ERROL FLYNN (1909-1959)

ERROL LESLIE THOMSON FLYNN

Born: June 20th, 1909 (Australia)

Died: October 14th, 1959 (heart attack)

Marriages: Lili Damita (1935-1942), Nora Eddington (1943-1948), Patrice Wymore (1950-His death)

Children: His first child was a son with Lili Damita who became a photo journalist, Sean Flynn. With Nora he had two children, Deirdre & Rory. With his last wife, Patrice, they had a daughter named Arnella.

Awards: He was never nominated for an Oscar, but received two Golden Globes, two Bambi Awards and has a star on the Walk of Fame.

Interesting Fact: Before the outbreak of WWII, he went with an old friend to document the wars occurring in Spain. Unknown to Flynn, his friend was working undercover for a rising Hitler. When the news spread of this breach, the finger was pointed at Flynn. Though an extensive amount of research has proved that Flynn had no involvement in the espionage, this event greatly scarred Flynn's personal life. A similar story was portrayed in Disney's, The Rocketeer (1991) by Timothy Dalton who played a movie star with Flynn's characteristics named Neville Sinclair.

My Favorite Movie: Gentleman Jim (1942). This has been considered as Flynn's favorite film. Though his character was not in the full fashioned garb that Flynn was comfortable in on screen, this part gave him a chance to bust open his talent and endeavor in another one of his youthful pleasures. I find his acting is this film both genuine and humbling.

"All my life the one thing I feared the most was mediocrity."

Errol Flynn is quite the popular movie star legend. His acting history along with his personal history were both epic and adventurous. As I began to research him a little farther, I was overwhelmed by the amount of information you can find about him online. I wouldn't recommend that you use these sources as your soul understanding of Flynn, but would rather suggest that you purchase TCM Errol Flynn collection which includes an in-depth biography on his life on and off the screen titled, The Adventures of Errol Flynn (2005).

To Flynn, acting was one of his many adventurous hobbies. For a time he could come and go as he pleased on the set, if the production was not to his fancy. This type of attitude does not come off on the screen however, that was apart of his talent. No matter what turmoil, no matter what mood, he could always deliver. His characters became real to the audiences and he would became immortalized in that setting and yet he could move onto another subject matter and surprise you all over again. From his star breaking role in Captain Blood (1935) to his self revealing role in Too Much, Too Soon (1958), he gave each performance a certain charm and romanticism that was unique to only one man, Errol Flynn.

 

If you cant find his collection, that I mentioned above,
you can view the entire film here.

ERROL FLYNN & OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND

They are one of the best known couples of the screen. They came to Warner Brothers at a strange time, while Bogart and Cagney roughness reigned as gangsters and Errol Flynn's pretty-boy look was out of place. Olivia De Havilland lady-like portrayals also contradicted the other actress roles of the studio.

Flynn and De Havilland were first teamed together, by chance, in Captain Blood and starred in seven additional films. Here they are:

Errol Flynn (1909-1959)

Olivia De Havilland (1916-LIVING)

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)

They Died with Their Boots On (1941)

They are one of the true romantic couples on the screen. Their films were not unlike some of the silent era films, but they launched them into the sound era quite successfully. Flynn's character was always devoted to De Havilland's character, no matter the sword fight. She would respond with leading him along just enough to prove how much he loved her. This pairing is most evident in their classic The Adventures of Robin Hood.

LEADING ACTORS TIMELINE

Since I didn't grow up in the early days of Hollywood, I find it hard to remember what stars were big and at what times. To make it easy for me, I created this timeline of my favorite "Leading Actors."

The years shown represent the span from their first film to their last. The space in front, represents their life before the cinema, while the separation at the end is their retirement years. You may notice that some actors do not have any space after their films. For them they either died shortly after their last film or passed away before it's release like Clark Gable.

Some of the time lines were real eye-openers. I had no idea how long some actors had or have been acting. I also never realized how early some of them started their career and how early others retired. What is also interesting to see is that all of the actors listed were all acting within the the five year span from 1955-1960.

Hopefully this will be a helpful reference aid to you as it has been for me.