Errol Flynn
Encyclopedia
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler
roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.
, was a lecturer (1909) and later professor (1911) of biology at the University of Tasmania
(UTAS). Flynn was born at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Battery Point. His mother was born Lily Mary Young, but dropped the first names Lily Mary shortly after she was married and changed her name to Marelle. Flynn described his mother's family as "seafaring folk" and this appears to be where his life-long interest in boats and the sea originated. Despite Flynn's claims, the evidence indicates that he was not descended from any of the Bounty mutineers
. Married at St John's Church of England, Balmain North
, Sydney, on 23 January 1909, both of his parents were native-born Australians of Irish, English and Scottish descent, with convict links to Tasmania long before Flynn's birth. Flynn, living at Mclean Avenue Chatswood, Sydney in 1926, attended Sydney Church of England Grammar School
(Shore School) where he was the classmate of future Australian Prime Minister
, John Gorton
. He was expelled for fighting and, allegedly, having sex with a school laundress. He was also expelled from several other schools he had attended in Tasmania. At the age of 20 he moved to New Guinea
where he bought a tobacco plantation, a business which failed. A copper mining venture in the hills near the Laloki Valley, behind the present national capital, Port Moresby
, also failed.
In the early 1930s, Flynn left for the United Kingdom and, in 1933, snagged an acting job with the Northampton repertory
company at the town's Royal Theatre, where he worked for seven months. He also performed at the 1934 Malvern
Festival and in Glasgow
and London's West End.
In 1933, he starred in the Australian film In the Wake of the Bounty
, directed by Charles Chauvel, and in 1934 appeared in Murder at Monte Carlo
, produced at the Warner Bros.
Teddington Studios
, UK. This latter film is now considered a lost film
. During the filming of Murder at Monte Carlo, Flynn was discovered by a Warner Brothers executive, signed to a contract and immigrated to America
as a contract actor. He became a naturalised citizen of the United States in 1942, eight months after America entered World War II.
Flynn was an overnight sensation in his first starring role, Captain Blood (1935). Quickly typecast as a swashbuckler, he followed it with The Charge of the Light Brigade
(1936). After his appearance as Miles Hendon in The Prince and the Pauper
(1937), he was cast in his most celebrated role as Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), his first film in Technicolor
. He went on to appear in The Dawn Patrol
(1938) with his close friend David Niven
, Dodge City (1939), The Sea Hawk
(1940) and Adventures of Don Juan
(1948).
Working throughout his career with a cross section of Hollywood's best fight arrangers, Flynn became noted for his fast-paced sword fights as seen in The Adventures of Robin Hood
, The Sea Hawk
and Captain Blood.
Flynn co-starred with Olivia de Havilland
in eight films: Captain Blood (1935), The Charge of the Light Brigade
(1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood
(1938), Four's a Crowd
(1938), Dodge City
(1939), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
(1939), Santa Fe Trail
(1940), and They Died with Their Boots On
(1941)
While Flynn acknowledged his attraction to de Havilland, film historian Rudy Behlmer
's assertions that they were romantically involved during the filming of Robin Hood (see the Special Edition of Robin Hood on DVD, 2003) have been disputed by de Havilland. In an interview for Turner Classic Movies
, she said that their relationship was platonic, mostly because Flynn was already married to Lili Damita
.
During the shooting of The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
(1939), Flynn and co-star Bette Davis
quarrelled off-screen, causing Davis to allegedly strike him harder than necessary while filming a scene. Although their relationship was always strained, Warner Bros.
co-starred them twice. Their off-screen relationship was later resolved. A contract was even drawn up to lend them out for the roles of Rhett Butler
and Scarlett O'Hara
in Gone with the Wind
, but that prospect failed to materialise.
Flynn was a member of the Hollywood Cricket Club
with David Niven
. His suave, debonair, and devil-may-care attitude toward both ladies and life has been immortalised in the English language by author Benjamin S. Johnson as, "Errolesque," in his treatise on the subject, An Errolesque Philosophy on Life.
When Flynn became a naturalised American citizen on 15 August 1942, he also became eligible for the military draft, as the United States had entered World War II eight months earlier. Grateful to the country that had given him fame and wealth, Flynn attempted to join every branch of the armed services. But Flynn had several health problems. His heart was enlarged, with a murmur, and he'd already suffered at least one heart attack. That was not all: he had recurrent malaria
(contracted in New Guinea
), chronic back pain (for which he self-medicated with morphine and later, with heroin), lingering chronic tuberculosis, and numerous venereal diseases. Flynn, famous for his athletic roles and promoted as a paragon of physical beauty, was classified 4-F – unqualified for military service for not meeting the physical fitness standards.
This created a public image problem for both Flynn and Warner Brothers. Flynn was often criticised for his failure to enlist while continuing to play war heroes in films. The studios' failure to counter the criticism was due to a desire to hide the state of Flynn's health.
By the 1950s, Flynn had become a parody of himself. Heavy alcohol and drug abuse left him prematurely aged and bloated, but he won acclaim as a drunken ne'er-do-well in The Sun Also Rises
(1957), and as his idol John Barrymore
in Too Much, Too Soon
(1958).
