Lenny McLean was born in London in 1949. He was arrested for petty
crimes while in his teens and served 18 months in prison. After his
release he worked as a professional boxer and bouncer. McLean was again
arrested in 1992 after a man he ejected from a club died of
injuries which were later determined to be caused by mishandling from the police officers who had arrested him after the ejection. After serving another 18 months for GBH he went into acting. He
appeared as bootlegger Eddie Davies in the British television series
"The Knock", and was featured in several films. He was diagnosed with
cancer shortly after his autobiography, "The Guv'nor", was published
and died four months later.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) was dedicated to Lenny McLean, who played Barry the Baptist in
the film. He died of cancer one month before the movie's debut in
England.
Lenny McLean couldn't really be classed as a professional boxer, as
although he fought for money it was in un-licenced or illegal
bareknuckle bouts. At the time of his move into acting he was
undefeated in around 3000 fights.