April 1, 1939
How many celebrity passengers can you name?
— Tim
Search results for ‘name’
Spongerob Errolpants
26
Mar
Dear fellow Flynn fans,
in January of 1947 the National Geographic Magazine published an article called “The Errol Flynn of Sponge Divers”.
The Errol of this and the Flynn of that were honorary titles at the time. But in the case of one exceptionally dangerous profession we can well picture our Hollywood hero genuinely taking a liking to the complimentary comparison.
World traveller and life time adventurer that he was, I wonder if he read this article and got the idea for the movie “MARU MARU” then and there, or if the namesake hotel in Tanzania did the deed.
Take a deep breath and dive in here yourselves: sanceau.com…
Enjoy,
— shangheinz
Morning After
05
Mar
March 4, 1939
Erskine Johnson
Behind the Makeup
Los Angeles Examiner
Morning after the Academy Awards banquet, Donald Crisp sent a telegram to Errol Flynn, vacationing in the South. “Dear Errol,” it read. “Last night the Academy Awards banquet was held. Your name was not mentioned.”
…
Deplorable that Flynn was not even nominated for his immortal portrayal of Robin Hood.
The nominees were:
Spencer Tracy, for Boys Town
Charles Boyer, for Algiers
James Cagney, for Angels with Dirty Faces
Robert Donat, for The Citadel
Leslie Howard, for Pygmalion
And the winner was:
Spencer Tracy, for Boys Town
Proper Evaluations of Flynn’s Greatness
The model of an action hero in 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood, the dashing star made the swordplay and wooing look so effortless that it’s easy to ignore the craft behind his derring-do. – Entertainment Weekly
He was the Tom Cruise of the 1930s, a global superstar whose natural charisma and box-office power put him at the tippytop of Hollywood — and he never won an Oscar. Unlike Cruise, Flynn was never even nominated, not for “Captain Blood,” “The Charge of the Light Brigade” or 1938’s still-dazzling “The Adventures of Robin Hood.” – Boston Herald
Unfortunately, at the time when Errol enjoyed his greatest success, the adventure film, as a genre, was not sufficiently appreciated and therefore [Errol’s] appearances therein were not as highly regarded as they [are now.] … [He] played his roles with unmatchable verve, conviction, and style. In doing so, he inherited the mantle of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., who was my favorite film star at the age of 9 and whose ‘The Black Pirate’ left an indelible impression on me. No one since Errol has worn that mantle; it is buried with him. – Lady Marian Fitzwater
— Tim
Captain Morgan ⛵🐕🌴 The Wizard of Dogs
19
Feb
February 17, 1939
Harrison Carroll
Evening Herald Express
The Frank Morgan yacht is being equipped with a dog house for his five dachshunds. Errol Flynn’s gesture is tops, though. When the Irish star took his dog, Arno, on a cruise last summer, he installed potted palms on a deck of the boat.
…
Frank had the perfect name for a dachshund devotee, Moreover, the man behind the curtain loved all kinds of canines. Indeed, The Wiz earned an Oscar nomination for his poignant love of mutts as “Pirate” in Steinbeck’s Tortilla Flat.
On top of all that, he was a skilled Hollywood yachtsman. Here he is doing a happy hula following his winning of the 1947 TransPac on his beloved Dolphin II.
Bellamy, Morgan & Flynn (The actors, not the law firm)
Not to rub Frank’s nose in it, but … despite all that, Captain Morgan had nothin’ on Captain Blood, who pampered his pup with parties and potted palms. Errol may have been in a dog house a time or two, but never Arno.
….
BTW – Speaking of dachshunds – Toto was not Dorothy’s first dog in TWOO. Otto, a doxie, was, owned by Wicked Margaret Hamilton, no less! …Here’s Otto, hanging out with Judy in Kansas. …He wasn’t in Kansas anymore, nor Oz, though, after MGM big wigs decided they did not want a perceived German breed while war was brewing in Europe.
— Tim
An effigy for Errol
17
Feb
Dear fellow Flynn fans,
I came across a curious item auctioned off last week bearing Errol`s (first) name.
The seller announced it like this:
Wonderfully expressive, signed vintage carved statue from Rose Hall, Jamaica, depicting a kneeling bearded gentleman with hands clasped around his middle. Solid, one piece carving from a dense, medium brown color wood, possibly mahogany, polished to a nice sheen, slight crack on base behind figure. Signed on underside of base, “Errol,” Rose Hall, Little River Ja(maica.) Coincidentally, the famous hotel in Jamaica, Rose Hall, is where legendary Hollywood actor Errol Flynn spent a great deal of time. Material: wood. Measurement: approximate 26″ (INCHES). Shipping: $100; different rate to Alaska, California, Hawaii & all International.
Now if it served him simply as a good luck charm, as epitome of virility or as a shield against evil spells we may never know, but it is attached to another Flynn film project of later years.
Our Hollywood hero contemplated making a movie out of Herbert George de Lisser`s 1929 novel “The Witch from Rose Hall”. Mr. Lisser wrote for Jamaica`s The Gleaner and was the editor of the yearly “Rum Punch” publication about the island`s Who`s who and the How much…
In the book main character Robert Rutherford is sent to Jamaica to learn the planter`s business from the bottom up. He becomes the overseer at Rose Hall. The owner, young widow Mrs. Palmer, whose three husbands have all died under suspicious circumstances, gets attracted to him. So does the housekeeper Millicent.
Read about fine line between fact and fiction here:
Annie Patterson: the “White Witch” of Rose Hall between Reality and Legend.
In April of 1957 a Gleaner article announced that the filming of “The White Witch of Jamaica” to begin the following year. Flynn would produce it together with director Marquis Warren from a screenplay by James Edward Grant (a John Wayne regular).