As a curious postscript to his life of adventure, Flynn went to Cuba in late 1958 to meet with the rebel leader Fidel Castro
. Flynn was a great supporter of Castro and narrated a short movie titled Cuban Story:The Truth About Fidel Castro Revolution, one of his last works as an actor. His autobiography, My Wicked, Wicked Ways, was published shortly after his death and contains humorous anecdotes about Hollywood. According to one literary critic, the book "remains one of the most compelling and appalling autobiographies written by a Hollywood star, or anyone else for that matter". Flynn wanted to call the book In Like Me, but the publisher refused. In 1984, CBS
produced a television film based on Flynn's autobiography, starring Duncan Regehr
as Flynn.
Flynn starred in a 1956 anthology series The Errol Flynn Theatre that was filmed in England, where he presented the episodes and sometimes appeared in them. About this time he also guest starred on NBC
's comedy/variety show, The Martha Raye Show
.
Flynn and Beverly Aadland
met with Stanley Kubrick
to discuss appearing together in Lolita
.
Flynn's adventure novel Showdown, was published in 1946. His first book, Beam Ends, an autobiographical account of his sailing trips around Australia, had been published in 1937.
, alleging that the event occurred at the Belair home of Flynn's friend Frederick McEvoy
. A group was organised to support Flynn, named the American Boys' Club for the Defense of Errol Flynn (ABCDEF); its members included William F. Buckley, Jr.
The trial took place in January and February 1943, and Flynn was cleared of the charges. The incident served to increase his reputation as a ladies' man
, which led to the popular phrase "in like Flynn
".
Flynn was married three times: to actress Lili Damita
from 1935 until 1942 (one son, Sean Flynn
, born 1941, reported missing in Cambodia
in 1970 and presumed dead); to Nora Eddington
from 1943 until 1949 (two daughters, Deirdre born 1945 and Rory born 1947); and to actress Patrice Wymore
from 1950 until his death (one daughter, Arnella Roma, 1953–98). In Hollywood, he tended to refer to himself as Irish rather than Australian (his father Theodore Thomson Flynn
had been a biologist and a professor at the Queen's University of Belfast
in Northern Ireland
during the latter part of his career). Flynn lived with Wymore in Port Antonio
, Jamaica in the 1950s. He was largely responsible for developing tourism to this area, and for a while owned the Titchfield Hotel, which was decorated by the artist Olga Lehmann
. He also popularised trips down rivers on bamboo rafts.
Flynn was a long-time friend of the painter Boris Smirnoff, who painted his portrait several times, as well as those of Lili Damita, Patrice Wymore and celebrity friends such as Edward G. Robinson
, Jean Harlow
, Norma Shearer
and Barbara Stanwyck
.
In the late 1950s, Flynn met and courted the 15-year-old Beverly Aadland
at the Hollywood Professional School
, casting her in his final film, Cuban Rebel Girls
(1959). According to Aadland, he planned to marry her and move to their new house in Jamaica, but during a trip together to Vancouver, British Columbia
, he died of a heart attack at the age of 50.
His only son, Sean
, an actor and later a noted war correspondent, disappeared in Cambodia in 1970 during the Vietnam War
while working as a freelance photojournalist for Time magazine. Flynn was presumed dead in 1971, probably murdered by the communist Khmer Rouge
. In 1984, he was officially declared dead in a granted petition of declaration sought by his mother, Lili Damita. Sean's life was recounted in Inherited Risk by Jeffrey Meyers (Simon & Schuster), and he is also mentioned on page 194 in the Colleagues section of Dispatches by Michael Herr
.
Flynn's daughter Rory has one son, Sean Rio Flynn, named after her half-brother. He is an actor. Rory Flynn has written a book about her father entitled The Baron of Mulholland: A Daughter Remembers Errol Flynn.
to millionaire George Caldough. On 14 October, Caldough was driving Flynn to the airport when Flynn felt ill. He was taken to the apartment of Caldough's friend, Dr. Grant Gould, uncle of pianist Glenn Gould
. A party ensued, with Flynn regaling guests with stories and impressions. Feeling ill again, he announced "I shall return" and retired to a bedroom to rest. A half hour later, Aadland checked in on him and discovered him unconscious. Flynn had suffered a heart attack. According to the Vancouver Sun (16 December 2006), "When Errol Flynn came to town in 1959 for a week-long binge that ended with him dying in a West End apartment, his local friends propped him up at the Hotel Georgia
lounge so that everyone would see him." The story is a myth; following Flynn's death, his body was turned over to a coroner (George Brayshaw), who performed an autopsy, and released his body to his next of kin.
Errol Flynn is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Glendale
, California. Both of his parents survived him.
, a book alleging Flynn was involved in a sexual relationship with her 15-year-old daughter, actress Beverly
. It was later made into a play starring Tracey Ullman
.
In 1980, author Charles Higham
published a controversial biography, Errol Flynn: The Untold Story, in which he alleged that Flynn was a fascist sympathiser who spied for the Nazis before and during World War II. The book also alleged he was bisexual. In 2000, Higham wrote an article that also claimed that Flynn was previously accused of sympathising with Adolf Hitler
based on his association with Dr. Hermann Erben
, an Austrian who served in the German military intelligence, and that declassified files held by the CIA show that, in an intercepted letter in September 1933, Flynn wrote to Erben: "A slimy Jew is trying to cheat me… I do wish we could bring Hitler over here to teach these Isaacs a thing or two. The bastards have absolutely no business probity or honour whatsoever." Unreleased MI5 files held by the British Home Office were claimed in 2000 to demonstrate Flynn worked for the Allies during the war. That Flynn was bisexual was also claimed by David Bret
in Errol Flynn: Satan's Angel, although Bret denounced the Nazi claims.
