We heard from actor Jonathan Stewart who starred as Errol Flynn in the musical play Errol & Fidel after two of our members Karl Holmber and Gentleman Tim attended the play in NYC.
Hi there,
I qwas given your card by an audience member after one of our performances last week. I’m the actor who played Errol and I hope you enjoyed the show. We all had a wonderful time living in the world of Errol and Fidel and the audiences seemed to love the show. It was a very tall order as an actor to try and inhabit his now almost mythical existence, and I had the time of my life giving it a go. What a fascinating man he was, though I suppose you already know that!
Best,
Jonathan Stewart
I explained I was not at the show myself, but our two chums loved everything about the show, and hoped Rory Flynn would be able to see the show in another venue: Jonathan replied:
Hi David,
Glad to hear your friends got to see the show and enjoyed it. We had a very short run as the show was part of the annual NY Musical Festival which features new works in development selected from hundreds of submissions each year. The creators are all Australian (not surprisingly) and I know their hope is that the show will have a further life somewhere down the road. However at the moment I’m not certain of the status of that. They are all lovely people and huge fans of Errol’s. Please let Rory know what an honor it was for me to play her legendary father, and how much I enjoyed The Baron of Mulholland which I read as part of my preparation for the role. Yes please feel free to use my email as a Mail Bag item on the blog. I’ve attached a few production photos which you may have already seen published on line.
Just ending it successful run at the New York Musicic Festival was the musical offering Errol & Fidel from writer producers Boyd Anderson & Guy Anderson; Music by Peter Kaldor, John Kaldor and Doug Oberhamer; Lyrics by Boyd Anderson, directed by Michael Bello … Our own Karl Holmberg, Gentleman Tim, and Donna Juan attended the show and write to us from the theatre stage! I will let them comment on the show itself but here are some wonderful images, and a look at a novelty item soon available to everybody who follows our blog. More about that in another posting …
Some photos:
One adventure, two heroes. Something’s gotta give.
Cuba, 1958: Revolution is in the air! In his final year Errol Flynn has one last adventure. The dashing star of so many Hollywood blockbusters yearns to be a real hero, and Fidel Castro fits the bill. What Fidel craves is fame, and who better than Errol to show him how? At the height of the revolution an explosive encounter beckons – fueled by envy, lust, and vanity – with a mysterious woman calling the tune. Or could the CIA really be pulling the strings? Who knew revolution could be so much fun?
This is for the Errol Flynn blog, as fans of the actor my band Window Pane made a song and a video about him, maybe you want to see it! Here is the link:
For Fans of Flynn who can make it to Manhattan over the next several months, there’s at least two events worth attending. There’s the Errol & Fidel musical (in July) that David recently made known to us. But, first, there’s The Adventures of Robin Hood at the Film Forum on May 10. Both look to be Flynnsational:
Screening information is as follows:
“THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD”(1938)
Saturday, May 20 – Film Forum, 209 W. Houston Street in New York City
Co-presented by Film Forum, featuring special guests Ben Burtt & Craig Barron
Join Oscar®-winning visual effects supervisor Craig Barron and Oscar-winning sound designer Ben Burtt as they deconstruct the extraordinary artistry behind “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” with a special emphasis on matte painting and sound effects, including a recreation of the archery tests that went into finding that just right “zing” sound.
It has been announced in New York that ERROL AND FIDEL, a new musical written by four Sydneysiders, will open this year’s New York Musical Festival, the most prestigious showcase for new work in the music theatre world …
PER THE IMBd: This biopic depicts Errol’s roust-about early life in Australia, before he became an internationally famed celebrity. In those days he was an adventurer, opium smuggler, gambler, street fighter, womanizer, and gold prospector. The film, based on Flynn’s early autobiography “Beam Ends,” was written for the screen by Luke Flynn, who found the inspiration as a result of travels through Australia in the footsteps of Luke’s iconic grandfather.
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Characters beyond Errol’s days of Beam Ends have been previously mentioned also, including Olivia De Havilland and Michael Curtiz. See, for example this previous IMBd cast of characters:
It has been quite some time since we last had contact. You may remember me – the guy who was writing an epic poem on the life of Errol Flynn. Well, ten years in the making and I recently finished it. Now of course comes the real work, finding a publisher, but in the meantime I thought you might like to read the manuscript version. Book-length poems may not be your bag, but the Flynn aspect could still carry you through.
I see that the blog is flourishing. Back in 2009 you were kind enough to post some of my stanzas. So my impulse in contacting you now is not completely self-serving – I thought you might be curious to see how things turned out.
