Who was He?
He was an adventurer.
He was a Hollywood star.
He often wore a thin mustache.
The ladies liked him, and vice versa.
Studio big wigs considered him difficult to direct and control.
He was in Spain to record events during the Spanish Civil War.
He was in the mountains with Castro to record events of the Cuban Revolution.
He sailed a yacht in California, the Carribean, and elsewhere.
He had a prominent Hollywood wife.
He was well known for his role portaying a renowned heroic figure who courageously protected the poor and downtrodden against the rich, greedy and evil.
His first and last name had a total of three-syllables. One ended with an ‘l’, the other with an ‘n’.
— Tim
My first guess would be Errol Flynn, but I think that is probably too obvious for your quizzes, GT. Hmm.
Excellente Paula, though no cigarro. Our man of mystery wasn’t Senor Fleen, but he did play a Robin Hood-like character in his Hollywood heydey. … And they were together in Cuba with Castro …. until the two of them ticked off the bearded one when both of them simultaneously fell on the ground laughing at him.
He was a tiger, on film and off.
One of his famous characters had a one-letter signature.
His wife was said to be once the highest paid women in America.
Her brother had a big connection to Disney and Disneyland.
He sailed Errol’s yacht during the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies.
He and his wife were close with Marilyn Monroe and had an important role in making Marilyn a star. In fact, MM lived rent-free n the their West Hollywood home at the El Palacio Apartments.
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Pre-Bugsy, he also almost hitched up with Virginia Hill.
As Modern Screen reported in 1942:
“It’ll be a great for Hollywood when _________ takes plumpish, black-eyed Virginia Hill to be his blushing bride. If the pair do bounce to the altar, John will bring into the Movietown family the most fantastic personality it has known since Bogus Prince Romanoff was in his prime.
At 23, Virginia Hill is a woman of mystery. Her wealth is inestimable and untraceable, though it is surmised her three marriages (the first occurred when she was 14) might have had something to do with it. Her extravagances are notorious. At $1,000 evening gown [$16,000 today], the gem of Designer Irene’s fall collection, draped her body only three or four times before she gave it to a friend. Other gowns for which she pays from $100 to $400 are often discarded without being worn at all.
Her parties are reminiscent of something that went out with the Romans. Starting with two or three couples, Virginia frequently finds herself winding up the night hosting a mob of fifty. One evening she rented the Mocambo and its entire staff for a shindig. Conservative estimates say that little social cost her well over $3,000.
It’s always cash on the line for Virginia Hill. She travels with gobs of it tied in a rubber band. She’s never used a checkbook even to pay bills for her Chicago apartment, her New York and Hollywood hotel suites, automobile upkeep, maid and secretary.
There’s no denying, Husband Number Four will have to step fast to keep pace with the mad, exciting Miss Hill. But if anyone can do it, __________ is the boy. He’s not exactly a rest cure himself.
[img]http://jdcdn.wabisabiinvestme.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Virginia-Hill.-Foto-Cordon..jpg[/img]
He was a superb singer, and, though he was certainly no saint himself, he had the same name as a famous early American Archbishop, depicted below with a couple of Hoya fans.
[img]http://www.zorrolegend.com/zorroridesagain/james1.jpg[/img]
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I was really flummoxed so I Googled it…I should have known, my dad went to the university named after him. The archbishop, I mean!
Yes, Paula, the Catholic university is named after JC! … The archbishop I mean, not the deity. … nor the actor!
Our devilish Man of Mystery was blessed with a heavenly voice, however, as he displayed in Rio Rito with the also-Heavenly Kathryn Grayson, in “Long Before You Came Along”.
www.tcm.com…
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“[John Carroll] calls himself an adventurer, has just about covered the globe, filming revolutions, looking for sunken ships, or a new fish, or just watching how people live differently. John was behind a camera in the Spanish Civil War, but failed to bring out one foot of film, which was confiscated by General Franco. The same thing occurred when Carroll and buddy Errol Flynn filmed Castro’s mountain battles in Cuba, falling out of favor with the bearded leader one month after he took Havana, escaping minus film on a plane in a last ditch maneuver.
“I’ve always wondered how stories of jokes originate,” said Carroll, telling about his Cuban experiences with Flynn, “and I actually saw one take place outside of Havana, where a court had sentenced a young Cuban to death. “WHILE the soldiers in all varieties of uniform loaded guns, the prisoner turned down the customary last cigarette, the white handkerchief, and only asked that his handcuffs be removed. “At this moment, Castro pulled up in a jeep to watch the proceedings, and he ordered the guard to obey the prisoner. Then the man began a tirade against Fidel, and worked himself up to a great heat. “Castro couldn’t stand the abuse any longer. He rushed up to the prisoner and sputtered: ‘You, you want trouble?’. Both Flynn and Carroll fell to the ground in laughter … ”
www.newspapers.com…
John Carroll was indeed a man of mystery.
Here’s what appears to be a fraudulent, insurance-motivated story about what happened to the Tonga, the yacht which John Carroll said was gifted to him by Errol, and which was allegedly used on some covert missions in the Caribbean.
books.google.com…
And here, four years later, again in Yachting magazine, is another account, documenting that the Tonga did not sink in the Caribbean as alleged, and raising questions as to whether Errol actually owned the ketch, or perhaps only sailed it. Knowing Errol as we here, there could have been multiple possible variations or combinations of, his “ownership” or involvement with Tonga.
books.google.com…
The Cuba chapter on Flynn, Zorro & Castro gets more intriguing by the minute. Let`s not forget also flynnmates Steve Hayes and Frank Spellman roamed the realms of the Revolution. www.theerrolflynnblog.com…
Congratulations, Paula! You ride again as an Errol Flynn quiz winner!
youtu.be/AunTMyaA6-A…
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Why, thank you, GT. Your quizzes are always so informative!