Maureen Flanagan (born 1941), best known by her

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

, Flanagan, was an early tabloid model. She was encouraged to take up a career in modelling by photographer

Don McCullin Sir Donald McCullin (born 9 October 1935) is a British photojournalist, particularly recognised for his war photography and images of urban strife. His career, which began in 1959, has specialised in examining the underside of society, and hi ...

, who took her first modelling shots. She had an acting career in the late 1960s and early 1970s, mainly in bit parts on ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody ...

'', ''

Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became known ...

'', and several British sex comedies. She also played the lead role in the Danish film ''The Loves of Cynthia'' (a.k.a. ''Cynthia’s Sister'') in 1971. After her acting career ended, Flanagan remained in the public eye, owing to her association with the

Kray Twins Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...

and her efforts to secure their release. Her involvement with the Kray family went back to her time as hairdresser for the twins' mother Violet. She also wrote the book ''Intimate Secrets of an Escort Girl'' (Everest books, 1974). The book was serialized in the magazine ''

Tit-Bits ''Tit-Bits from all the interesting Books and Newspapers of the World'', more commonly known as ''Tit-Bits'', was a British weekly magazine founded by George Newnes, a founding figure in popular journalism, on 22 October 1881. History In 1886 ...

'', accompanied by a blurb which said “Britain’s most photographed model lays bare the facts of her working life in the sauciest story of the year.” Her memoir, ''One of the Family'', was published in 2015. In 1997, Flanagan made a one-off return to nude modeling as a mature woman, posing fully nude in the magazine ''

Men's World ''Men's World'' was a British soft-core pornographic magazine founded in 1988. The final issue was Volume 24 issue 13, in December 2012. It was released every four weeks and its content mostly consisted of nude pictorials of well-known erotic ...

''. In the accompanying interview she said her second husband had recently died after a heart transplant operation, and that she was busy raising a 16-year-old son.

Acting roles

* ''

'' (TV, 1969, 1970) * ''

Groupie Girl ''Groupie Girl'' is a 1970 British drama film about the rock music scene, directed by Derek Ford and starring Esme Johns, Donald Sumpter and the band Opal Butterfly. The film was written by Ford and former groupie Suzanne Mercer. Ford later c ...

'' (1970) * ''The Love Pill'' (1971) * ''The Loves of Cynthia'' (1971) * ''The Love Box'' (1972) * ''

Dracula AD 1972 ''Dracula A.D. 1972'' is a 1972 British horror film, directed by Alan Gibson and produced by Hammer Film Productions. It was written by Don Houghton and stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham. Unlike earlier films in Hamme ...

'' (1972) * ''

'' (TV, 1972) * ''Zodiac'' (TV, 1974) * ''On the Game ''(1974)

Magazine covers

* ''King'' (1972) Issue 2 * ''Rex'' (1971) Vol.1 Issue. 29 “Sex and the Single Actress” * ''Titbits'' (October 1974) Issue. 4625 "Flanagan's Secrets of an Escort Girl"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan 1941 births Living people Page 3 girls