Lenny McLean

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Lenny "The Guv'nor" McLean

Leonard McLean (born April 9, 1949, died July 28, 1998) better known as "The Guv'nor" was a former weightlifter, bouncer, World Heavyweight Bare-knuckle Champion, and actor. Many times referred to as "the hardest man in Britain". McLean was a Cockney born in Hoxton, East End of London, England where he was viciously abused by his step father from the age of 5 on. By age 10 McLean had his jaw broken twice and many other bones broken as well. Turning to street fighting with a determination to not be beaten ever again by any man, he expended the bottled up rage of his abusive childhood on his opponents with such ferocity that many times it would take 3 or more men to pull him off of his opponent. During his teen years McLean was arrested for petty crimes and served 18 months in prison. By the time he was 15 he had worked odd jobs to get by and was fired from his first legitimate job for beating up his foreman. At 19 he met Val, and a year later they were married. By this time McLean realized he could make a good living from fighting and pursued it as his main means of income. He became the best-known and feared bare knuckle street fighter Britain has ever seen.

It was not until September 11, 1978 that McLean would be elevated to his place as "The Guv'nor". It was a series of fights with 'The Mean Machine' Roy Shaw that would become the stuff of legend. With each fighter racking up one win a piece, the final match up would be the determining factor. It was at the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park London that McLean stopped Shaw in a dramatic first round win.

Being the best-known figure in the world of unlicensed boxing, which was legal, but not sanctioned by the British Board of Boxing Control, brought with it many fans, as well as enemies for McLean. He suffered 2 bullet wounds from separate attacks as well as being stabbed on two different occasions. All the attempts on his life always came from behind. Another profession McLean excelled at was that of a bouncer. With his worldwide fame he was soon also known as "The King of Bouncers", where he associated his name to many clubs and pubs in London, basing himself at The Hippodrome in Leicester Square where he ran the door. But it was just the threat of his name that would many times stop trouble.

Although rumoured to have been unbeaten by anybody except Roy Shaw, Lenny was twice knocked out by Johnny Waldron, both times in the first round. He was also knocked out in the first round by Cliff Fields and beaten on points by Kevin Paddock, though McLean always maintained that he never lost a fight "on the cobbles".

In 1992 McLean was arrested for assault and was cleared of a manslaughter charge after the man he had ejected from the Hippodrome died of his injuries. McLean served an 18 month prison sentence for the assault. McLean entered into the arena of acting in such roles as Eddie Davies in ITV's Customs drama The Knock. From there, he moved on to smaller roles in such films as The Fifth Element, The Krays and then onto his most acclaimed role in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels playing the part of 'Barry The Baptist'. It was during the filming of this movie that McLean was struck ill by what was believed to be the flu. But upon examination it was found he was suffering from lung cancer and brain cancer. He died shortly after in July of 1998, just weeks prior to the release of the film. Director Guy Ritchie dedicated the film to him, had billboards for the film changed to feature McLean as a tribute to him, even though the role of Barry the Baptist was not a significant one.

Shortly before his death his biography, written in McLean's own words with Peter Gerrard and titled simply "The Guvnor", was published. It immediately took the number one slot on the best seller's list.

Since his death, Peter Gerrard has written another book about McLean, titled "The Guv'nor: A Celebration" and McLean's widow, Val, has written "Married To The Guv'nor" with Peter Gerrard about her life with McLean.