— Tim
Lock, stock & Errol tows in 200
19
Jun
Dear fellow Flynn fans,
I had the great pleasure of welcoming the 200th Flynnthusiast on my FB homagepage LOCK, STOCK & ERROL this week.
As promised here`s a rarity to celebrate that Errol Flynn will always be in and never out of time.
Witness the perennial Robin Hood high on horse and accompanied by his German shepard dog Coldnose in Courmayeur, Italy of 1953 scouting locations for his missing master shot movie about William Tell:
Enjoy!
— shangheinz
Guinn Big Boy Williams Night on Boot Hill …
15
Jun
Found this out on the Prairie, near Dodge City in an old newspaper found blowing in the wind …
Under the headline “Film Star Sleeps on Boot Hill,” in the Monday, April 3, 1939, Dodge City Daily Globe, a story begins: “For a great many years only concrete faces and the cowboy statue have rested in historic old Boot Hill cemetery. But Saturday night there was a newcomer there.
”The story goes on the tell how Guinn “Big Boy” Williams, one of the stars of “Dodge City,” was found sleeping on Boot Hill Sunday morning after the festivities surrounding the premiere.
Williams woke up sufficiently to elude authorities, who later learned that he had spent the day sleeping in a rooming house on West Chestnut street. Williams had missed the train back to Hollywood. He appeared in a west side grocery store later in the afternoon, took a taxi to the airport and caught a plane to Wichita. From there, he made it back to the coast.
Williams reportedly told a Dodge City man he wanted to sleep among the dead men for his wild West thrill.
Ah, Hollywood!
— David DeWitt
Speaking of Chico …
15
Jun
Here’s the story of “The House That Flynn Built” (Not)
The plot in Chico thickens …
If you’ve ever tasted kiwis from Costco, or sneaked a peak of gorgeous Barbi Benton, this article and video may have extra appeal for you. videosellsrealestate.com…
— Tim
Robert Osborne Estate Auction
13
Jun
A Robin Hood book signed by the cast of The Adventures of Robin Hood
Warner Bros., 1938. Pyle, Howard. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1935. 296 pp, 4to. Howard Pyle Brandywine Edition, signed by approximately 108 of the film’s cast and crew members, most in ink, some in pencil, with several small cards throughout identifying various departments’ autographs, with a September 23, 1982, article from the Chico Enterprise newspaper about the filming in Chico. An extraordinary collection of autographs of almost every major cast and crew member of Michael Curtiz’s The Adventures of Robin Hood, most inscribed “To Bob” or “To Bobbie.” From September-November 1937, the film’s company was on location in Chico, California, where they were housed at Richardson Springs, a local resort. The autographs in this book were collected by the son of the resort’s owner. Several cast members signed the book below Howard Pyle’s illustrations of their characters. In Pyle’s frontispiece of Robin Hood, Errol Flynn added an arrow pointing to Robin and quips: “God! Is this me? / Errol Flynn.” Under an illustration of Friar Tuck, Eugene Pallette writes: “For / Bob / Eugene Palette / Friar Tuck / Warner Brothers Productions / Oct 1937 / Richardson Springs Butte Co California”; Pallette signed a second time below another illustration of Tuck. Below Pyle’s depiction of Sir Guy of Gisbourne’s death, Basil Rathbone writes: “He may be dead / but thank God I am / very much alive. I have / greatly enjoyed my stay with your / father. / Sincerely / Basil Rathbone.” The book is also signed by Olivia de Havilland (Maid Marian), Melville Cooper (The Sheriff of Nottingham), co-director William Keighley, Una O’Connor, Alan Hale (who added “Little John”), Patric Knowles, Harry Cording (“Dickon Malbete”), Saul M. Gorss (“Double for Flynn”), Herbert Mundin (added “Much De Malleison / Good Luck”), Fred Cavens (“Fencing Master”), and dozens of others.
8 x 12 x 2 in.
8 x 12 x 2 in.
There are some fascinating items at this auction!
— Maria
Father’s Day for Flynn Fans
13
Jun
At the Northern California Pirate Festival
This weekend in Vallejo
Ahoy, ye salty sea dogs! Keep a weather eye on the horizon – especially toward the Carquinez Strait. Pirates are coming to invade the Vallejo Waterfront Park Father’s Day weekend, June 16 and 17.
And those sea rogues and privateers have been doing just that for a dozen years, giving fathers and families the chance to run away from home and be pirates for two days.
The event has plenty of swashbuckling for the most ardent of Errol Flynn fans, from theater groups such as the Court of the Pirate Lords and Brotherhood of Oceanic Mercenaries – B.O.O.M. for short.
And boom they’ll go as they fire up the cannons and take aim on a new invading ship, The Sea Eagle. The ship will be returning fire during daily ship to shore battles. B.O.O.M keeps bringing more cannons and fire power with every appearance, but also have educational displays with cast members available to explain the various historic items.
