myers, Christopher Ellison and Guy Henry. It was released on 10 September 2018.
Charles James Kray was an English ex-professional boxer and convicted criminal. He was the elder brother of Ronnie and Reggie Kray.
The Krays' Mad Axeman is a 2019 film directed by William Kerley and starring Diarmaid Murtagh, Morgan Watkins and Elen Rhys. It is based on the play Jump to Cow Heaven by Gill Adams, itself based on the true story of Frank Mitchell, a convict and associate of the Kray Twins, who facilitated Mitchell's escape from prison in 1966.
The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins is a 1972 biography of the Kray twins by John Pearson. It details the life of the twins from their births, childhood, criminal careers, and eventual arrest. It was nominated for the 1974 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime. It was followed by The Cult of Violence: The Untold Story of the Krays in 2001 and Notorious: The Immortal Legend of the Kray Twins in 2010.