At first Vivian Leigh had been considered for the lead. Then it was Ava Gardner who took sole pole position. She had expressed interest in the project, since her long running contract with MGM would conveniently come to an end in 1958. The title of the movie had meanwhile expanded to “The White Witch of the Indies”.
On July 10th of `57 Errol wrote a letter to MGM studio head Benny Thaw to get green light for Ava`s particpation:
” I went with Grant to Madrid a few days ago to see Ava Gardner..Ava appeared extremely interested in this property, and doing it with me…I would like to ask you personally…if it is true that she will be free to make any deals outside of Metro in one year`s time. TWWOTI is perfect for her as a vehicle- so can you tell me if M. is of her opinion…that she will be free to contract for her services in about a year and two months from now.
I shall certainly appreciate a personnal word from you, Benny. I hope Life is as pleasant for you as it is for me here. Why don`t you take a look?” Sincerely EF
What sounded like a shoo in for success in terms of resurrecting an ailing career was not to be.
Maybe a rabbit`s foot would have brought more luck.
Enjoy,
— shangheinz
Sittin’ Like Flynn?
16
Feb
February 15, 1938
Harrison Carroll
Evening Herald Express
At the Belfast School attended by Errol Flynn, they’ve made the star’s old desk a sign of honor. The student with the highest grades of the week gets to sit in it for five days. Desk was identified by a carved inscription on the back: “Errol Flynn, 1926.”
Falsely identied, says Flynn. He remembers the incident and says that he carved his name on the desk in front of him.
…
Here’s how Errol looked circa the time of this alleged desk signing.
A school desk signed in 1926 Belfast by Errol Flynn? I believe that would be Errol’s most rare and valuable autograph … if it indeed ever existed! Perhaps they should have said Australia, rather than Northern Ireland. Or did Errol really attend school in Belfast???? (Possibly before or after his admission into or expulsion from Sydney Church of England Grammar(aka “Shore”)?) I think that would be news to me. In any case, what school, and what happened to the desk/where is it now??
— Tim
Governor Flynn
13
Feb
February 12, 1936
Reine Davies
Hollywood Parade
Los Angeles Examiner
The tremendous success of the Bellamy-Farrell Racquet Club at Palm Springs was bound to serve as an impetus for the creation of a local club for the tennisers of the sports-loving colony.
To be known as the West Side Tennis Club, it is to be ideally housed in the Bath and Tennis Club building in the Cheviot Hills, with Stephen Morehouse Avery, president; Elmer J. Griffin, secretary and treasurer; and completing the board of governors, Errol Flynn, Frank X. Shields, Ralph Jester, and the ace screen scribe, Edith Fitzgerald.
As a rendezvous for screen actors, artists, directors and writers, the entire place is to be remodeled and redecorated to create a truly country club atmosphere. All of which is under the direction of Adrian’s prized aide, Ruth Hawks. And to provide the only grass courts on the coast, two new tennis courts are now in the course of construction.
The new club will open on March 15 with Edith Fitzgerald as hostess to a whole day of social and tennis events, beginning with a hunt breakfast in the morning and followed by luncheon bridge, tea, cocktails, and supper.
(Original Caption) Hollywood’s Seeded No. 1. According to Francis X. Shields, former tennis star, who founded the West Side Tennis Club in Cheviot Hills, near Hollywood, Errol Flynn, (above), is ranked tops in a list of the film colony’s ten-best male players. Believe it or not, Greta Garbo is No. 1 among actress tennis wizards.
* Though cool artwork above depicting Errol and Lili at the West Side Tennis Club, it appears to me that the artist may have mistakenly used the Tudor-like New York West Side Tennis Club clubhouse in the background, rather than the same-named club in Cheviot Hills, which had Colonial Spanish architecture and Errol on the Board of Governors.
— Tim
Sirocco
27
Jan
January 27, 1938
Harrison Carroll
LA Evening Herald Express
Purchase of a 75′ ketch in Boston makes Errol Flynn the No. 1 boat owner in Hollywood.
The Warner star, who planed in yesterday from a shopping tour of eastern shipyards, reveals that he now has a collection of seven boats with still another under construction.
The prize exhibit is the ketch Avenir*, which Flynn just purchased in Boston and which he will later sail through the Panama Canal and up the Pacific Coast.
Besides the Avenir, Flynn still owns a 50-foot yacht, a yawl named the Cheerio, a 25-foot speedboat, an outboard fishing smack and two 20-foot yacht tenders.
Then, in a western shipyard, he is having a lifeboat made over into another tender for his latest acquisition.
When and if he gets a vacation, the star plans a long voyage to the South Seas.
…
* Errol subsequently named the yacht “Sirocco” after the yacht he owned and captained in Australia and New Guinea before he achieved world fame.
— Tim
Farewell to a Fan of Flynn and a Friend of Flynn Fans
26
Jan
Farewell to John LaGrassa – world class sailor, fan of Flynn, and friend of Errol Flynn Blog fans – John LaGrassa who, from his home in Manly, Sydney, made the following posts possible on the Errol Flynn Blog. Manly is the spectacular area of Sydney where young Errol lived off and on with his grandmother, Edith Young.
All photos above taken by Donna during a trip with her husband to Manley a couple of years ago. Her husband is a lifelong close friend of the LaGrassa Family.
Per news reports, John was killed earlier this month by a powerboat while snorkeling off Guana Island in the British Virgin Islands.
Among many other very distinguished accomplishments, he was Vice-Commodore of the Manhattan Yacht Club and Captain of the majestic 157-ft Arabella, built for Kelly McGinnis (named after Arabella from Captain Blood perhaps?)
Captain LaGrassa can be seen in the following video, especially beginning at 4:27.
www.christuckerphotography.com…
Fair Winds and Following Seas, John!
— Tim
