The Mail Bag brings an interesting item today.
David,
I live in NYC and have just found a cache of Dr Erben material, some of it in German, from the estate of the late Rudolf Stoiber, renowned Austrian journalist and playwright. Some of it is letters to and from Frederick Justh, in which Justh defends a Dr Miorini with whom Erben was living in China.
That part is auf Deutsch and I will translate slowly and carefully, along with other material.
A large part of it is an unpublished manuscript from Joan Erben, the wife he married by impressing that he was Errol Flynn’s best friend. It too will take time to read and digest, but already I have the opinion that she spent the rest of her life miserable seeing that her husband was a thief and a liar, and nobody’s best friend. Poor girl. The manuscript was sent to Charles Higham ca. 1979, and then copied to Stoiber.
Both, I understand, feel that Flynn was a nazi. So far as I can see there is no proof.
I look forward to going through this in the weeks to come and meeting you here in NYC where you can take a look. Also, if you have time, you can meet a Jewish friend of mine who was an American Army officer in charge of the Berlin Autobhan ca. 1952, when he was asked to escort a visitor to the film fest, to wit, Errol Flynn. He tells me that Flynn and his wife were excellent company and that through Flynn he got a job; and that later, he worked at TRUE as an editor when TRUE ran a bio on Flynn. Hopefully he will find the photo taken of himself with Flynn and provide more details when we meet in NYC.
Regards,
Ken Gibson
These Nazi claims by Higham has been rather thoroughly debunked by researchers and scholars, and some of the Stoiber material has been translated from German before but the Joan Erben manuscript is new to me. Should be intersting to hear what Ken thinks of the material after he has has had a chance to study it.
Thanks, Ken!
— David DeWitt
shangheinz
April 5, 2016 at 10:25 pm
Joan Erben like Flynn also had been bamboozled by the travelling Tropic Doc. They married when she was quite young, then Erben took her patrimony, promised her a Hollywood mansion near our Hollywood hero. But he rescheduled and took a medical assignment in Iran. While Joan packed her best clothes for cocktail parties at the court of the Shah, her husband failed to inform her that they would be situated at an outpost. Hermann E. didn´t last long, he as usual brushed everybody the wrong way and got expelled from the country. More Koets here: www.theerrolflynnblog.com…
TomHutch
January 28, 2019 at 12:40 pm
Does anybody know anything of Erbens second wife Joan? I am a researcher and am trying to determine when she married Hermann F Erben and where she was born.
I note the above is taken from a manuscript penned by Joan and I was just hoping for some insight into her. was she Austrian?
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Gentleman Tim
January 25, 2019 at 4:22 am
I know nothing, Herr Hutch! However, here are a couple of photos of the couple in question. I believe sir shangheinz – Our Man in Vienna – is the main man on these matters.
www.theerrolflynnblog.com……
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The Zaca
April 5, 2016 at 11:56 pm
Looking forward to your next update!
Sergio
April 6, 2016 at 12:22 am
According to Errol’s bio; “My Wicked Wicked Ways”, he and Erben traveled much of the world and in doing he learned a lot from him, his being a bad’er boy than what he himself was in some way already.
I’m sure this man Erben was not a really good guy, and anything would have been possible as to what he was capable of doing. With that being said; not sure still if he could have been a Nazi, for we know there’s not enough proof, although I don’t dismiss it completely!
In as far as Errol himself, I don’t believe he would have ran in that direction, as they were to cruel and inhumane and Errol was not built that way. He may in the early days, before Hollywood, sort of sympathized with their political view, wanting to get out of the depressed country, etc., yet when it turned to ugly, I am sure he threw himself far away from any association to any of their belief, in fact he wanted to take action against them, as he proved this by wanting to join the war against them, and was very upset at not being allowed do to his medical conditions as we all know this.
It least that’s my take on it….
David DeWitt
April 6, 2016 at 4:03 am
And a good take it is, Sergio!
TomHutch
January 24, 2019 at 5:01 pm
Does anybody know anything of Erbens second wife Joan? I am a researcher and am trying to determine when she married Hermann F Erben and where she was born.
I note the above is taken from a manuscript penned by Joan and I was just hoping for some insight into her. was she Austrian?
Gentleman Tim
January 25, 2019 at 4:22 am
I know nothing, Herr Hutch! However, here are a couple of photos of the couple in question. I believe sir shangheinz – Our Man in Vienna – is the main man on these matters.
www.theerrolflynnblog.com…