FEBRUARY 6, 1943
— Tim
Author Archive
Dear Errol Flynn, Love Marilyn Monroe
05
Feb
Dear Errol Flynn,
You are a hard man to get!
Love, Marilyn Monroe
from CHRISTIES:
MONROE, Marilyn (1926-1962) Autograph letter signed (”Marilyn Monroe”) to Errol Flynn (1909-1959), [Los Angeles, c. 1950]. 3 pages, on a folded 12mo calling card engraved on front: ”Mrs. Edward Francis Hutton,”
A rare and unusual autograph letter from the young star, written to one of her matinee idols, Errol Flynn, thanking him for a gift of flowers. The note, which appears to have been left at Flynn’s Mullholland Farm doorstep, reads, in full: “Dear Errol Flynn. You are a hard man to get! I have called you several times to thank you for the lovely flowers, and nice note, but have not been lucky enough to reach you – They were lovely, and it was so nice of you to have thought of sending them – Thank you – See you soon, have fun! love Marilyn Monroe”
Flynn was one of Monroe’s screen idols as a child–she saw Flynn’s 1937 film Prince and the Pauper at least three times. When she made it in Hollywood, she attended at least a few of Flynn’s infamous parties on Mullholland Farm. Heddy Lamar recalled that Flynn used to conduct “greyhound” races on the hillside lawns surrounding his estate, with six young men donning numbers on their backs, would chase a “rabbit,” which was actually a young girl, topless, wearing bunny ears. The winner would get the girl, while the girl received a sable stole. “In fact, Marilyn Monroe was the bunny once; though in all fairness to Marilyn, she got the sable but the winner got only a kiss and a photograph of himself with Marilyn…” (McNulty, Errol Flynn, 312)
— Tim
Errols
04
Feb
“Keeping in line with the theatrical theme, the trophy draws on spatial elements used to create theatrical space. The trophy illuminates from within a metallic bronze coloured powdercoated aluminium tube, as each trophy is symbolic of the shining talent they are awarded to. A fine slit in the aluminium narrows and intensifies the light, along which the names are engraved.” www.liminalstudio.com…
— Tim
A Facelift for Olas Atlas
01
Feb
“We cherish that some of the most famous people in the U.S. and Mexican political and cultural history continue to choose Mazatlan and Olas Altas as their hideaway,” said Ruiz Coppel. “From past Mexican presidents and some of the most celebrated names in Hollywood such as Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, John Wayne and Robert Mitchum to modern-day movie stars, Mazatlan will always be a quick getaway that’s not too far from home but a world away from the everyday grind.”
1930s
Today
— Tim
The Amazing Story of Sean’s Leica M2
31
Jan
“Sean Flynn’s Leica M2, with a Steel Rim Leica 35mm Summilux
and a strap that was hand fashioned from a parachute cord and a hand grenade pin.”
— Tim
Taylor vs. Flynn
25
Jan
PULLING NO PUNCHES: All Time Awesome Aussies
Extracts from: “DVD REVIEW: ACTOR ROD TAYLOR, FORMER BOXER AND LIFESAVER, PULLS NO PUNCHES”
By Simon Caterson January 25, 2018
As an all-purpose Australian leading man of the 1950s through to the ’70s in Hollywood, Rod Taylor was the natural screen successor to Errol Flynn. Flynn has maintained legendary status despite or because of his scandalous private life as well as his sparkling performances on screen, inspiring many biographies and biopics. Meanwhile, the impressive acting career of Taylor, who died in 2015 at the age of 84 after appearing in more than 50 feature films has been neglected.
The DVD/VOD release of Rod Taylor – Pulling No Punches is a welcome corrective as well as being a thoroughly entertaining documentary.
Flynn and Taylor belonged to different generations, though they played a range of not dissimilar big screen roles, from romantic comedy through to Westerns and war films, from pirate epics to contemporary thrillers. Taylor arguably played a wider variety of characters than Flynn, who died at 50.
Flynn’s career was constrained by working within the studio system at Warner Brothers and limited for the most part to working with certain directors and co-stars. By contrast, Taylor’s career, which commenced a few years after Flynn’s death, saw him work with a range of directors including Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford and, in his final performance he played Winston Churchill in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds.
In his prime, Flynn was almost impossibly handsome, while Rod Taylor came across as more of a regular guy. Bright-eyed and with a wide smile held in place by a strong jaw, there is an open faced, slightly rough-hewn look about Taylor – a certain down to earth, can-do quality that he seemed to project. He was a good-looking bloke, on whom, it seems there were no flies.
There are actors who may not win awards or garner critical accolades but they do win the hearts of cinemagoers who just want to enjoy seeing them on the screen. That easy-going, exportable charisma was there in Paul Hogan in his heyday and you can see it in the screen presence of an actor like Hugh Jackman or the Hemsworth brothers, a combination of mildness and athleticism with an apparent absence of pretension, angst or vanity.
In Pulling No Punches, Bryan Brown equates the international acting career of Rod Taylor with a big adventure for an Australian of that era in particular. Like many of the more authentic movie stars, Taylor was not the product of a posh drama school but had done a few different different things and seen a bit of life. So too had Errol Flynn, though Taylor seems to have been more level-headed in handling the pressures of fame.
— Tim
Jamaica’s Jolly Boys
22
Jan
Named and Catapulted to Fame by Flynn
Sherwood had its Merry Men, Jamaica has its Jolly Boys
Jamaica Music Museum pays tribute to the Jolly Boys
“The Jolly Boys are a mento group originally from Port Antonio, formed in 1945. First starting as part of a group that played at Errol Flynn’s parties, the band established itself as one of Jamaica’s enduring mento bands. Over seven decades they have won mento band competitions, toured across the island and around the world, and released ten albums. They also appeared in the 1989 film The Mighty Quinn, which featured Denzel Washington. With their 2010 cover of Amy Winehouse’s Rehab, the group facilitated a mento revival that has attracted music scholars and enthusiasts from around the world.”
“… Errol Flynn named this group “The Jolly Boys” after the vibe he caught from their playing. With Flynn’s imprimatur, the Jolly Boys music quickly defined mento and calypso entertainment in Port Antonio and set a high musical standard.”
” … Errol Flynn used to dock his yacht, Zaca, [at Port Antonio] back when the buccaneering Hollywood star was known as “Jamaica’s greatest tourist”. “Mr Errol Flynn, man. Yeah, baby!” twinkles [one of the Jolly Boys]. “He loved the local bars. He’d hang here and buy a bottle of white rum for the people.”
— Tim
Charity-Shop Shopping with Ms. Moss
21
Jan
“I used to walk around a lot when I was younger, get the tube, and every time I passed a charity shop I’d go in. I can sense if somewhere has a good one. I bought a dress that belonged to Errol Flynn’s wife. It was in Key West and the shop had a picture of her wearing it, tulle with white pearl and glass beads hanging off it.”
— Tim