Subsequent biographies – notably Tony Thomas' Errol Flynn: The Spy Who Never Was (Citadel, 1990) and Buster Wiles' My Days With Errol Flynn: The Autobiography of a Stuntman (Roundtable, 1988) – have rejected Higham's claims as pure fabrication. Flynn's political leanings, say these biographies, appear to have been leftist: he was a supporter of the Spanish Republic
in the Spanish Civil War
and of the Cuban Revolution
, even narrating a documentary titled Cuban Story shortly before his death. Flynn also wrote, financed and starred in the film Cuban Rebel Girls
in which his character helps Castro's revolution. Flynn defended his visit to Cuba
in an appearance on a Canadian Broadcasting Company television game show Front Page Challenge
early in 1959. According to his autobiography, he considered Fidel Castro
a close personal friend and drinking partner.
Swashbuckler
Swashbuckler or swasher is a term that emerged in the 16th century and has been used for rough, noisy and boastful swordsmen ever since. A possible explanation for this term is that it derives from a fighting style using a side-sword with a buckler in the off-hand, which was applied with much...
roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.
Early life
Errol Flynn was born in Hobart, Tasmania, where his father, Theodore Thomson FlynnTheodore Thomson Flynn
Theodore Thomson Flynn was an Australian biologist and a professor in both Tasmania and Ireland.He was born in Coraki, New South Wales, Australia and died in Liss, Hampshire, England...
, was a lecturer (1909) and later professor (1911) of biology at the University of Tasmania
University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania is a medium-sized public Australian university based in Tasmania, Australia. Officially founded on 1 January 1890, it was the fourth university to be established in nineteenth-century Australia...
(UTAS). Flynn was born at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Battery Point. His mother was born Lily Mary Young, but dropped the first names Lily Mary shortly after she was married and changed her name to Marelle. Flynn described his mother's family as "seafaring folk" and this appears to be where his life-long interest in boats and the sea originated. Despite Flynn's claims, the evidence indicates that he was not descended from any of the Bounty mutineers
Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny that occurred aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs, many of which take considerable liberties with the facts. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the...
. Married at St John's Church of England, Balmain North
Balmain, New South Wales
Balmain is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balmain is located slightly west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt....
, Sydney, on 23 January 1909, both of his parents were native-born Australians of Irish, English and Scottish descent, with convict links to Tasmania long before Flynn's birth. Flynn, living at Mclean Avenue Chatswood, Sydney in 1926, attended Sydney Church of England Grammar School
Sydney Church of England Grammar School
Sydney Church of England Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
(Shore School) where he was the classmate of future Australian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
. He was expelled for fighting and, allegedly, having sex with a school laundress. He was also expelled from several other schools he had attended in Tasmania. At the age of 20 he moved to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
where he bought a tobacco plantation, a business which failed. A copper mining venture in the hills near the Laloki Valley, behind the present national capital, Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
, also failed.
In the early 1930s, Flynn left for the United Kingdom and, in 1933, snagged an acting job with the Northampton repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
company at the town's Royal Theatre, where he worked for seven months. He also performed at the 1934 Malvern
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
Festival and in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and London's West End.
In 1933, he starred in the Australian film In the Wake of the Bounty
In the Wake of the Bounty
In the Wake of the Bounty was an Australian film exploring the story of the Bounty. It preceded MGM's more famous Mutiny on the Bounty by two years and featured the screen debut of Errol Flynn, playing Fletcher Christian. Mayne Lynton portrayed Captain Bligh and Charles Chauvel directed the film. ...
, directed by Charles Chauvel, and in 1934 appeared in Murder at Monte Carlo
Murder at Monte Carlo
Murder at Monte Carlo is a 1934 crime film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Errol Flynn, Eve Gray, Paul Graetz and Molly Lamont. The film was Flynn's debut film in the UK...
, produced at the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Teddington Studios
Teddington Studios
Teddington Studios is a large British television studio complex located in Teddington, South-West London, providing studio facilities for programmes airing on BBC television, ITV, and Channel 4 along with others...
, UK. This latter film is now considered a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
. During the filming of Murder at Monte Carlo, Flynn was discovered by a Warner Brothers executive, signed to a contract and immigrated to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a contract actor. He became a naturalised citizen of the United States in 1942, eight months after America entered World War II.
Acting career
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936 film)
The Charge of the Light Brigade is a 1936 historical film made by Warner Bros. It was directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Samuel Bischoff, with Hal B. Wallis as executive producer, from a screenplay by Michael Jacoby and Rowland Leigh, from a story by Michael Jacoby based on the poem The...
(1936). After his appearance as Miles Hendon in The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper (1937 film)
The Prince and the Pauper is a 1937 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Mark Twain. It starred Errol Flynn, twins Billy and Bobby Mauch in the title roles, and Claude Rains....
(1937), he was cast in his most celebrated role as Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), his first film in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
. He went on to appear in The Dawn Patrol
The Dawn Patrol (1938 film)
The Dawn Patrol is a 1938 American war film, a remake of the pre-Code 1930 film of the same name. Both were based on the short story "The Flight Commander" by John Monk Saunders, an American writer said to have been haunted by his inability to get into combat as a flyer with the U.S...
