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Archive for the ‘Behind the Scenes’ Category

Captain Blood Honeymoon — June, 1935

23 Jun

June 20, 1935

Yuma Nuptials
Los Angeles Examiner

To Judge Earl A. Freeman, the marrying judge of Yuma, Ariz., it was just another wedding yesterday when he married Lili Damita, vivacious French actress, and Errol Flynn, Irish actor.

But to the eloping, excited young couple it was the thrilling finale of a romantic trail started six months ago when they met and fell in love on a New York bound ocean liner.

June 21, 1935

Harrison Carroll
Evening Herald Express

Honeymooners Lily Damita and Errol Flynn showed up at the Trocadero only a few hours after their marriage in Yuma and got a royal reception from the stay-up-laters.

June 22, 1935

Louella O. Parsons
Los Angeles Examiner

Lili Damita and Errol Flynn entertaining twelve of their intimates at a wedding dinner.

June 23, 1935

Flim Flam with Sidney Skolsky
Hollywood Citizen News

Lily Damita has told intimates that the reason she got married is that she wants a baby.

June 24, 1935

Reine Davies
Hollywood Parade

Lily Damita and Errol Flynn’s honeymoon house atop Lookout Mountain was the “location” for high revelry last Thursday night, when the entertained at a formal dinner, not only to celebrate their marriage the previous day, but Errol’s birthday as well.

The vivacious Lili had the attractive home bounding with valley lilies, white roses and gardenias, and the party was high-spotted when the butler, with befitting fanfare, brought on a huge wedding cake, followed by another for Errol.

Those who wished the Frenchy Lili and her Irish husband great happiness were Dolores Del Rio and Cedric Gibbons, the Countess de Maigret, Peggy Fears, George Cukor, Al Kaufman, Lloyd Pantages, Rene Hubert, and those hospitable romancers, Lyda Roberti and Bud Ernst.

To carry on the celebrating, Al Kaufman later took the entire party to the Miramar Hotel, where they greeted “Colonel” Gus Arnheim, and danced to his very danceable music.

June 25, 1935

Louella O. Parsons
Los Angeles Examiner

Lili Damita and her bridegroom, Errol Flynn, who have been much entertained since their trip to Yuma, are being given a dinner by Dolores Del Rio Wednesday.

June 26, 1935

Louella O. Parsons
Los Angeles Examiner

Keep your eye on Errol Flynn,the publicity he received when he married Lili Damita didn’t do him any harm and Warners are now getting ready to give him a break.

June 27, 1935

Hollywood Citizen News

Tests for Captain Blood will be no make-shift. So anxious is director Michael Curtiz to have everything right for the selection of the cast, that he has persuaded the studio to construct realistic sets for various scenes in the script from which tests can be made. One of the sets constructed for testing purposes only is a South Seas island locale. Robert Barratt is being tested for the important role of the French pirate. And Errol Flynn is again being given more elaborate tests for the title role.

June 28, 1935

Harrison Carroll
Evening Herald Express

Lili Damita’s new groom, Errol Flynn, is versatile to no end. In addition to acting for Warner pictures (he has a good chance for the lead in Captain Blood) the young Irishman is writing a book about his experiences in the interior of New Guinea.

And he’s an ace at tennis, too, which is Hollywood’s favorite game.

June 29, 1935

Warner Bros. Begin Intricate Tests for Captain Blood, Raphael Sabatini’s swashbuckling novel of adventure on the Spanish Main. The film will enter actual production a month hence as one of Warner Brothers most tremendous screen undertakings.

Scores of actors have passed before the all-seeing eye of the testing cameras.

Errol Flynn is receiving the most careful consideration for the romantic role of Captain Peter Blood.

June 30, 1935

Bridal Toasts Delay Dinner for Newlyweds

So hearty and sincere was the toasting to wish enduring happiness for the newkyweds, Lili Damita and Errol Flynn, that it was 10 o’clock before the party went into dinner last Wednesday night, when Dolores Del Rio and Cedric Gibbons entertained for the couple at a formal dinner party.

Lili wore a printed evening gown of corn yellow. And with her exquisite ruby ring as her only adornment, Dolores’ dark beauty was strikingly effective in a white crepe gown of Grecian lines.

— Tim

 

Cheers!

22 Jun

___

Cheers to All Who Toasted Errol on his 111th!!!

