David Litvinoff

David Litvinoff (sometimes Litvinov; born David Levy; 3 February 1928 – 8 April 1975) was a consultant for the British film industry who traded on his knowledge of the criminal elements of the East End of London. A man for whom there are few truly reliable facts, it is unclear how genuine his expertise really was, though he certainly knew the Kray Twins and was particularly friendly with Ronnie Kray, according to a biography published in 2016. He entertained his showbiz friends with stories of the Krays' activities and his niece Vida described him as "the court jester to the rich, smart Chelsea set of the sixties".

Early life and family

Litvinoff was born in 1928 at Hare Marsh, His older half-brothers were the writer Emanuel Litvinoff and the historian Barnet Litvinoff. The family were brought up in relative poverty, supported mainly by Mrs Litvinoff's earnings as a dressmaker.

Jazz and blues Unlike his step-brothers, little is known of David's early adulthood but he seems to have been a well-known figure in the jazz clubs of Soho in the 1950s. He knew George Melly who he first met at Cy Laurie's jazz club in Great Windmill Street Litvinoff had a lifelong love of Blues music, and left detailed instructions for the disposal of his music recordings on his death, Stories of beatings he had given or taken, people he knew or could put you in contact with all had to be taken with a large pinch of salt. Stories of Litvinoff's activities are legion, but all second hand and often differ according to the teller. According to Sinclair: "Litvinoff was everybody's best friend, he specialized in it. That was his profession. In your company, he was the perfect audience: witty, up to speed with the gossip, seductive".

Criminal connections Man in a Headscarf (originally The Procurer), Lucian Freud. Oil on canvas, 1954. Keith Richards wrote of Litvinoff that he "was on the borders of art and villainy, a friend of the Kray brothers, the East End gangsters." The novelist Derek Raymond said, "Used to know Litvinoff's half-brother David quite well. He managed to kill himself. Which was probably just before he would have been murdered."

In Notorious, John Pearson writes that Litvinoff was homosexual and that one function that he performed for Ronnie Kray, who was also homosexual, was to procure boys for sexual services for Ronnie's friends. Such activities also provided useful material for blackmail purposes. Art dealer Christopher Gibbs said "He didn't have an affair with Ronnie Kray, but he used to pick up boys with him sometimes. I remember being flagged down, in Sloane Street, aged 18 or thereabouts [c. 1956], by this car with Litvinoff in it and these frightfully sinister-looking people. One of them was Kray."

Through Ronnie Kray, Litvinoff met Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud who were friends and used to gamble at Esmeralda's Barn, a gambling club in which the Krays had a stake. According to Christopher Gibbs,

Mim Scala recalls that around 1960, Litvinoff was the Faginesque head of a small group based at the Temperance Billiard Hall, 131-141 King's Road, Chelsea, that included Eddie Dylan, Brian Masset and Tommy Waldron. According to Scala, "what Litvinoff liked best were little boys, particularly naughty, runaway Borstal boys." Scala described him as "physically quite ugly: thin lips, a huge nose and a prematurely bald head" but with the ability to "talk the birds out of the trees, money out of pockets, boys into bed, and gangsters out of killing him".

The Pheasantry

In 1967, Litvinoff was living at The Pheasantry, 152 King's Road, then dilapidated flats with a club in the basement that was in the process of turning into a form of artistic commune. Litvinoff worked in Tim Whidborne's studio. Eric Clapton and Martin Sharp of Oz magazine shared a studio there and other residents included Germaine Greer, Robert Whitaker and Nicky Kramer.

After the Redlands raid In February 1967 the British police raided Keith Richards' home at Redlands in West Wittering after having received a tip-off that illegal drugs were being used at a party there. Litvinoff is not thought to have been at the party but according to multiple sources, took it upon himself to find out who the police informer was. Nicky Kramer, a member of the trendy Chelsea set, immediately came under suspicion and Litvinoff and hard-man John Bindon interrogated him fairly roughly before deciding that he was not the man they were looking for.

Work in the film industry In May 1968 the Kray twins were arrested on charges which included conspiracy to murder. In the autumn of 1968 shooting started on the film Performance, (released 1970) written by Donald Cammell and co-directed by Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, and starring James Fox and Mick Jagger. Litvinoff got the job of "dialogue coach and technical adviser". He had been a friend of Cammell since childhood, and through knowledge gained from his friendship with the Kray twins, he was able to introduced the cast and crew to London's underworld. Writing about Performance in The Independent, David Thomson calls him "the most brilliant nutter anyone had ever met ... the catalyst – he just brought the whole thing together".

Wales Sometime in 1968, Litvinoff rented Cefn Bedd cottage in Llanddewi Brefi. A stream of notable 60s figures seem to have stayed at the cottage including Eric Clapton, the artist Martin Sharp who designed the album covers for Cream, and Nigel Waymouth who was one of the owners of boutique Granny Takes a Trip. There was speculation that a bearded man with long hair and an American accent named Gerry was actually Bob Dylan, but Christopher Gibbs has said that this was really Litvinoff's "sidekick", Gerry Goldstein.

Litvinoff left Llanddewi Brefi around the end of 1969

Death and legacy

From 1972 until his death in April 1975 from an overdose of sleeping pills, Litvinoff lived at Davington Priory, Faversham, Kent, (current home of Bob Geldof) which was then owned by the art dealer Christopher Gibbs. There were once rumours in the London book trade, which have never been confirmed, of Litvinoff diaries.