— David DeWitt
Archive for November, 2021
Black Flynnday
28
Nov
Dear Flynnmates,
this is the original farewell article of PARIS MATCH about our Hollywood heroe‘s untimely demise.
It shows a pensive Flynn, who may very well have felt the night coming on.
The in the headline suggested cause of death: too much heart(beat)…
Adieu,
— shangheinz
The Indestructible Man by Don Keith and David Rocco
26
Nov
In longstanding tradition, we like to post promos for our special Friends of Flynn …
The Indestructible Man
The Incredible True Story of the Legendary Sailor the Japanese Couldn’t Kill
– By Don Keith and David Rocco
978-0-8117-3964-1 $27.95, Hardback
978-0-8117-6963-1 $26.50, Electronic book text
Imprint: Stackpole Books
April 2021
240 pages
Size: 6 x 9
Category: History (Military / World War II)
Includes: 49 Illustrations, 49 Photos
Dixie Kiefer’s reputation for durability began at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he broke an ankle and shattered a kneecap while playing football. After anti-submarine duty in World War I, he became a pioneer of naval aviation and had an elbow shattered by a plane that buzzed him as a joke. Kiefer’s first World War II assignment was executive officer of the carrier Yorktown. He earned the Distinguished Service Medal at the Coral Sea and the Navy Cross at Midway, where—as his ship was sinking—he suffered severe burns to his hands and a compound fracture of his foot. After recuperating, Kiefer took command of the Ticonderoga. In January 1945, Japanese kamikazes struck the carrier, killing and wounding hundreds. Kiefer broke his arm and was struck by more than sixty pieces of shrapnel—but remained on the bridge for twelve hours, earning the Silver Star. Victim of ten wounds in two wars, veteran of some of the U.S. Navy’s most celebrated carriers and battles, a naval aviation pioneer, Dixie Kiefer died in a stateside plane crash two months after the war ended.
The Authors
Don Keith is a journalist with decades of experience across various media. As a broadcast journalist, he won awards from the Associated Press and UPI for news writing and reporting, received the first Hector Award from Troy University for innovation in broadcast journalism, and was twice named Billboard’s radio personality of the year for his work in Birmingham and Nashville. As a print journalist, his writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Congressional Quarterly, and American Legion. He is author or co-author of thirty books, both fiction and nonfiction, including Hunter Killer, the basis of a 2018 movie starring Gary Oldman and Gerard Butler. He lives outside Birmingham, Alabama.
Photography has been a passion for David Rocco for the past twenty years. A number of his photos have been displayed at regional galleries, historical societies, schools, libraries and street festivals. His work has also been published in a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, trade journals, annual and quarterly reports, promotional packages, calendars and websites. In 2013, three of David Rocco’s images were selected for a photo exhibition at the Arts Westchester Gallery in White Plains, NY showcasing the Damage and Destruction of Hurricane Sandy. Shortly thereafter, The Museum of the City of New York selected a number of these images as well for their Hurricane Sandy Exhibition. These images were also entered into the New York City permanent records. Several of David Rocco’s photos were also selected for Arts Westchester’s 50th Years Through the Decades Anniversary celebration in 2015. In 2019, he was awarded the second annual Lawrence (Larry) Salley Photography Award by Arts Westchester for my body of work documenting the construction and demolition of the Tappan Zee Bridge/ Gov. Cuomo Bridge. Several of his images were selected and installed at kiosk stands on the multi-use pathway rest areas on the new bridge. A number of his photos that were published in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020 were considered for a Pulitzer Prize in Photography. The 2020 photo that is under consideration for a Pulitzer was nominated for the New York Press Association Photography Award.
Rowman.com…
Emily Cable ● ec****@ro****.com
Distribution:
15200 NBN Way, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214
Tel: (800) 462-6420 Fax: (800) 338-4550
— David DeWitt
Love Boat
25
Nov
Dear Flynnmates,
let me take you on a little ship trip again. Some images have been shown here before and if you remember we wondered who the lads and the ladies in attendance were.
Weekend Cruise with Errol Flynn! « The Errol Flynn Blog
The opinions varied and in the end we had some pretty educated guesses as well as far out assumptions. Let`s rock the boot one more time and look at the who`s who at the helm of the Sirocco.
I think Karl is right, the lady in white looks a lot like Cabot`s girl from the Vanderbilt wedding and not Beverly Tyler .
Then I opt for a black tanned Bud Ernst and his two time wife Betty Furness holding on to the steering wheel.
Big Boy is a fix, while Lupe Velez is a nix. That`s not her. Not sure if it is Barbara Weeks either.
Now things get interesting. I think I saw a young Otto Reichow pleading love to one of the girls. This would be quite a find, since we know Otto only from photos at Flynn`s funeral and poolside with Beverly Aadland.
Here is a picture at a different angle with the man facing the camera.
If I had any money I`d bet it on Reichow to win by a whale`s length.
Maybe that`s why I don`t have any.
Here he is in later years.
I leave it for you to decide.