(1938) with his close friend David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
, Dodge City (1939), The Sea Hawk
The Sea Hawk (1940 film)
The Sea Hawk is a 1940 American Warner Bros. feature film starring Errol Flynn as an English privateer who defends his nation's interests on the eve of the Spanish Armada. The film was the tenth collaboration between Flynn and director Michael Curtiz. The film's screenplay by Howard Koch and Seton I...
(1940) and Adventures of Don Juan
Adventures of Don Juan
Adventures of Don Juan, known in the United Kingdom as The New Adventures of Don Juan, is a 1948 adventure Technicolor romance film made by Warner Bros...
(1948).
Working throughout his career with a cross section of Hollywood's best fight arrangers, Flynn became noted for his fast-paced sword fights as seen in The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)
The Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1938 American swashbuckler film directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley. Filmed in Technicolor, the picture stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, and Claude Rains.-Plot:...
, The Sea Hawk
The Sea Hawk (1940 film)
The Sea Hawk is a 1940 American Warner Bros. feature film starring Errol Flynn as an English privateer who defends his nation's interests on the eve of the Spanish Armada. The film was the tenth collaboration between Flynn and director Michael Curtiz. The film's screenplay by Howard Koch and Seton I...
and Captain Blood.
Flynn co-starred with Olivia de Havilland
Olivia de Havilland
Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
in eight films: Captain Blood (1935), The Charge of the Light Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936 film)
The Charge of the Light Brigade is a 1936 historical film made by Warner Bros. It was directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Samuel Bischoff, with Hal B. Wallis as executive producer, from a screenplay by Michael Jacoby and Rowland Leigh, from a story by Michael Jacoby based on the poem The...
(1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)
The Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1938 American swashbuckler film directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley. Filmed in Technicolor, the picture stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, and Claude Rains.-Plot:...
(1938), Four's a Crowd
Four's a Crowd
Four's a Crowd is a romantic comedy directed by Michael Curtiz and released by Warner Brothers.-Cast:* Errol Flynn .... Robert Kensington 'Bob' Lansford* Olivia de Havilland.... Lorri Dillingwell* Rosalind Russell .... Jean Christy...
(1938), Dodge City
Dodge City (1939 film)
Dodge City is a 1939 American Western film starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Bruce Cabot. Directed by Hungarian-turned-Hollywood filmmaker Michael Curtiz and based on a story by Robert Buckner, it was filmed in early Technicolor...
(1939), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex is a 1939 historical romantic drama film. It is based on the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I, portrayed by Bette Davis, and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, played by Errol Flynn...
(1939), Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe Trail (film)
Santa Fe Trail is a 1940 western film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. The film was one of the top-grossing films of the year, being the seventh Flynn-de Havilland collaboration. The film also has nothing to do with its namesake, the famed Santa Fe Trail...
(1940), and They Died with Their Boots On
They Died with Their Boots On
They Died with Their Boots On is a 1941 western film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Despite being rife with historical inaccuracies, the film was one of the top-grossing films of the year, being the last of eight Flynn–de Havilland collaborations.Like...
(1941)
While Flynn acknowledged his attraction to de Havilland, film historian Rudy Behlmer
Rudy Behlmer
Rudy Behlmer is an American film historian and writer. Born and raised in San Francisco, California, he is an expert in the history and evolution of the motion picture industry....
's assertions that they were romantically involved during the filming of Robin Hood (see the Special Edition of Robin Hood on DVD, 2003) have been disputed by de Havilland. In an interview for Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
, she said that their relationship was platonic, mostly because Flynn was already married to Lili Damita
Lili Damita
Lili Damita was a French actress who appeared in 33 movies between 1922 and 1937.-Early life and education:...
.
During the shooting of The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex is a 1939 historical romantic drama film. It is based on the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I, portrayed by Bette Davis, and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, played by Errol Flynn...
(1939), Flynn and co-star Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
quarrelled off-screen, causing Davis to allegedly strike him harder than necessary while filming a scene. Although their relationship was always strained, Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
co-starred them twice. Their off-screen relationship was later resolved. A contract was even drawn up to lend them out for the roles of Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.-Role:In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, the home of John Wilkes and his son Ashley and daughters Honey and India Wilkes...
and Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O' Hara is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name...
in Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
, but that prospect failed to materialise.
Flynn was a member of the Hollywood Cricket Club
Hollywood Cricket Club
The Hollywood Cricket Club is an amateur cricket club in Los Angeles, California. It is a member of the Southern California Cricket Association. The club was formed in 1932 by British actor and cricketer Aubrey Smith....
with David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
. His suave, debonair, and devil-may-care attitude toward both ladies and life has been immortalised in the English language by author Benjamin S. Johnson as, "Errolesque," in his treatise on the subject, An Errolesque Philosophy on Life.
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
(contracted in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
), chronic back pain (for which he self-medicated with morphine and later, with heroin), lingering chronic tuberculosis, and numerous venereal diseases. Flynn, famous for his athletic roles and promoted as a paragon of physical beauty, was classified 4-F – unqualified for military service for not meeting the physical fitness standards.
This created a public image problem for both Flynn and Warner Brothers. Flynn was often criticised for his failure to enlist while continuing to play war heroes in films. The studios' failure to counter the criticism was due to a desire to hide the state of Flynn's health.
