John Dennis Arthur Bindon was an English actor and bodyguard who had close links with the London underworld.
31 Facts About John Bindon
2.
The son of a London cab driver, Bindon was frequently in trouble as a youth for getting into fights, and spent two periods in borstal.
3.
John Bindon was spotted in a London pub by Ken Loach, who asked him to appear in his film Poor Cow.
4.
John Bindon played a violent mobster alongside Mick Jagger in Performance and a London crime boss in Get Carter.
5.
John Bindon was known for having many socialite girlfriends, such as Christine Keeler, the former Playboy "Bunny Girl" Serena Williams, and Vicki Hodge, who had a 12-year abusive relationship with Bindon, which ended in 1981.
6.
John Bindon lived his hard man persona on and off screen.
7.
John Bindon 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.
8.
In 1978, Bindon was tried for the murder of London gangster Johnny Darke.
9.
John Bindon pleaded self-defence and was acquitted, but the case damaged his reputation, and that, coupled with being seen by directors as difficult to work with, meant his acting career declined.
10.
John Bindon was born in Fulham, London, and was the son of Dennis Bindon, a merchant seaman and engineer turned cab driver.
11.
The second eldest in a working-class family of three children, John Bindon attended Henry Compton School in Fulham, but left at the age of 15.
12.
John Bindon was given the nickname "Biffo" for starting or getting into fights.
13.
John Bindon's portrayal earned him critical praise and typecast him for future roles.
14.
John Bindon was awarded the Queen's Award for Bravery, a police bravery medal, for diving off Putney Bridge into the River Thames to rescue a drowning man, in 1968, although some said he had pushed the man in and only rescued him when a policeman appeared.
15.
Apparently demonstrated on multiple occasions over decades, when inebriated, John Bindon was able to hang five half-pint beer glasses from his manhood.
16.
John Bindon's name was linked with a succession of models, including Christine Keeler, the former Playboy "Bunny Girl" Serena Williams, and Angela Barnett, then girlfriend and future wife of pop star David Bowie.
17.
John Bindon had a violent temper and a naturally intimidating personality.
18.
John Bindon was accused of running a protection racket in west London, targeting pubs, restaurants and cafes.
19.
John Bindon's best known film roles were his appearance in Get Carter and the Who's film Quadrophenia as a drug dealer.
20.
John Bindon appeared in television series such as Public Eye, The Gold Robbers, Department S, Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars, Paul Temple, Special Branch, Softly, Softly: Taskforce and Hazell playing out his usual tough-guy roles.
21.
In early 1977, John Bindon was hired by Peter Grant on advice from tour manager Richard Cole as security coordinator for the rock group Led Zeppelin during their concert tour of the United States.
22.
John Bindon had previously provided security for actors Ryan and Tatum O'Neal.
23.
An incident involving John Bindon occurred at the band's concert at the Oakland Coliseum on 23 July 1977, near the end of their US tour.
24.
John Bindon was dismissed by the band and returned to England.
25.
Grant later said that allowing John Bindon to be hired was the biggest mistake he ever made as manager.
26.
Darke was stabbed nine times, resulting in his death, and John Bindon managed to flee to Dublin with his own knife wounds covered up.
27.
John Bindon gave himself up to police and was tried at the Old Bailey in October 1979.
28.
However, the defence argued that Darke's death was in self-defence, saying John Bindon was in fear of his life as he was being blackmailed about losing drug money and cocaine worth thousands of pounds.
29.
In 2002, a Carlton Television documentary of Bindon's life entitled Real Crime: Starring John Bindon was screened in the UK on ITV.
30.
John Bindon featured in the Carlton documentary for ITV, The Secret Life of Princess Margaret, broadcast in 2005.
31.
John Bindon appeared as a character played by the actor Jason Merrells in the stage play A Princess Undone which opened at the Cambridge Arts Theatre in October 2016.