Dear fellow Flynn fans,
I came acoss a curious statement in the obituary (www.smh.com…) of nazitorious biographer Charles Higham.
“Higham had a delight in the macabre and the absurd, exemplified by his invitation to the English widow of Hermann Erben for dinner in Los Angeles with a Flynn double, Chuck Pilleau. Higham coaxed from her a bizarre revelation: SS agent Erben was circumcised.”
Now more interesting than Dr. Erben`s anatomy is that another little known stuntman, stand- in or stooge of Errol is brought into play, a certain Charles Pilleau.
I found an entry on this virtually unrecorde go- to gent, posted by a friend of his, a one time actor and passionate golfer:
“All I know is that I found a picture on the web of a suppossedly Errol swinging a golf club. And it was a lefty swing? I wish I knew how to post it here. I was given an old “Brassie, driver” by my old friend that I used to rent an apartment from in Hollywierd in the early 80’s ( N Franklin & Hollywood Blvd ). I was studying acting, rasing hell around town and just enjoying my youth (srtaight). His name was Chuck “Sir Charles Pilleau”. What a charachter and friend. He was long in the tooth with some great stories. He took a liking to me cause I’m a Texas boy. I as well enjoyed his company as I used to help him around town to get his tasks done since he only had one eye and a lung left. Don’t feel sorry. I saw some of the gals that old Chuck had over from time to time. He had the charm. Another of our friends eventually aided old Chuck in finding his way back to Australia where I heard he passed a few years later. I know that he was FLynns buddy cause he had all the pictures hangin on the walls and the stories were abundant and in line with everything that I had heard about Flynn. Except there were no gay stories from Chuck. The gay stories according to him were an attempt to ruin him. I believe my friend Chuck Pilleau………Still Puzzled About This Old Brassie Driver……….Was Errol right handed or not? I haven’t answered it yet. Pardon…..distracted with memmories of my pal Chuck. He seemed almost “life like” to Errols immage and mannerisims…..John Horton el************@ao*.com. ”
Unfortunately when I tried to contact Mr. Horton to putt him the photo pictured above as answer to his question, I came across another obituary: dfw.cbslocal.com…
Enjoy while you can,
— shangheinz
Gentleman Tim
October 4, 2016 at 9:05 am
Cutting edge stuff.
Here’s a more accurate assessment of the no-good creep:
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9250507/Charles-Higham.html…
P. S. According to the Hollywood power elite, Herr Errol was a righty. Per Castro-haters, Comrade Flynn was a lefty.
Anything more on “Sir Charles Pillau”? I’ve heard of Chuck Beef Pilau, said to be quite savory, but very little about Chuck Pillau, nor whether he was savory or unsavory.
Mucho gracias, Hollyweirdheinz
Philip
October 4, 2016 at 1:19 pm
Nice story. Too bad about Mr Horton’s demise. I’m guessing Flynn’s ‘double’ Pilleau would have known ‘stand in’ Jim Fleming? Anyone know? If so I’m guessing they would have made quite a pair, living off their good looks as it were
shangheinz
October 4, 2016 at 2:48 pm
Nice comment, Phil. I remember reading somewhere that Errol one day strolled down the Warner Bros. studio parking lot flanked by 2-3 look-a-likes. Kind of an ” Army of clone warriors.” The most handsome being his best man, Freddie McEvoy, whose similar appearence saved Errol in the trial of `42. Here`s more on Jimbo Flem: www.theerrolflynnblog.com…
shangheinz
October 5, 2016 at 3:40 pm
Flynn folks, you can call me an err`dowell. Robert F. just let me know via e- mail that Mr. John Horton is happy`n`healthy. Thank you Rob Roguezak for keeping an eye on the EF blog and us blogheads here informed. Just remember: to err is human, but to errol is devine!
Gentleman Tim
October 6, 2016 at 3:14 am
Well, humanheinz, it appears rumors of Mr. Horton’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Likewise, without further evidence, it appears rumors of Mr. Pilleau’s life may have also been greatly exaggerated.
rwf999
June 30, 2023 at 3:36 pm
Hello, Gang,
As a young film student & lifetime fan of Errol Flynn’s films & his book My Wicked Wicked Ways, I was pleased to know Chuck Pileau in Hollywood from 1976 to 1979 when he managed the large apartment complex on the entire block of Hollywood Boulevard between Fuller & Camino Palmero. At 80-years-old, he was in great shape still and had several strikingly beautiful younger girlfriends. His photos & stories of a close friendship with Errol Flynn was not only believable but most likely true — he took a writing partner & me to the ‘closed services’ in Beverly Hills for Peter Finch and introduced us to many actors from the old days who very much knew him. In addition, he was visited at the apartment by an Olympic fencing master (in his 80’s) who shared stories with us of working with Errol Flynn and other swashbucklers on the Warner sets. Sly & Sasha Stallone lived in our building those same years, after the 1st Rocky but before he’d received any real money, and they were also friends of Chuck’s.