By the 1950s, Flynn had become a parody of himself. Heavy alcohol and drug abuse left him prematurely aged and bloated, but he won acclaim as a drunken ne'er-do-well in The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises (1957 film)
The Sun Also Rises is a 1957 film adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway novel of the same name, with the screenplay written by Peter Viertel. It starred Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer and Errol Flynn. Much of it was filmed on location in France and Spain in Cinemascope and color by Deluxe...
(1957), and as his idol John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
in Too Much, Too Soon
Too Much, Too Soon
Too Much, Too Soon is a 1958 biographical film made by Warner Bros.. It was directed by Art Napoleon and produced by Henry Blanke from a screenplay by Art Napoleon and Jo Napoleon, based on the autobiography by Diana Barrymore and Gerold Frank. The music score was by Ernest Gold and the...
(1958).
As a curious postscript to his life of adventure, Flynn went to Cuba in late 1958 to meet with the rebel leader Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
. Flynn was a great supporter of Castro and narrated a short movie titled Cuban Story:The Truth About Fidel Castro Revolution, one of his last works as an actor. His autobiography, My Wicked, Wicked Ways, was published shortly after his death and contains humorous anecdotes about Hollywood. According to one literary critic, the book "remains one of the most compelling and appalling autobiographies written by a Hollywood star, or anyone else for that matter". Flynn wanted to call the book In Like Me, but the publisher refused. In 1984, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
produced a television film based on Flynn's autobiography, starring Duncan Regehr
Duncan Regehr
Duncan Peter Regehr is a Canadian writer, multi-media artist, and film and television actor. He has also been a figure skater, an Olympic boxing contender, and a classically trained Shakespearean stage actor in his native Canada, before heading to Hollywood in 1980...
as Flynn.
Flynn starred in a 1956 anthology series The Errol Flynn Theatre that was filmed in England, where he presented the episodes and sometimes appeared in them. About this time he also guest starred on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's comedy/variety show, The Martha Raye Show
The Martha Raye Show
The Martha Raye Show is an hour-long comedy/variety show which aired live on NBC from January 23, 1954, to May 29, 1956. The series was hosted by the late Martha Raye, a Montana native, who often called herself "The Big Mouth." Her boyfriend on the program and a foil for her humor was portrayed by...
.
Flynn and Beverly Aadland
Beverly Aadland
Beverly Elaine Aadland was an American film actress.She appeared in films including South Pacific. As a teenager, she co-starred Errol Flynn's Cuban Rebel Girls and had been considered for the role of Lolita, opposite Flynn in a planned production of Lolita, although it was James Mason who was...
met with Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
to discuss appearing together in Lolita
Lolita (1962 film)
Lolita is a 1962 comedy-drama film by Stanley Kubrick based on the classic novel of the same title by Vladimir Nabokov. The film stars James Mason as Humbert Humbert, Sue Lyon as Dolores Haze and Shelley Winters as Charlotte Haze with Peter Sellers as Clare Quilty.Due to the MPAA's restrictions at...
.
Flynn's adventure novel Showdown, was published in 1946. His first book, Beam Ends, an autobiographical account of his sailing trips around Australia, had been published in 1937.
Lifestyle
Flynn had a reputation for womanising, consumption of alcohol and brawling. His freewheeling, hedonistic lifestyle caught up with him in 1942 when two under-age girls, Betty Hansen and Peggy Satterlee, accused him of statutory rapeStatutory rape
The phrase statutory rape is a term used in some legal jurisdictions to describe sexual activities where one participant is below the age required to legally consent to the behavior...
, alleging that the event occurred at the Belair home of Flynn's friend Frederick McEvoy
Frederick McEvoy
Frederick Joseph McEvoy was an Australian/British multi-discipline sportsman and socialite. He had most sporting success as a bobsledder in the late 1930s, winning several medals including three golds at the FIBT World Championships. He married several wealthy heiresses and was a close friend of...
. A group was organised to support Flynn, named the American Boys' Club for the Defense of Errol Flynn (ABCDEF); its members included William F. Buckley, Jr.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
William Frank Buckley, Jr. was an American conservative author and commentator. He founded the political magazine National Review in 1955, hosted 1,429 episodes of the television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. His writing was noted for...
The trial took place in January and February 1943, and Flynn was cleared of the charges. The incident served to increase his reputation as a ladies' man
Seduction
In social science, seduction is the process of deliberately enticing a person to engage. The word seduction stems from Latin and means literally "to lead astray". As a result, the term may have a positive or negative connotation...
, which led to the popular phrase "in like Flynn
In Like Flynn
"In like Flynn" is a slang phrase meaning "having completed a goal or gained access as desired". In addition to its general use, the phrase is sometimes used to describe success in sexual seduction, and its folk etymology often asserts the phrase has sexual origins.-Origins:The term is often...
".
Marriages and family
Lili Damita
Lili Damita was a French actress who appeared in 33 movies between 1922 and 1937.-Early life and education:...
from 1935 until 1942 (one son, Sean Flynn
Sean Flynn
Sean Leslie Flynn was an American actor and freelance photojournalist best known for his coverage of the Vietnam War. He started a news service in Saigon with John Steinbeck IV, son of the American author.Flynn was the only child of the marriage of Errol Flynn and Lili Damita...
