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Freddie Foreman

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Freddie Foreman
Born
Frederick Gerald Foreman

(1932-03-05) 5 March 1932 (age 92)
Battersea, London
OccupationPublican
Years active1950–1990 (criminal)
2000–2020 (television)
OrganizationThe Firm
Known forFormer association with the Kray twins
SpouseMaureen Foreman
Children3, including Jamie
Signature

Freddie Foreman[1] (born 5 March 1932) is an English publican, gangster, former associate of the Kray twins and convicted criminal.

Foreman was a prominent figure in London gangland from the 1950s through to the 1980s.

Early life

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Frederick Gerald Foreman was born at 22 Sheepcote Lane, Battersea on 5 March 1932, the son of Herbert Edward Foreman.

Criminal history

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Foreman was nicknamed "Brown Bread Fred" (‘Brown Bread’ being Cockney rhyming slang for ‘Dead’), as he was known in the underworld for being able to dispose of bodies.[2][3]

For a large part of the 1960s, Foreman and the Kray twins' gang The Firm, ruled the streets in the East End of London. But Foreman’s association with them ended when all three were imprisoned. At the time of the arrests, Foreman was 36 years old and licensee of The Prince of Wales on Lant Street in Southwark.

Foreman was involved in the disposal of the body of Jack "the Hat" McVitie (murdered by Reggie Kray). He was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Foreman was later sentenced to nine years imprisonment[4][3] for handling proceeds from the Security Express robbery in Shoreditch, East London in 1983, which at the time was the largest cash robbery in the UK along with Ronnie Knight, John Mason, Ronnie Everett and Cliford Saxe.[5][6][3]

In his autobiography, Respect, Foreman also admitted to the murders of Frank "Mad Axeman" Mitchell and Tommy "Ginger" Marks during the 1960s in revenge for the shooting of his brother who had been shot in the groin. He had been acquitted of these murders at an Old Bailey trial in the 1960s.[3]

Foreman has served a total of 16 years in prison.

Television

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Year Title Notes
2000 The Krays 2 episodes
2001 Reggie Kray: The Final Word
2001–2008 Real Crime 2 episodes
2003 Hitler of the Andes 1 episode
2010 The Krays by Fred Dinenage
2011 Britain's Underworld 1 episode
2013 Die Gentlemen baten zur Kasse
2016 Chancers
2016 The Krays: The Prison Years
2018 Fred
2018 Gangster No 1 - The Freddie Foreman Story
2020 Dave Courtney's Underworld - The Krays

Fred (2018)

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In 2018, it was announced that a biopic documentary would be made on Foreman, directed by his son Jamie. Rather than glamorizing Foreman’s life of crime, Fred is billed as a sombre and intimate look at the notorious villain towards the end of his life. The biopic was written and directed by Paul Van Carter.

Fred was released in the UK on 17 March 2018.

Personal life

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Foreman is married to Maureen Foreman. Together they have three children, actor Jamie Foreman, Gregory and Danielle. Foreman has 3 grandchildren.

In 2018, it was reported Foreman was living in a nursing home with no money, estranged from his family.[7]

Published works

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Foreman has authored 10 books.

  1. Respect (1997)
  2. The God Father of British Crime (2005)
  3. Brown Bread Fred (2007)
  4. Getting it Straight (2011)
  5. The Last Real Gangster (2015)
  6. Freddie Foreman Pictures (2015)
  7. The Krays "Read all About It" (2016)
  8. Freddie Foreman in Pictures (2017)
  9. Running with The Krays (2017)
  10. The Godfather of British Crime (2018)

References

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  1. ^ Castilla, Elena B. (20 July 1989). "El Tribunal Supremo ordena la expulsión de un implicado en el 'robo del siglo'". El País. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  2. ^ "High profile gangsters to talk on 'life of crime' - Local". News Guardian. 21 April 2009. Archived from the original on 19 March 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d Campbell, Duncan (3 July 2018). "East End gangster Fred Foreman: 'You don't prove you're a hard man by stabbing someone'". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  4. ^ Smith, Lydia (27 November 2014). "Frankie Fraser Dead: The Last British Godfather 'Brown Bread Fred' Freddie Foreman". Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Self preservation societies: a brief history of heists". Daily Telegraph. 21 August 2009.
  6. ^ Smith, Lydia (27 November 2014). "Frankie Fraser Dead: The Last British Godfather 'Brown Bread Fred' Freddie Foreman". Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Freddie Foreman Is the Last of London's Old-School Gangsters". www.vice.com. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2022.

Literature

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