___

I am not able to name all those who deserve praise for their participation, but here are some key Flynnmates we can thank here, alphabetically by first name

___

…..

Andy Hill from Chico, “Home of Sherwood Forest”
– Whiskey

A.R. – Cognac

‘B’ from Chicago

Bob Searles from Boston
Toasted from Cape Cod with a Cape Codder

Cathleen Schutz and Husband
G&T’s from North Haledon, New Jersey

Claudia from Germany
Champagne in Bavaria

Debby Phielix from Dordrect, Netherlands
Vodka and Cola

Jack ‘Mulholland Man’ Marino
From just north of Mulholland

Jose Garcia from Albecete, Spain
Toasted with La Mancha wine, a la Errol in ’37

King David from Myrtle Beach
CEO of the EFB

King Karl Holmberg
A Jack Rose from Upstate New York

Linda from New York
From Manhattan with a Jack Rose

Mitchell K. Green from Atlantla
Will “lift a libation”

Paul Harrison from Manchester, UK
formerly from Laguna Beach, USA
A G&T from Manchester

Ralph Schiller from outside Chicago

Selene Hutchison-Zuffi
From Kentucky – White Zinfandel

shangheinz – Flynn’s Main Man in Europe
A Will Tell from Vienna.

Steven Springer from Silver Spring, Maryland
Steve and his wife met online because of their
shared love of Errol and his films! He proposed on June 20, 1996

Steve & Genene (tassie devil)
From Hobart, Tasmania
Toasted with a G&T and Cascade beer

Tina Nyary
18-year-old Glenfiddich Malt Whiskey
Once poolside in the afternoon, once in the evening!!

Tita Lopez
Tequila in Tijuana

— Tim

 

Toasting Errol’s 111th Birthday at the Very Wooden Bar He Drank at in the 1930s

22 Jun

June 20, 2020, at the Old Arcade Tap Room in Delray Beach, Florida

Conveniently if not coincidentally, the Happy Birthday lights were there when we arrived to toast!

www.theerrolflynnblog.com…

The Baron in Boca

— Tim

 

How do you say no in Mexico?

18 Jun

June 17, 1938

Jimmy Starr
Evening Herald Express

Not so many months ago Booker McClay was Errol Flynn’s stand-in. Then one day word came that Booker had inherited more than three million dollars.* He quit his job, went into picture producing in Mexico. Yesterday he offered his former boss a fabulous salary to star in one production. Errol’s taking up the deal with Jack Warner, who will probably say “nix.”

* His inheritance included Texas and Oklahoma oil properties from his grandfather.

— Tim

 

A Day in the Life of Arno and Errol — June 16, 1938

16 Jun

June 16, 1938

Harrison Carroll

Evening Herald Express

Errol Flynn’s dog, Arno, is barred off The Sisters set. Flynn has been training him as a protector and, when Bette Davis had to make a pass at Errol in a scene, the dog lunged at her, bit her leg and chased Bette up on a chair.

June 16, 1938

Jimmy Starr

Evening Herald Express

Errol Flynn’s getting rid of part of his private navy. Once the proud possessor of a fleet of five boats, Errol now has but three. Poor boy!

— Tim

 

An A through Z List of Possible Libations for the Global Toast to Errol on June 20, 2020

15 Jun

Based on drinks and beverages Errol is known to have drank, believed to have drank, likely Drank, rumored to have drank, and has had created and named in tribute to him, here is an A through Z list of possible libations for the Global Toast to Errol Flynn on June 20, 2020:

Absinthe – in Europe and New Orleans

Bacardi – in Cuba and elsewhere

Bavarian Beer – in Germany

Bloody Mary – the drink he introduced at the Smokehouse in LA

Bourbon – during Desperate Journey (the movie, not the marriage to Lili)

Brandy and Soda – a favored drink in New Guinea during his days there

British Beers from his days in Britain and at the Cock’n Bull in LA

Bundaberg Beer – in Australia and New Guinea

Bundy (Bundaberg Rum) – in Australia and New Guinea

Captain’s Blood – a daiquiri created in tribute to Errol

Cascade Brewery Beer – from Tasmania, per tassiedevil (Steve & Genene)

Champagne – throughout his celebrity years, and a la Olivia’s annual birthday toast to Errol