, born 1941, reported missing in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
in 1970 and presumed dead); to Nora Eddington
Nora Eddington
Nora Eddington is best known as the second wife of actor Errol Flynn. She was also featured as an actress in several minor film roles.-Background & early life:...
from 1943 until 1949 (two daughters, Deirdre born 1945 and Rory born 1947); and to actress Patrice Wymore
Patrice Wymore
Patrice Wymore is an American television, film, and stage actress of the 1950s and 1960s.-Early life and stage career:...
from 1950 until his death (one daughter, Arnella Roma, 1953–98). In Hollywood, he tended to refer to himself as Irish rather than Australian (his father Theodore Thomson Flynn
Theodore Thomson Flynn
Theodore Thomson Flynn was an Australian biologist and a professor in both Tasmania and Ireland.He was born in Coraki, New South Wales, Australia and died in Liss, Hampshire, England...
had been a biologist and a professor at the Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University Belfast is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation QUB...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
during the latter part of his career). Flynn lived with Wymore in Port Antonio
Port Antonio
Port Antonio is the capital of the parish of Portland on the northeastern coast of Jamaica, about 60 miles from Kingston. It had a population of 12,285 in 1982 and 13,246 in 1991...
, Jamaica in the 1950s. He was largely responsible for developing tourism to this area, and for a while owned the Titchfield Hotel, which was decorated by the artist Olga Lehmann
Olga Lehmann
Olga Lehmann was a visual artist.Born in Catemu, Chile, to Mary Grisel Lehmann and mining engineer Andrew William Lehmann, Olga Lehmann had one sister, Monica , and one brother, George...
. He also popularised trips down rivers on bamboo rafts.
Flynn was a long-time friend of the painter Boris Smirnoff, who painted his portrait several times, as well as those of Lili Damita, Patrice Wymore and celebrity friends such as Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
, Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
, Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
and Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
.
In the late 1950s, Flynn met and courted the 15-year-old Beverly Aadland
Beverly Aadland
Beverly Elaine Aadland was an American film actress.She appeared in films including South Pacific. As a teenager, she co-starred Errol Flynn's Cuban Rebel Girls and had been considered for the role of Lolita, opposite Flynn in a planned production of Lolita, although it was James Mason who was...
at the Hollywood Professional School
Hollywood Professional School
Hollywood Professional School was a private school in Hollywood, California, United States, for children working in show business, operating mornings only so that the children could work in the afternoon...
, casting her in his final film, Cuban Rebel Girls
Cuban Rebel Girls
Cuban Rebel Girls is a 1959 film and the last film for Errol Flynn. It co-starred Beverly Aadland, then Flynn’s girlfriend, and was produced and directed by Barry Mahon....
(1959). According to Aadland, he planned to marry her and move to their new house in Jamaica, but during a trip together to Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, he died of a heart attack at the age of 50.
His only son, Sean
Sean Flynn
Sean Leslie Flynn was an American actor and freelance photojournalist best known for his coverage of the Vietnam War. He started a news service in Saigon with John Steinbeck IV, son of the American author.Flynn was the only child of the marriage of Errol Flynn and Lili Damita...
, an actor and later a noted war correspondent, disappeared in Cambodia in 1970 during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
while working as a freelance photojournalist for Time magazine. Flynn was presumed dead in 1971, probably murdered by the communist Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
. In 1984, he was officially declared dead in a granted petition of declaration sought by his mother, Lili Damita. Sean's life was recounted in Inherited Risk by Jeffrey Meyers (Simon & Schuster), and he is also mentioned on page 194 in the Colleagues section of Dispatches by Michael Herr
Michael Herr
Michael Herr is a writer and former war correspondent, best known as the author of Dispatches , a memoir of his time as a correspondent for Esquire magazine during the Vietnam War...
.
Flynn's daughter Rory has one son, Sean Rio Flynn, named after her half-brother. He is an actor. Rory Flynn has written a book about her father entitled The Baron of Mulholland: A Daughter Remembers Errol Flynn.
Death
Flynn flew with Aadland to Vancouver on 9 October 1959, to lease his yacht ZacaUSS Zaca (IX-73)
The second USS Zaca was a wooden-hulled, schooner-rigged yacht with an auxiliary engine. She was designed by Garland Rotch and completed in 1930 at Sausalito, California by Nunes Brothers....
to millionaire George Caldough. On 14 October, Caldough was driving Flynn to the airport when Flynn felt ill. He was taken to the apartment of Caldough's friend, Dr. Grant Gould, uncle of pianist Glenn Gould
Glenn Gould
Glenn Herbert Gould was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach...
. A party ensued, with Flynn regaling guests with stories and impressions. Feeling ill again, he announced "I shall return" and retired to a bedroom to rest. A half hour later, Aadland checked in on him and discovered him unconscious. Flynn had suffered a heart attack. According to the Vancouver Sun (16 December 2006), "When Errol Flynn came to town in 1959 for a week-long binge that ended with him dying in a West End apartment, his local friends propped him up at the Hotel Georgia
Hotel Georgia (Vancouver)
Hotel Georgia is a historic hotel located at 801 West Georgia street in Downtown Vancouver. It was opened on May 7, 1927, as a 12 story building. The architects were Robert T. Garrow and John Graham, Sr....
lounge so that everyone would see him." The story is a myth; following Flynn's death, his body was turned over to a coroner (George Brayshaw), who performed an autopsy, and released his body to his next of kin.
Errol Flynn is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Glendale
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, California. Both of his parents survived him.
