From our friend, Shel:
David,
— David DeWitt
Elmer Griffin’s legendary Tennis Club renovated and ready for the next set. One of Errol’s favorite courts.
— Tim
Grabbing breakfast this morning at the Brooklyn Water Bagel Company in Boca, I noticed the following 3′ x 3′ image. It’s a WWII era photo of the College Theater in Brooklyn, on the southeast corner of Flatbush Avenue and Glenwood Road. I can perrsonally attest that Flynn was HUGELY popular in Brooklyn, along the lines of a superhero – something touched upon in My Favotite Year.
— Tim
Errol/Titchfield Hotel
I enjoy reading your articles. I have often wondered if anyone knows what work Cahill Interiors did at the hotel for that this check paid for?
Thanks, Delaine!
— David DeWitt
He made Errol’s Robin Hood leather boots, and lent his horse Don to Errol for “Boots”. He was Bob Brown. Norman Rockwell declared him “The Leonardo of Leather”.
“Bob Brown’s first job was to create the tunic, belt, shoes and cap for Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood. Other famous owners of Bob’s work are John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Lash Larue, Sunset Carson, Hopalong Cassidy, Tex Williams and many many more. There is a story saying that Bob Brown was the one who taught John Wayne his famous walk.”
— Tim
Errol is in the news today in an article about the also immortally great Glenn Miller, both of whom were voted number one male entertainer favorites at Asbury Park High School in 1939 – Miller for music, Flynn for film – assessments I’m sure were true throughout the country. Here’s the article, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra’s superlative version of “Along the Santa Fe Trail”, “intended for but never used for the 1940’s film The Santa Fe Trail.”
forbiddenmusic.org… (Note the reference to Erich Korngold’s famous music-critic father, Julius.)
— Tim
We heard from actor Jonathan Stewart who starred as Errol Flynn in the musical play Errol & Fidel after two of our members Karl Holmber and Gentleman Tim attended the play in NYC.
Hi there,
I qwas given your card by an audience member after one of our performances last week. I’m the actor who played Errol and I hope you enjoyed the show. We all had a wonderful time living in the world of Errol and Fidel and the audiences seemed to love the show. It was a very tall order as an actor to try and inhabit his now almost mythical existence, and I had the time of my life giving it a go. What a fascinating man he was, though I suppose you already know that!
Hi David,
Glad to hear your friends got to see the show and enjoyed it. We had a very short run as the show was part of the annual NY Musical Festival which features new works in development selected from hundreds of submissions each year. The creators are all Australian (not surprisingly) and I know their hope is that the show will have a further life somewhere down the road. However at the moment I’m not certain of the status of that. They are all lovely people and huge fans of Errol’s. Please let Rory know what an honor it was for me to play her legendary father, and how much I enjoyed The Baron of Mulholland which I read as part of my preparation for the role. Yes please feel free to use my email as a Mail Bag item on the blog. I’ve attached a few production photos which you may have already seen published on line.
Best,Jonathan
Thanks so much, Jonathan!
— David DeWitt
Just ending it successful run at the New York Musicic Festival was the musical offering Errol & Fidel from writer producers Boyd Anderson & Guy Anderson; Music by Peter Kaldor, John Kaldor and Doug Oberhamer; Lyrics by Boyd Anderson, directed by Michael Bello … Our own Karl Holmberg, Gentleman Tim, and Donna Juan attended the show and write to us from the theatre stage! I will let them comment on the show itself but here are some wonderful images, and a look at a novelty item soon available to everybody who follows our blog. More about that in another posting …
Some photos:
One adventure, two heroes. Something’s gotta give.
Cuba, 1958: Revolution is in the air! In his final year Errol Flynn has one last adventure. The dashing star of so many Hollywood blockbusters yearns to be a real hero, and Fidel Castro fits the bill. What Fidel craves is fame, and who better than Errol to show him how? At the height of the revolution an explosive encounter beckons – fueled by envy, lust, and vanity – with a mysterious woman calling the tune. Or could the CIA really be pulling the strings? Who knew revolution could be so much fun?
Recommended for ages 13+
Running time: 2 hours
GENRE: Comedy, Drama, History, Politics, Romance
— David DeWitt
