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Archive for the ‘Flynn and…’ Category

Eighty Years Ago – 4/5/1937 – Lili

05 Apr

Los Angeles Evening Herald Express – April 5, 1937

LILI DAMITA MAY FLY TO WOUNDED ERROL FLYNN

All Lili Damita is sure of today is that she must get post-haste to the side
of her wounded husband, Errol Flynn — by airplane if possible.

After a night of frantic worry over the fate of the handsome actor-adventurer
as the result of an alarmist telephone call from a London friend saying Flynn
had been killed near Madrid, Miss Damita planned to ask the foreign office for
a special permit to fly to Spain.

The actress poured out her thanks in a torrent of emotional words when she was
informed that latest information said that Flynn had been only slightly wounded
and had left Madrid for Valencia.

(Madrid advisers said Flynn was grazed on the head by a machine gun bullet
when he was visiting the University City front.)

In the meantime Miss Damita made frantic efforts to get in touch with Flynn,
planning to defer her departure until she gets direct word from her husband.

Her only worry as she prepared from Leeds Castle in Kent to the foreign office
here was whether the reported injury to Flynn’s handsome Irish face will mar his
film career.

— Tim

 

It Was Eighty Years Ago Today — 3/30/37

30 Mar

March 30, 1937

Hollywood Citizen News – Elizabeth Yeaman

The Warner Bros. are sincerely worried over their failure to locate Errol Flynn,
who was hastily summoned back to Hollywood when it was learned that he was
planning to penetrate war-torn Spain. Errol was in Paris, and last Friday he told
his wife, Lili Damita, he was leaving for Spain. He left, while Lili remained in Paris.
He didn’t tell her where he was going in Spain, and apparently Lili didn’t bother to inquire.

Robert Schless, head of the Warner Paris office, has not been able to locate him. Errol,
when he left, was determined to do some war corresponding in Spain. He started to make
arrangements with the United States for some special articles, but the studio jumped in
and soured the deal. Errol threatened that he would make arrangements with an English syndicate.
This he may have done.

Warners cabled him to be back here by April 15, to start the The Perfect Specimen.
I doubt if they actually had a picture ready for him, but hoped to get him back on the plea of urgency.
Miriam Hopkins has been announced for the co-starring spot in The Perfect Specimen, but that
announcement is quite premature, for she has not been signed for the role.

— Tim

 

Flynn had a Cabin in the Garden of the Gods?

29 Mar

A Question, Not a Quiz.

Flynnvestigating other matters, I came across claims and suggestions implying that Errol may have owned a lake and cabin/hunting lodge at the long now gone “TWIN LAKES PARK”, “Twenty-five miles from Hollywood”, aka “Southern California’s Garden of the Gods”. One site suggests, too, that he even built a dam at near his alleged lodge.

Quoting a comment on the great Iverson Movie Ranch post linked below:

“One of the “Twin Lakes” was reputed to belong to Errol Flynn and the dam can still be seen from DeSoto Ave. (North of the 118) Flynn had a cabin (The old Dave Rhodes Ranch) and he used to hunt in the area.”

iversonmovieranch.blogspot.com…

Quoting a site on local (Chatsworth) history:

“Errol Flynn once owned a hunting lodge in Chatsworth and built a dam that still remains just north of the 118 freeway near Browns Canyon Road?”

activerain.com…

Does anyone have any information or thoughts on these claims? Should we be hunting for this lakeside lodge of Errol Flynn? – Or are these claims of Flynn’s lakeside lodge a dam mistake?

Here are front and back looks of a now long gone entrance to Twin Lakes Park:

Here’s a glimpse of the Twin Lakes gate in White Heat, filmed by Raoul Walsh:

— Tim

 

Dr. Who?

28 Mar

Given the Green Light by shangheinz on “Errorol”:

WHAT PROMINENT ENGLISH DOCTOR HELPED ERROL TREAT HIS SINUSES?

He was a “Harley Street” practitioner.

Early in his career, he pioneered and advocated the use of “truth drugs”.

He famously advocated one such drug in a French murder case.

Mid-career he was involved as an expert witness in a Hong Kong medical malpractice case.

He was later involved in a notorious British abortion/killing-of the-mother case.

He communicated from England to Errol elsewhere in Europe.

He had an indirect connection to the Profumo Affair.

Late in his career, he was quoted in Sports Illustrated concerning the abilities of women drivers.

He looked like this, but usually wore glasses during the years he treated Errol:

— Tim

 

Companion Piece

16 Mar

A QUIZ

Adjunct to the “(Cooking) Out Like Flynn” post put up earlier today, I offer the following quiz:

With what poet did Errol once share a steak and very-specially-boiled potato on the beach?

Clue Numero Uno: A renowned travel and culinary writer raved about the potato.

Clue Numero Dos: It happened in F.L.A.

Clue Numero Tres: At least two of the three steak and potato eaters mentioned were authorities on cocktails.

— Tim

 

Errol’s Barman at “London’s Most Famous Hotel”

15 Mar

Here’s the story on Joe Gilmore, former barman at the Savoy Hotel’s “American Bar” in London.

i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03550/gilmore2_3550591b.jpg…

Flynn, Neil Armstrong, Lady Di, he served them all.

For Errol, served rare Vodka with red pepper, as recounted in the article below.

www.independent.co.uk/topic/errol-flynn…

Errol at the Savoy in ’54, Joe’s first year at the “American Bar”
media.gettyimages.com…

Here’s Errol at the Savoy, Joe’s first year at the Savoy’s American Bar:
media.gettyimages.com…

— Tim

 

“Situation Dynamite”

14 Mar

— Tim

 

Speaking of Burma …

08 Mar

Errol starred in a movie which included an actor in key role who in real life served in America’s Burma campaigns. This actor even had a hand in bombing the equivalent of the fictional but fact-based “Bridge Over the River Kwai”?

Here’s some Jeopardy-like music for you to listen to while you contemplate who this actor was:

— Tim

 

A New Errol Flynn Movie?

07 Mar

Due Out Friday

“Hiddleston displays his inner Errol Flynn”

www.couriermail.com…

Skull Island was “a no-brainer” says Samuel K. Jackson:

“I was trying to grow up and be Errol Flynn at one point. I wanted to jump from ship to ship, with a sword in my teeth.”

www.goerie.com…

— Tim

 

As You Wish

06 Mar
    Carl Elwes as Errol Flynn

    On tour discussing The Princess Bride, including this weekend in Florida

    floridatheatre.com…

    Merging multiple news sources …

    “Cary Elwes was chosen for the role of Westley in Princess Bride because he reminded Carl Reiner of the swashbuckling heroes of early cinema, specifically Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks As depicted below, he later joined Flynn and Fairbanks in playing Robin Hood, of course.

    Elwes and Mandy Patinkin spent more months perfecting their famous swordfight — right- and left-handed. Reiner hired the best coaches in Hollywood: Peter Diamond and Bob Anderson. Not only did both men train the original swashbuckler, Errol Flynn, they both worked on Star Wars.”

    — Tim