Posthumous allegations
In 1961, Florence Aadland co-authored with Tedd Thomey The Big LoveThe Big Love
The Big Love, is a non-fiction scandalous biographical account of an alleged love affair between actor Errol Flynn and then 15-year-old actress Beverly Aadland, as told by her mother, Florence Aadland....
, a book alleging Flynn was involved in a sexual relationship with her 15-year-old daughter, actress Beverly
Beverly Aadland
Beverly Elaine Aadland was an American film actress.She appeared in films including South Pacific. As a teenager, she co-starred Errol Flynn's Cuban Rebel Girls and had been considered for the role of Lolita, opposite Flynn in a planned production of Lolita, although it was James Mason who was...
. It was later made into a play starring Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman is a British stage and television actress, comedienne, singer, dancer, screenwriter and author ....
.
In 1980, author Charles Higham
Charles Higham (biographer)
Charles Higham is an author, editor and poet. Higham is a recipient of the Prix des Créateurs of the Académie Française and the Poetry Society of London Prize.-Biography:...
published a controversial biography, Errol Flynn: The Untold Story, in which he alleged that Flynn was a fascist sympathiser who spied for the Nazis before and during World War II. The book also alleged he was bisexual. In 2000, Higham wrote an article that also claimed that Flynn was previously accused of sympathising with Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
based on his association with Dr. Hermann Erben
Hermann Erben
Hermann Erben was an Austrian physician who served in the German military intelligence, often assuming the title "Doctor". At one time, the American security service regarded him as one of the three most dangerous operatives in Mexico.-References:* Rudolf Stoiber, 'Der Spion der Hitler sein wollte...
, an Austrian who served in the German military intelligence, and that declassified files held by the CIA show that, in an intercepted letter in September 1933, Flynn wrote to Erben: "A slimy Jew is trying to cheat me… I do wish we could bring Hitler over here to teach these Isaacs a thing or two. The bastards have absolutely no business probity or honour whatsoever." Unreleased MI5 files held by the British Home Office were claimed in 2000 to demonstrate Flynn worked for the Allies during the war. That Flynn was bisexual was also claimed by David Bret
David Bret
David Bret is a French-born British author of showbiz biographies. He chiefly writes on the private life of movie stars and singers in a somewhat sensationalist style.-Life:...
in Errol Flynn: Satan's Angel, although Bret denounced the Nazi claims.
Subsequent biographies – notably Tony Thomas' Errol Flynn: The Spy Who Never Was (Citadel, 1990) and Buster Wiles' My Days With Errol Flynn: The Autobiography of a Stuntman (Roundtable, 1988) – have rejected Higham's claims as pure fabrication. Flynn's political leanings, say these biographies, appear to have been leftist: he was a supporter of the Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
and of the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
, even narrating a documentary titled Cuban Story shortly before his death. Flynn also wrote, financed and starred in the film Cuban Rebel Girls
Cuban Rebel Girls
Cuban Rebel Girls is a 1959 film and the last film for Errol Flynn. It co-starred Beverly Aadland, then Flynn’s girlfriend, and was produced and directed by Barry Mahon....
in which his character helps Castro's revolution. Flynn defended his visit to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
in an appearance on a Canadian Broadcasting Company television game show Front Page Challenge
Front Page Challenge
Front Page Challenge was a long-running Canadian panel game about current events and history. Created by comedy writer/performer John Aylesworth and produced and aired by CBC Television, the series ran from 1957 to 1995.-Synopsis:The series featured notable journalists attempting to guess the...
early in 1959. According to his autobiography, he considered Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
a close personal friend and drinking partner.
Film portrayals
- Duncan RegehrDuncan RegehrDuncan Peter Regehr is a Canadian writer, multi-media artist, and film and television actor. He has also been a figure skater, an Olympic boxing contender, and a classically trained Shakespearean stage actor in his native Canada, before heading to Hollywood in 1980...
portrayed Flynn in a 1985 American TV movie My Wicked, Wicked Ways, loosely based on Flynn's autobiography of the same name. - Guy PearceGuy PearceGuy Edward Pearce is an English-born Australian actor and musician, known for his roles as Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan's Memento, Lieutenant Ed Exley in L.A...
played Errol Flynn in the 1996 Australian film Flynn, which covers Flynn's youth and early manhood, ending before the start of his Hollywood career. - Flynn was portrayed by Jude LawJude LawDavid Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
in Martin ScorseseMartin ScorseseMartin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
's 2004 film The Aviator. - The character of film star Neville Sinclair, played by Timothy DaltonTimothy DaltonTimothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
in the 1991 film The RocketeerThe Rocketeer (film)The Rocketeer is a 1991 period superhero adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and based on the character of the same name created by comic book writer/artist Dave Stevens. Directed by Joe Johnston, the film stars Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino...
, was thought by many film critics to be loosely based on Flynn, although in one scene Flynn is specifically shown as a different person. - The character of Alan Swann, portrayed by Peter O'ToolePeter O'ToolePeter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
in the 1982 film My Favorite YearMy Favorite YearMy Favorite Year is a 1982 American comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin which tells the story of a young comedy writer. It stars Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Jessica Harper, Joseph Bologna, Lou Jacobi, Bill Macy, Lainie Kazan, Selma Diamond, Cameron Mitchell, and Gloria Stuart. O'Toole was...
, was based on Flynn.