On 11 May I have a rearding from the poem at the renowned literary salon of Britta Gansebohm, with novelist/playwright Carey Harrison moderating:
I was on Facebook the other day and noticed that Jack Marino’s old friend, actor William Smith, had turned 84. Bill Smith is retired now but among his many film credits you already know him for are such films as Any Which Way You Can with Clint Eastwood, Darker than Amber with Rod Taylor, and Twilight’s Last Gleaming with Burt Lancaster. TV audiences remember him from his role on Rich Man, Poor Man as the evil Falconetti. But he also appeared in literally hundreds of top classic tv shows like “Kung Fu,” “The Bearcats,” “Columbo,” “Mission Impossible,” “Ironside,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “Police Woman,” “The Rockford Files,” “Planet of the Apes,” “Kolchak, The Night Stalker,” “SWAT,” “Police Story,” “Logan’s Run,” “Vegas,” “Fantasy Island,” “The Dukes of Hazard” and “The A Team.” And as Conan the Barbarian’s father! And there is another film performance that links him to Errol Flynn. Jack Marino cast him in the role of General Gregori Zelenkov in the 1990 film directed by our own Jack Marino, FORGOTTEN HEROES. Jack even plays a small role in the film himself. See him in the Trailer below chomping on a cigar!
The war in Viet Nam War was deeply unpopular. And if you were in uniform during that war as in all wars you did your duty as well and as bravely as any other soldier in any war throughout history. But when you got home from this war, the welcome was not the same as it was for the heroes of other wars. It was not until years later that any sort of respect for the veterans of the Viet Nam War was recognized. Jack’s film FORGOTTEN HEROES was made to address the overdue respect these veterans deserved and to be a great adventure story as well, and as I was reading more about the film on Facebook (I had seen the DVD release and had a chance to meet William Smith at Jack and Louise’s now legendary 100th birthday centennial for Errol Flynn in Hollywood in 2009, and had Smith sign my copy of the DVD) I noticed a review of the film written by filmmaker Steve Latshaw who was at the party that lasted over five days! Steve had written the review in 2008. It was on Facebook the other day, too. Jack had posted this:
Hollywood is a tough and unforgiving business and when a fellow artist, filmmaker, writer admires your work and puts it in writing, it makes all this struggle worth it.
Jack
“I am watching FORGOTTEN HEROES tonight and am reminded of what a beautiful, heartfelt film it is. You’ve seen it so many times it’s impact may be lost on you. It’s truly a great film, beautifully shot. And I loved the nods to Errol, particularly the incredible scene where the surfer has been tortured and asks the Greek to kill him. It reminded me of the great scene in Objective Burma – but you took it further and the emotional impact was profound.
I have made over 35 movies in my career. I have always wanted to make a film that would affect people lives in a profound and positive way. I haven’t yet done so. I’ve often said I’d give up my career if I could make one film like that. You did it right out of the gate.
I am and continue to be in awe of your passion and envious of your talent.
Bung Ho!
Steve
Steve Latshaw – Filmmaker
April 13, 2008
And that is not the only nod to Flynn. Jack, always a Flynn fan, and a friend of the Flynn family, adds a few Flynn touches like dueling shadows, some western style gunplay and even a bit of swordplay! You can’t miss these references if you love dear old Errol and never do these moments get in the way of the exciting story. They just make you smile and appreciate them.
That takes a lot of skill on Jack’s part.
And to help bring a bit of recognition to the veterans of the Viet Nam War Jack decided to donate a portion of every DVD ordered from his Forgotten Heroes the Movie website to benefit veterans.
If you know a veteran, please consider sending them a copy of this extraordinary movie. And share Forgotton Heroes the Movie homepage on a few Social Media for others to see …
Some years ago I obtained a box of Errol Flynn’s personal papers from storage and the only item I kept was the copper plate for making his calling card. I toyed with the idea of making the back of my business card to be that of Errol Flynn’s calling card but never did. Possibly you could inform those interested that the printing plate will be offered by Profiles In History at their Hollywood auction in late May to mid-June time frame.
The auction catalogue is not out yet but I have attached the pre-catalogue below for all of my Flynn items (see below) for those interested.
The copper plate is something the true Flynn collector could use as well as enjoy as it was Flynn’s personal property and was used to make his calling card.
The following link is to the Profiles In History website and shows the upcoming Hollywood auction highlighting a few items from my collection. The entire auction should be available within the next month including all of the Flynn items below.
Rory Flynn tells me she just signed a contract to allow a new board game to be produced based on movie adventures of her father Errol Flynn! She sends us a copy of the proposal ad … No idea when the game would be available as yet but how exciting is this?
