Rachman Tenements
Peter Rachman, Mandy’s lover, escaped any scandal. He was overweight, smoked, drank and womanised and died in 1962 at the age of 43, before the scandal broke.
Mandy and Christine
During his life he had been depicted in the media as a jovial wealthy businessman and nightclub entrepreneur who enjoyed the good things in life, like several Rolls Royces. He might have anticipated the philosophy of Northern Irish soccer player George Best who before dying at the age of 59 famously said, referencing WC Fields: “I spent a lot of money of booze, birds, and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.”
As a result of the Profumo scandal a spotlight was focussed on the way Rachman had become so wealthy, so quickly. It transpired that he had perfected means of getting rid of sitting tenants in larger inner city dwellings that he then split into tiny rooms and let them at exorbitant rent to migrants, who couldn't get accommodation elsewhere due to racial prejudice. While still alive he had actually been applauded in the media for providing much needed accommodation to the needy.
Some London hotels seem to follow the same principles even today.
Thus, unbeknown to him, Peter Rachman's name has posthumously entered the English language as a noun/adjective to describe exploitative slum landlords.
| Rachmanism
/'rakmuhnizuhm/. Macquarie Dictionary
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In addition to slum tenements, Rachman owned nightclubs and less openly, brothels. In this he had a: 'You scratch my back - I'll scratch yours' arrangement with the, now even more infamous, Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie. At the time the Krays were popular celebrity night club owners and entertainment entrepreneurs who mixed with politicians, royals and prominent entertainers including: Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland.
In 1968 the Krays would be arrested and, at their subsequent trial, would be revealed to be particularly vicious crime bosses and protection racketeers. They, or characters based on them, now appear frequently in British crime dramas set during the period. And of course they're the pair who appear in a famous Monty Python skit as Doug and Dinsdale Piranha: "I heard that he nailed your wife's head to a coffee table? - Yeah, well, he did do that - he was a cruel man, but fair."