Books by Flynn
Flynn wrote the following books:- Beam Ends (1937)
- Showdown (1946)
- My Wicked, Wicked WaysMy Wicked, Wicked WaysMy Wicked, Wicked Ways is an autobiography written by Australian actor Errol Flynn with the aid of ghostwriter Earl Conrad. It was released posthumously following the sudden death of the actor and became immensely popular for its cynical tone and candid depiction of the world of filmmaking in...
, with ghost-writer Earl ConradEarl ConradEarl Conrad , birth name Cohen, was an author who penned at least twenty works of biography, history, and criticism, including books in collaboration. At least one that he 'ghost' wrote was the biography of actor Errol Flynn, titled My Wicked, Wicked Ways.He was born and educated in Auburn, New York...
(1959)
Posthumous cultural references
- Errol Flynn's life was the subject of the opera Flynn (1977–78) by British composer Judith BinghamJudith BinghamJudith Bingham is a British composer and mezzo-soprano singer.Born in Nottingham in 1952 and educated at High Storrs Grammar School for Girls in Sheffield, she attended the Royal Academy of Music , where her teachers were Malcolm MacDonald, Eric Fenby, Alan Bush and John Hall , and Jean...
. The score is titled: Music-theatre on the life and times of Errol Flynn, in three scenes, three solos, four duets, a mad song and an interlude - Australian CrawlAustralian CrawlAustralian Crawl were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne , Brad Robinson , Paul Williams , Simon Binks and David Reyne in 1978. David Reyne soon left and was replaced by Bill McDonough...
recorded a lyrical biography of Flynn, "ErrolErrol (song)"Errol" is the second single by iconic Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl taken from their 1981 album Sirocco. The song was written by James Reyne and Guy McDonough, and is a lyrical biography about Australian-born actor Errol Flynn....
", released in July 1981 and reached No.18 on the Australian singles charts. The song was taken from the album SiroccoSirocco (album)Sirocco is the second album from Australian rock band Australian Crawl. It was released in July 1981 and on 3 August, it topped the Australian charts where it remained for six weeks, the band's first of two albums to hit #1...
, named after one of Flynn's yachts. - In June 2009 the Errol Flynn Society of Tasmania Inc. organised the Errol Flynn Centenary Celebration, a 10-day series of events designed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth On the actual centenary, 20 June 2009, his daughter Rory Flynn unveiled a star with his name on the footpath outside Hobart's heritage State Cinema.
- The Pirate's Daughter, a 2008 Australian novel by Margaret Cezair-Thompson, is a fictionalised account of Flynn's later life.
- Flynn is mentioned in the song "Oklahoma U.S.A.", found on the album Muswell HillbilliesMuswell HillbilliesMuswell Hillbillies is the ninth studio album by the English rock group The Kinks, released in November 1971. The album is named after the Muswell Hill area of North London, where band leader Ray Davies and guitarist Dave Davies grew up and the band formed in the early 1960s.The album centred on...
by The KinksThe KinksThe Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
, where the subject daydreams that "Errol Flynn is going to take her away..." - Flynn is mentioned in the song "Cashmere Thoughts", from the album Reasonable DoubtReasonable DoubtReasonable Doubt is the debut album of American rapper Jay-Z, released June 25, 1996 on Roc-A-Fella Records in the United States and on Northwestside Records in the United Kingdom. The album features production by DJ Premier, Ski, Knobody and Clark Kent, and guest appearances from Memphis Bleek,...
by Jay-ZJay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
. "Errol Flynn, hot like heroin..." - Roman PolanskiRoman PolanskiRoman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's 1986 film, Pirates was intended to pay homage to the beloved Errol Flynn swashbucklers of his childhood. - Flynn is mentioned in the song "Blood on the Rooftops", from the album Wind and Wuthering by GenesisGenesis (band)Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
: "The trouble was started by a young Errol Flynn..." Flynn is also mentioned in "I Hope I Didn't Just Give Away The Ending" by the New Radicals. - On Gilmore GirlsGilmore GirlsGilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
, Emily Gilmore "wanted to marry Errol Flynn" and wanted her husband, Richard, to grow a mustache like Flynn's. - The character Eugene Fitzherbert/Flynn Rider from the 2010 film Tangled was named Flynn in homage to Errol Flynn, as the two share character traits.
- On series CalifornicationCalifornicationCalifornication is a portmanteau of the words California and fornication, appearing in Time on May 6, 1966 and written about on August 21, 1972, additionally seen on bumper stickers in the U.S. states of Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington...
, season 2 episode 11, Lew Ashby mentions Errol Flynn used to swing from that thing, referring to the chandelier that had just fallen from the ceiling. - On Breaking BadBreaking BadBreaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...
, season 2 episode 4, the main protagonist Walter White reacts to his son's preference for the name Flynn with, "Flynn, huh. What, as in Errol?".
External links
- Flynn, Errol (1909–1959) National Library of Australia, Trove, People and Organisation record for Errol Flynn
- Errol Flynn at the National Film and Sound Archive
- Errol Flynn's official web site, owned by daughter, Rory Flynn
- Errol Flynn centenary 1909–2009 article by Nick Thomas in Washington Post
- Profile @ Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
- Errol Flynn Resource Website Flynn resource website, filmography & photographs.
- Programs and related material in the National Library of Australia's PROMPT collection
- His Wicked Wicked Ways: Flynn's 100th Birthday
- Errol Flynn segment from The Collectors
- Errol Flynn's Cuban Adventures by BBC News
- Errol Flynn & Patrice Wymore Marry in Monaco – TCM Movie Morlocks