The Sea Eagle is a privateer-model sailing vessel with boldly colored sails, one of which bears a grinning skull and crossed swords. Its shallower draft means it will be able to come closer to shore for more dramatic views and sounds, said Anna Benincasa-Morales, one of festival’s organizers and performers. “You can hear the crowd gasp when the ship comes in close.”
Other sounds at the festival will be pleasant, such as Skip Henderson and the Starboard Watch, singing traditional maritime songs, the Seadogs and their sea shanties, the Penny Opry duo and their blend of maritime and Tin Pan Alley music, the Brass Farthing and their British and American folk and tavern songs, and the pirate, Celtic and rock band, O’Craven.
The “ladies” of the House of the Rising Sun also provide entertaining songs, but they’re also likely to introduce festival goers to games of chance or entertain them with improvisation presentations or tell them stories about historical New Orleans.
— Tim
Meanwhile, Back in Korea
12
Jun
Korean War Project
Salute Of Entertainers
Jack Benny and Company
(w/ 5th RCT, 24th Div.)
It was around the middle of July, 1951. The peace talks began earlier and there was peace in the Kumhwa valley.
Instead of combat, everyone was talking about rotating home. There was also a rumor about a USO troupe coming to this forward camp. During combat, we would see entertainers of two or three hitching rides to the rest areas, rain or snow, to give their little shows. I gave them a lot of credit for their courage. Bob Hope was also here for the troops but he was 50 miles behind us somewhere.
On this July day, the entertainers in trucks and jeeps, came driving into this little clearing. A makeshift stage was built for the occasion. To our surprise, It was none other than Jack Benny and with him, in the group was Errol Flynn and Marjorie Reynolds.
This is the first time I’d ever seen movie stars in the flesh. For this country boy, I was fascinated and they looked so human and of course, they were. On the stage, Jack did his comedy of jokes and Errol and Marjorie acted their series of mostly funny skits, a lot of laughs for all of us.
Everyone was standing around intermingling after the show. I was standing close to Jack. He somehow looked smaller than in the movies. I slowly sneaked up behind him and sure
enough, I really was taller than he was!
Errol Flynn was walking by and I got this sudden impulse. I stuck out my hand and Mr. Flynn, can I shake your hand sir? He stopped, looked at me for a couple of seconds, smiled and said, My pleasure, lad, my pleasure. I think when he stopped and saw this oriental face, I can feel his uncertainty, but I think what won him over was this pure American slang coming from this face. He must have thought this guy has got to a real Yankee.
RICHARD ISERI wrote on January 29, 2018
Garden Grove California
— Tim
Good Samaritan-Like Flynn
10
Jun
Only Errol Flynn could pick up, I mean rescue, seven swimming nymphs in the middle of a desert.
Here’s a photo of the 1940 “Aquacade Motorcade” after they arrived at Treasure Island for the Golden Gate International Exposition (aka World’s Fair). Not sure if any of these swimming nymphs were the exact ones “rescued” by Errol, but the timing appears to fit, and, as happy as they look, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised.
Billy Rose Aquacade Motorcade Nymphs
San Francisco, 1940
A good, brief account in a Michael Curtiz biography:
A GREAT, more detailed account from Tom McNulty:
One or more of these seven damsels in distress were likely in this Wirkd’s Fair film before they traveled west through the Painted Desert of Arizona, where they were detoured by Virginia City Flynn:
— Tim
Errol Flynn: The Quest for an Oscar by James Turiello is now in Hardcover!
07
Jun
Over at Bear Media you can see the softcover reviews for James Turiello’s wonderful book Errol Flynn: The Quest for an Oscar. Jim tells me the book is now available in Hardcover! Run over to Amazon to get the hardcover version there, too! From the Amazon/Bear Media sites Jim writes:
“Take an incredible journey with Errol Flynn on his quest for an Oscar. Errol went from complete obscurity to become one of the most sought-after men in Hollywood. Men wanted to be him, and women wanted to be with him, yet Errol had little interested in acting. He was a cadet, an overseer at a copra plantation, he ran a charter schooner, and he mined gold, to name only a few of his ventures all before the age of twenty-one. He was a free spirit who played by his own rules, much to the chagrin of the Hollywood producers.
Throughout the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, moviegoers loved Errol as Robin Hood, The Seahawk, and as General Custer. To quote Jack Warner of the famous Warner Bros. Pictures, “He was all the heroes in one magnificent, sexy, animal package . . . he showered an audience with sparks, when he laughed, when he fought, or when he loved. I just wish we had someone around today half as good as Flynn. Includes 200 photographs of Errol Flynn in his many movie roles, candid never-before-published images, rare posters from around the world, and some unique Errol Flynn items. 266 pages. Complete filmography with synopsis and cast of each movie.” -James Turiello.
Jim, great work and thanks for letting us all know about the new edition!
— David DeWitt