Chianti – drank at various locations and occasions

Coca-Cola

Coffee – throughout adulthood

Courvoisier cognac – during years of celebrity

Cuba Libre – from his first visits to Cuba in the mid-Thirties

Cuba Story – a drink created for Errol by Dennis Mullen

Daiquiri – during his visits to Havana, a la El Floridita

Dry Martini – throughout years of celebrity

Errol Flynn’s Pick-Me-Up – a drink named after him

Fine French Wines – brought with him to locations without, per Difford’s Guide for Discriminating Drinkers

Gin, bathtub-style – a la Errol at the Roosevelt Hotel

Gin – in many drinks, with mixes from tonic to O.J., sometimes with a splash of Squirt

Guinness Stout – in Britain and Ireland and elsewhere

Hennessy Cognac – a likely Flynn cognac

Herradura – the tequila owned by his friend Bing Crosby

Italian Wines – during his days in Italy and filming of William Tell (with sardines), et al

Irish Beers – from his days in Ireland and Britain

Irish whiskeys

Jack Rose – at the 21 Club (and maybe the Mocombo)

Jamaican Reef – created for Errol Dennis Mullen

Johnnie Walker – per Difford’s Guide for Discriminating Drinkers

Kentucky whiskey – straight, in a Mint Julep, or in a Kentucky Coffee

Louis XIII Cognac – a possible Flynn cognac

Maid Marian – created and bottled by Chesterfield Whisky

Mai Tai – see the “Q.B. Cooler” below

Mojito – a la Bodeguita del Medio

Moselle – a la 21 Club

Moscow Mule – a la the Cock ‘n Bull in LA

Napolean Cognac – a likely Flynn cognac

Navy Grog – in tribute to Errol’s In the Wake of the Bounty

Old Fashioned – a likely cocktail for Errol throughout adulthood

Pi Yi – a la Don the Beachcomber, LA

Q.B. Cooler – predecessor of the Mai Tai, created by tiki-drink pioneer, Donn Beach

Queen Elizabeth

Queen’s Pineapple Punch – a la Don the Beachcomber’s, LA

Remy Martin

Robin Hood cocktail

Rum and Coca-Cola – a la Caribbean, California and Courmayeur, et al

Sangria – a la Errol’s days in Spain

Sangro de Cristo

Sazerac – a la New Orleans

Scotch

Tasmanian Devil

Tea – throughout his life

Tequilas – during his days in Mexico

The Errol Flynn – created by Errol, resurrected a la Petronella Wyatt

The Martini Special – a la Fabio Delgado Fuentes

The Tasmanian – a la Dennis Mullen

The Vancouver – a la Sylvia Hotel, Vancouver

U.S. Bar Beers – a la Boardner’s in LA and many other locations in. U.S.

Various Vodkas – straight, with tonic, with O.J., inter alia

Vicious Virgin – a la Don the Beachcomber

Veuve Clicquot

Vodka with Red Pepper – a la The Hotel Savoy’s American Bar in London

Water – both sparkling and natural

Whiskey Sour – a likely for Errol throughout adulthood

XXXX Gold beer- from Queensland and Tasmania

York Gin – Old Tom and Outlaw

Your favorite or choice for saluting Errol

Zombie – a la Don the Beachcomber

Zubrowka Polish Vodka

— Tim

 

Errol at Sea – June of ’33

14 Jun

June 15, 1933

Excusez mon français

www.fecamp-terre-neuve.fr/Navires/Compiegne.html…

— Tim

 

No Highballs, Jingle Bells or Rah-Rah

13 Jun

But it was a Really Big Shew Nonetheless

June 13, 1939

Ed Sullivan

Hollywood Citizen News

Director Mike Curtiz, one of the best on the Warner lot, has a bad memory for names….He calls John Garfield “Group Theater”….Claude Rains, to Curtiz, always is “Mister Theater Guild”….Wayne Morris is “Bank Night”….Olivia de Havilland is “Baby”….In Elizabeth and Essex, Curtiz became impatient with a love scene that Errol Flynn and Bette Davis were doing, and stopped the action….”Remember always,” he explained, that this is a 17th Century love story without the highballs, jingle bells and rah-rah”….

— Tim

 

Errol’s Greige-Green Silver River Wool Coat

13 Jun

June 12, 1947

— Tim

 

Errol Visits Puerto Rico; Mussolini Declares War — June 10, 1940

10 Jun

— Tim