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Author Archive

Son of Tell

25 Feb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Flynnstones,

until recently very little was known about child actor Guido Martufi, who played Errol‘s son Jimmy/Gemmy in “The Story of William Tell“.

Little Guido won over Jack Cardiff in a casting, which saw him competing against Flynn‘s real life son Sean.

At 12 years he recently had completed “I Vitelloni“, the Fellini film prior to “La Strada“.

As it turns out this child prodigy had already done a tour to Hollywood before, starring in “Westward the Women“ by “Beau Geste“-director Willam A. Wellman and in Fred Zinnemann‘s “Teresa“.

He would go on after the missed appleshot to act in Selznick‘s remake of  “Farewell to the Arms“ and appear in some comedies of Totó, the Italian Charlie Chaplin.

Then at age 20 he would abruptly stop and never act again.

In an Italian interview in 1999 he promised a biography by an American film journalist, which by the sheer size of his work would have made for the slimmest book east of the English Kamasutra.

Enjoy,

 

 

 

 

 

— shangheinz

 

Very Probably

24 Feb

Dear Flynnstones,

life is like a box of chuckles.

Enjoy,

— shangheinz

 

From London with Love

23 Feb

Dear Flynnstones,

Austrian magazine Film+Funk ran a home story on Family Flynn in February of 1957.

They visit an Errol in great form in Great Britain.

All eyes are on little Arnella as she visits her Pa on the set of his TV-series.

She tears at his fake czar like beard and shakes hands with the “most important person“ on the lot, producer Norman Williams- „…the man who‘s handing me my pay cheque…“

TV in the 60s meant less work than for a movie with equal pay and a nation wide exposure.

No wonder our Hollywood hero felt revived.

After work saw the perfect papa coming home to wife, kid, Swiss nanny and parrot Guapa.

Enjoy,

— shangheinz

 

Signature Move

22 Feb

Dear Flynnstones,

“To inscribe or to imbibe?“ That was the question.

Enjoy,

— shangheinz

 

At the Hut

21 Feb

Dear Flynnstones,

Christian’s Hut opened on Catalina Island in 1935, as a bar for the crew working on the film “Mutiny on the Bounty” The bar was located right under Clark Gable’s room and was named after Clark Gable’s character in the film.

After filming was completed, owners Art LaShelle and Joe Guido moved the operation (in name only) to to Balboa Island in Newport Beach in a building that was the old Southern Seas Club. They draped the building with netting, added a dock, and introduced the Tahitian-style restaurant Christian’s Hut.  The sand-floored ground-level bar was frequented by the likes of Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart and Fred MacMurray.  Their bouncer, Don Vaughn invented a new concept in throwing out unruly customers; he carried them out to the end of the pier and threw them into the bay.

Read more here: tikicentral.com…

The mascot for Christian’s Hut was “the Goof,” whose genesis is not known; it was basically just a funny-looking head that topped the building. The Goof can now be seen atop Bali Hai (www.balihairestaurant.com…) in San Diego.

There were a handful of other locations that were never as popular as the original on Balboa Island.  Unfortunately, Christian’s Hut burned down in 1963 and the site is now home to the Newport Towers condominiums.

Here is Errol at the hut. He lingers on in tour guide Mang’s memories.

Balboa Island Museum’s “Golden Age of Newport Harbor” Movie Premieres at Balboa Yacht Club

Enjoy,

— shangheinz

 

A Cad And His Jag

20 Feb


Dear Flynnstones,

Suicide Freddie aka Freddy McEvoy is always a terrific topic.

ERROL’S BEST MATE – YOU WON’T BELIEVE THIS ONE EITHER!!!

Enjoy,

— shangheinz

 

Harley Flynn

19 Feb

Dear Flynnstones,

here is a postcard from Errol to his Doc in Harley Street of London.

He writes from Monaco, where a few weeks ago the dream wedding of fellow actress Grace Kelly with Prince Ranier had taken place.

While his pal David Niven was a guest of honor, Flynn had been busy filming.

Enjoy,

 

 

— shangheinz

 

In the Shin Like Flynn

18 Feb

Dear Flynnstones,

Errol leaves a downtown NY court with advocate Morris Green after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and paying a fine 50 dollars for kicking a cop in the shin on December 8, 1948.

It is unconfirmed, that he vowed to change his kicked, kicked ways.

Enjoy,

— shangheinz

 

Errol Goes National

17 Feb

Dear Flynnstones,

a pencil drawing of Errol by artist Henry Major made it into the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute. It dates from around 1934-38 and despite the missspelling depicts the Old Sport rather swell. Doesn‘t it?

Enjoy,

— shangheinz

 

Zaca at War

16 Feb

Dear Flynnstones,

to Errol his yacht Zaca meant “Peace“, during wartime she widely became known as IX 73.

www.history.navy.mil…

Enjoy,

 

 

— shangheinz