John Arthur Alexander Edgecombe (22 October 1932 – 26 September 2010) was a British jazz promoter, whose involvement with Christine Keeler inadvertently alerted authorities to the Profumo affair.
Edgecombe was born on 22 October 1932 in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, the youngest of eight children. He often accompanied his father on his schooner running petrol from Trinidad to Antigua. In 1942, his father took United States citizenship and disappeared.[1]
The young Edgecombe worked his passage aboard a British ship carrying sugar to Liverpool. From there he moved to Cardiff, where he stayed for some years, lodging at a mission for seamen. Searching for his missing father, he hid on a ship bound for Texas, but on arrival was arrested and put back on board for the return trip. When he docked in Britain, magistrates jailed him for 28 days as a stowaway. After leaving prison, he made his way to London, where he became involved in petty crime, serving three months for an attempted jewel theft. He ran a drinking and drugs den in premises rented from Peter Rachman, and reportedly acted as a pimp to his girlfriend.[1]
Profumo scandal
It was in this "shebeen" that he first encountered Lucky Gordon, who threatened to tip off the police about the drinking den. Edgecombe closed it down, and moved into the jazz scene, driving musicians to gigs, and dealing small quantities of cannabis.[1]
In September 1962, he met a nightclub hostess, Christine Keeler, and moved into her flat in Sheffield Terrace. Keeler was involved with several men, and it was this web of relationships and jealousy that triggered the events that led to what became known as the Profumo affair. Keeler told Edgecombe that Gordon had assaulted her and held her captive after she ended their relationship. Edgecombe confronted Gordon with a knife in the Flamingo Club on 27 October 1962, and Gordon required 17 stitches in the face.[2] Edgecombe asked Keeler to help him find a solicitor before surrendering to the police, but she refused and said that she would give evidence against him.
On 14 December 1962, Edgecombe took a taxi to the Marylebone home of osteopath Stephen Ward, where Keeler was in hiding along with Mandy Rice-Davies. When she refused to come out, he fired seven shots at the front door with a semi-automatic pistol in an unsuccessful attempt to shoot out the lock on the door. He fled from the scene before the police arrived, but was arrested later that evening.[3] His subsequent arrest set in motion the unravelling of Keeler's relationship with Secretary of State for War John Profumo and Russian naval attaché Yevgeny Ivanov, with Keeler's non-appearance at his trial at the Old Bailey in March 1963 finally giving the British press the excuse it needed to publish the story.[4]
Edgecombe was acquitted of assaulting Gordon, but was convicted and sentenced to seven years for possession of a firearm with the intent to endanger life.[5] He served five years before being paroled.
On his release in 1968, Edgecombe became a jazz promoter, running a club called Edges, and worked as a film and television extra. In 1987, he made an extended appearance on an edition of the live television discussion programmeAfter Dark alongside Tony Blackburn, Peter Tatchell, Victoria Gillick and others. Edgecombe also appeared briefly in the 1989 TV documentary The Scandal Story where he described and reenacted the shooting incident outside the actual Marylebone house.
He wrote and published his version of events of the Profumo Affair in a book titled Black Scandal in 2002. He died of lung cancer and kidney cancer in London, aged 77, on 26 September 2010.[4]
Cultural references
In the 1989 film Scandal, Edgecombe was portrayed by singer Roland Gift.
^ abc"Obituary: Johnny Edgecombe fired the gunshots that precipitated the Profumo affair of the 1960s". Daily Telegraph. London. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
^"'The Flamingo Club in Wardour Street and the fight between Johnny Edgecombe and 'Lucky' Gordon', Nickel in the Machine, June 2009". Nickelinthemachine.com. 7 June 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
^. 20 August 2009. Archived from the original on 9 October 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
^ abMartin, Douglas. "Johnny Edgecombe, British Scandal Figure, Dies at 77", The New York Times, 9 October 2010. Accessed 11 October 2010.