But the real trove would be, if that girl behind his left was a young Ava Gardner. In her biography she wrote she went out with Flynn before her career took off. They stayed friendly and years later were starring together in “The Sun also rises”. Flynntimo Ventu Sala told me Errol stood her up once in Mallorca, when she came to his hotel room door and he wouldn`t/couldn`t open the door.
Anyways, what do you think?
Here she is on the movie lot in another relaxing pose.
I may have a winner here.
Enjoy,
— shangheinz
Shooting the Breeze with the Boys
22
Nov
Dear Flynnmates,
here is a picture of Errol Flynn and the crew of the Kathleen (more likely the sloop than the schooner) at the Royal Jamaica Yacht Club.
The first blog member that guesses, who the lady at his side was, wins a rum punch lollipop.
Enjoy,
— shangheinz
The Cruise of the Zaca!
19
Nov
The short documentary produced by Warner Brothers was about Errol Flynn’s Cruise of the Zaca which took place in 1946. The Cruise of the Zaca was a special engagement presentation at the 2021 Coronado Island Film Festival. (CIFF) The well attended film was shown at the Sacred Heart Parish Hall Theater on Saturday morning November 13, 2021.
At the conclusion of the showing, film historian and renowned movie critic, Leonard Maltin acted as moderator of a panel that included Errol Flynn’s daughter Rory Flynn and Academy Award Winner Actor and Flynn family friend, Richard Dryfuss. By the way, Dreyfuss received the Coronado Island Film Festival 2021 Cultural Impact Award.
Maltin shared his perspective of Errol Flynn’s career and personal life. He summed it all up by stating that “Errol Flynn was an underrated actor who wasn’t given due credit for his acting ability and made “Good Copy” for the way he lived his life, both on and off the silver screen.”
Just prior to the showing of the film, Rory Flynn shared background with the audience about her father as a slideshow showcased a number of photos with Errol Flynn as a toddler right up to the height of his career. She told stories about her father, her mother Nora Eddington and her grandfather, who were all shown onboard the Cruise of the Zaca.
Richard Dreyfuss shared his love and admiration for Errol Flynn’s acting ability and career. He remarked, “How damn good looking Errol Flynn was.”
The Cruise of the Zaca is a 17 minute film about a voyage taken by Errol Flynn, Errol’s wife Nora Eddington, Errol’s father, Professor Theodore Thomsom Flynn(who was an renowned marine biologist), painter John Decker, actor Howard Hill, director Charles Gross, cameraman Jerry Corneya and Professor Carl Hubbs and several scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California. The purpose of the trip was to give his father and members of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography the opportunity to research rare endemic plant life and animal species. The trip started in August 1946 travelling south along the Mexican coastline before stopping in Acapulco for a short stay. The Zaca was used for the movie, The Lady From Shanghai which starred Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth. Once filming was completed on the Zaca, Errol Flynn continued the cruise traveling through the Panama Canal and ending up in Jamaica.
David Rocco
David Rocco and Richard Dreyfus
Rory Flynn with David Rocco
— David DeWitt
So Many Mistakes in Story of Errol Flynn’s Birthplace
19
Nov
There are so many mistakes about Errol Flynn’s birthplace. The Flynn family moved to a boarding house called Westella on the other side of Hobart to Sandy Bay known as North Hobart. They then moved to Mildura a 2 story semi detached house. Still in North Hobart they lived there till young Errol was around 5 years old. Errol was born at the Queen Alexandria hospital. Anyone that knows the early life of Errol and has shared information about his birthplace knows the truth I really HATE when people put up so many false statements in a published story. One great book to get is by Don Norman called The Tasmanian Story. Don was a great friend of Errol’s. it was not Captain Bligh’s sword the family owned, it was Fletcher Christian’s sword. His father did not take him along a lot of the time. He was left to his own devices and so to his mother. His mother was not the outdoors type. She loved to socialize at party’s given by the rich members of Tasmania. She even went as far as to send a letter to her sister in Sydney after Errol’s birth and called him ” … baby.” They did have Tasmanian Devils in the yard when they were at Mildura. Errol’s father went to Hobart to take up the position of Professor of Biology and has many things named after him in Hobart.
And as for signs there is no plaque where he was born as it is now town houses. We looked into it but it was too difficult to place a plaque there. My Husband and I still run the Errol Flynn Society of Tasmania. The green sign at the end of The Errol Flynn Reserve was put there by us. We fought for years to get that sign placed there. The locals wanted nothing to do with it. NO CHANGE said the council and administration. It went in front of them so many times. And finally I called the nomenclature board which allows names to be erected and the leader of this board and his wife who did not like Errol tried to stop it every way we turned . Finally the council saw sense and allowed us to erect that sign. It is placed there as Errol was taught to swim there and also the beach is a leash free dog area where many many dogs enjoy freedom chasing balls, swimming, and as Errol loved his dog’s we thought it only fitting for it to be erected there. I suggest the Museum of Lost Things lost do not know what they are talking about …
— tassie devil
