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Archive for the ‘Behind the Scenes’ Category

Nay Paree

14 Dec

Errol gets a 20K pre-Christmas bonus for cancelling his “reconciliation trip” to Paris with Lili.

December 14, 1936

Sheila Graham
Dallas Morning News

Errol Flynn demanded – and received – a $20,000 bonus for cutting off his reconciliation trip with wife Lili Damita, returning to Hollywood in the kiddie story, Prince and the Pauper.

****

Good-looking Hollywood gossip columnist Sheila Graham had a thing for the very virile Errol, a thing that made her legend of literature lover, F. Scott Fitzgerald, very jealous. At one point, the Mighty Flynn lived in a Garden of Allah bungalow next door to Fitzgerald’s. Sheila resided a block away, but often stayed with Fitzgerald at the Garden of Allah. She wrote the book on Hollywood’s most notorious upscale hotel of hedonism.

— Tim

 

Friday the 13th, 1939 @ WB

13 Dec

“On Friday, January 13, 1939, a party was held on Stage 5 (now Stage 15) at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. The “Gay Lady Saloon” set from Warner’s Technicolor western spectacular Dodge City was still in use, having been dressed with additional props to celebrate that day’s Friday the 13th, and to poke fun at various other superstitions. Here is a selection of photos from that gathering, the original negatives of which were recently found deep in the WB archives.”

www.warnerbros.com…

Henry O’Neill, Alan Hale, Michael Curtiz. Errol

Errol & Olivia

Errol, between Rosemary and Priscilla Lane

The Dodge City “Gay Lady Saloon” Bar

— Tim

 

The Perfect Specimen

11 Dec

December 11, 1937

WHAT THE PICTURE DID FOR ME

The Perfect Specimen: Errol Flynn, Joan Blondell — It is a natural. Plenty of clever stuff and Flynn and Blondell are good in the roles as the perfect man and the gal who knows what’s good for him — A.E. Goodman, Columbia Theatre, Columbia City, Ind. General Patronage.

— Tim

 

Twelfth Century Warfare at Warners

11 Dec

December 8, 1937

Los Angeles Examiner

RATHBONE AND FLYNN HURT IN ROBIN HOOD

This Twelfth century warfare is really tough.

So much mused Basil Rathbone, Errol Flynn and Sol Gorss yesterday as their names were added to the list of Robin Hood casualties.

Rathbone, who went through four years of World War without a scratch, came out of the Nottingham castle melee with a spear wound in the foot.

Flynn had a bump on his head, the result of a collision with a scabbard.

Gorss had a twisted ankle. He was stepped on by an extra after being “killed” by an arrow from Robin Hood’s bow.*

* The prolific Mr. Gorss:

Sol Gorss – In for Flynn

— Tim

 

Va Vooming with Virginia

06 Dec

December 4, 1944

Sidney Skolsky
Hollywood Citizen News

Errol Flynn and Virginia Norcross are vooming.

*******

There is little available on the internet about Virginia Norcross, but there is this about her marriage to Ann Miller’s wealthy ex, Reese Milner. The above image is from the Sanctuary of Heritage at Forest Lawn in Glendale. She died in Beverly Hills on January 29, 1992, exactly 44-years to the day following the nationally-published divorce/marriage announcement below.

“On January 29, 1948”: HOLLYWOOD (U.R) Steel Works Heir Reese Milner, 32, divorced Wednesday by Movie Dancer Ann Miller, 24, will be married Friday to Mrs. Virginia Norcross, 30, of San Francisco, a friend “for years and years.” Milner and Mrs. Norcross took out a license Wednesday, three hours after Miss Miller’s final decree was entered at his request.”

— Tim

 

Hamilton

05 Dec

A new movie about Sean?

“I want things to give my life gravitas, and that’s the movie about Sean Flynn.”

Errol takes Sean and the Tan Man to ELMO

“We met as teenagers in Palm Beach. One night when we were about 15 and both at boarding school, Errol Flynn showed up in New York and took us to dinner. To El Morocco, which wasn’t even a place to go to dinner, it was a nightclub. Sean and I showed up in our best Brooks Brothers blazers,”

www.townandcountrymag.com…

— Tim

 

Setting the Beard on Fire

03 Dec

December 3, 1937

Harrison Carroll
LA Evening Herald Examiner

…Errol Flynn held up the Robin Hood company for half an hour when he accidently set fire to Basil Rathbone’s beard, then completed the damage by tossing a bucket of water in his face.

— Tim

 

No Buffalo in Modesto

02 Dec

But it’s a great excuse to steal a kiss from Olivia!

December 1, 1938

Los Angeles Examiner

Behind the Makeup

By Erskine Johnson

ON THE SETS: EXTERIOR — PRAIRIE — MODESTO, CALIF.

Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland ride to the top of a low ride and pull their horses to a halt. Their eyes travel over the countryside. Flynn, making his debut as a Western hero in Dodge City, lifts his arm, points off into the distance.

“See that herd of buffalo grazing so peacefully over there?” he says to Miss De Havilland.

She nods and her eyes follow his outstretched hand. Then she breaks into an involuntary giggle, spoiling the scene.

Flynn’s “herd of buffalo” is a lone, tired looking cow.

But when the picture is completed, the cow will be a real herd of buffalo. A camera crew traveled all the way to Oklahoma to photograph one of the few remaining herds of the animals that made the nickel famous. There aren’t any in California.

— Tim

 

Before She was a Guest

25 Nov

November 25, 1944

Louella O. Parsons

The lovely with Errol Flynn these nights is Lucy Cochrane, Boston socialite.

***

After she married a cousin of Churchill’s 75 years ago, Lucy became more famously known as “C. Z. Guest”

— Tim

 

TALK OF THE TOWN

21 Nov

November 1936

*******

November 17, 1936

Jimmy Starr
Evening Herald Examiner

ERROL AT THE CLOVER CLUB

Ahem! Bob Taylor was out a-dancing with Ginger Rogers at the Clover Club!

And for someone just separated from his wife, Errol Flynn seemed to be having JULLY times at the same spot….

*******

November 20, 1936

Harrison Carroll
Evening Herald Examiner

ERROL AT THE CAFE´ LAMAZE

Figure me this. On Wednesday night, Errol Flynn came into the Cafe´ Lamaze alone and ordered dinner. While it was cooking, he put in a long distance call to Palm Springs.  Oddly enough, the call was to Lili Damita.  And even more odd, when the two had finished talking, Flynn canceled his order for dinner and dashed off in a steaming hurry.

Fine goings on for an-about-to-divorced pair! Or are they?

*******

November 25, 1936

Elizabeth Yeaman
Hollywood Citizen News

ERROL & LILI AT THE BROWN DERBY

Even the best friends of Lili Damita and Errol Flynn are smiling at the story that broke today on their marital reconciliation. The story came as the result of the discovery of the pair at the Beverly Hills Brown Derby last night. They looked serene. News hounds bombarded them for a statement. Both know the value of publicity and gave them a statement.  But their close friends, knowing the fiery temperament of both, predict that the reunion will be of brief and stormy duration.

*******

November 27, 1936

Harrison Carroll
Evening Herald Examiner

PUTTIN´ ON THE RITZ

The Lili Damita-Errol Flynn reconciliation takes on the aspect of a second honeymoon, or rather a first, as the two came right back to Hollywood after their elopement to Yuma. Through the studio, Errol has engaged the bridal suite at the Ritz Towers in New York, and is trying to get the same accommodations for his and Lili’s trip to Europe.

— Tim