London’s East End has bid farewell to one of its most infamous figures today as gangster-turned-actor Dave Courtney was found dead at the age of 64. Courtney, who gained notoriety through his association with iconic East End hardmen like the Krays, Roy Shaw, and Lenny McLean, took his own life at his residence in Plumstead, south-east London.
Born in Bermondsey, south London, Courtney’s early life was marked by a turbulent journey through the criminal underworld. As a knuckle-duster wielding debt collector, he claimed to have endured numerous life-threatening situations, including being shot, stabbed, and having his nose nearly bitten off – an injury that was, in his words, “sewn back on.
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