^Olden, Mark. Obituary: Johnny Edgecombe, The Guardian, 30 September 2010
External links
Johnny Edgecombe obituary
Where Are They Now? Christine Keeler and the Profumo Affair
January 20, 2023
johnny, edgecombe, john, arthur, alexander, edgecombe, october, 1932, september, 2010, british, jazz, promoter, whose, involvement, with, christine, keeler, inadvertently, alerted, authorities, profumo, affair, bornjohn, arthur, alexander, edgecombe, 1932, oct. John Arthur Alexander Edgecombe 22 October 1932 26 September 2010 was a British jazz promoter whose involvement with Christine Keeler inadvertently alerted authorities to the Profumo affair Johnny EdgecombeBornJohn Arthur Alexander Edgecombe 1932 10 22 22 October 1932St John s Antigua and BarbudaDied 2010 09 26 26 September 2010 aged 77 London EnglandNationalityAntiguanOccupationJazz promoterKnown forProfumo affair Contents 1 Early life 2 Profumo scandal 3 Cultural references 4 Notes 5 External linksEarly life EditEdgecombe was born on 22 October 1932 in St John s Antigua and Barbuda the youngest of eight children He often accompanied his father on his schooner running petrol from Trinidad to Antigua In 1942 his father took United States citizenship and disappeared 1 The young Edgecombe worked his passage aboard a British ship carrying sugar to Liverpool From there he moved to Cardiff where he stayed for some years lodging at a mission for seamen Searching for his missing father he hid on a ship bound for Texas but on arrival was arrested and put back on board for the return trip When he docked in Britain magistrates jailed him for 28 days as a stowaway After leaving prison he made his way to London where he became involved in petty crime serving three months for an attempted jewel theft He ran a drinking and drugs den in premises rented from Peter Rachman and reportedly acted as a pimp to his girlfriend 1 Profumo scandal EditIt was in this shebeen that he first encountered Lucky Gordon who threatened to tip off the police about the drinking den Edgecombe closed it down and moved into the jazz scene driving musicians to gigs and dealing small quantities of cannabis 1 In September 1962 he met a nightclub hostess Christine Keeler and moved into her flat in Sheffield Terrace Keeler was involved with several men and it was this web of relationships and jealousy that triggered the events that led to what became known as the Profumo affair Keeler told Edgecombe that Gordon had assaulted her and held her captive after she ended their relationship Edgecombe confronted Gordon with a knife in the Flamingo Club on 27 October 1962 and Gordon required 17 stitches in the face 2 Edgecombe asked Keeler to help him find a solicitor before surrendering to the police but she refused and said that she would give evidence against him On 14 December 1962 Edgecombe took a taxi to the Marylebone home of osteopath Stephen Ward where Keeler was in hiding along with Mandy Rice Davies When she refused to come out he fired seven shots at the front door with a semi automatic pistol in an unsuccessful attempt to shoot out the lock on the door He fled from the scene before the police arrived but was arrested later that evening 3 His subsequent arrest set in motion the unravelling of Keeler s relationship with Secretary of State for War John Profumo and Russian naval attache Yevgeny Ivanov with Keeler s non appearance at his trial at the Old Bailey in March 1963 finally giving the British press the excuse it needed to publish the story 4 Edgecombe was acquitted of assaulting Gordon but was convicted and sentenced to seven years for possession of a firearm with the intent to endanger life 5 He served five years before being paroled On his release in 1968 Edgecombe became a jazz promoter running a club called Edges and worked as a film and television extra In 1987 he made an extended appearance on an edition of the live television discussion programme After Dark alongside Tony Blackburn Peter Tatchell Victoria Gillick and others Edgecombe also appeared briefly in the 1989 TV documentary The Scandal Story where he described and reenacted the shooting incident outside the actual Marylebone house He wrote and published his version of events of the Profumo Affair in a book titled Black Scandal in 2002 He died of lung cancer and kidney cancer in London aged 77 on 26 September 2010 4 Cultural references EditIn the 1989 film Scandal Edgecombe was portrayed by singer Roland Gift Edgecombe was portrayed by Wayne Robinson in Andrew Lloyd Webber s stage musical Stephen Ward the Musical which opened at the Aldwych Theatre on 19 December 2013 He was portrayed by Nathan Stewart Jarrett in the 2019 British TV drama The Trial of Christine Keeler Notes Edit a b c Obituary Johnny Edgecombe fired the gunshots that precipitated the Profumo affair of the 1960s Daily Telegraph London 4 October 2010 Retrieved 6 October 2010 The Flamingo Club in Wardour Street and the fight between Johnny Edgecombe and Lucky Gordon Nickel in the Machine June 2009 Nickelinthemachine com 7 June 2009 Retrieved 30 September 2010 The Profumo Affair a summary 20 August 2009 Archived from the original on 9 October 2010 Retrieved 7 October 2010 a b Martin Douglas Johnny Edgecombe British Scandal Figure Dies at 77 The New York Times 9 October 2010 Accessed 11 October 2010 Olden Mark Obituary Johnny Edgecombe The Guardian 30 September 2010External links EditJohnny Edgecombe obituary Where Are They Now Christine Keeler and the Profumo Affair Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Johnny Edgecombe amp oldid 1128816460, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
