Following the “Santa Fe Trail”, So to Speak, Senor Flynn Flew South to See the Sights, Fight the Nazis, and Meet Some Senoritas!!!
Here’s Tom McNulty’s excellent glimpse at that amazing Latin American adventure,
How about we all work together to identify countries, events, and
news coverage of Errol’s unprecedented “flying tour” South of the Border?!
Here are names of the Latin American countries that may have been included on Errol’s itinerary.
— Tim
It was Fifty Years Ago Today, The Beatles Hit the USA*
Before Beatlemania, There was Errolmania
Before Sargeant Pepper, There was Captain Blood.
Before Lennon, There was Flynn
Before The Fab Four Sported Long Hair, The Fabulous Flynn Sported Long Hair
Before “She was Just Seventeen”, There was “She was Just Seventeen” (If You Know What I Mean)
Long Before The Beatles, Flynn Took His Own Magical Mystery Tour.
And – Just as The Beatles Will Never Be Topped at What They Did – So It is with Errol Flynn. He was a One Man (No Lonely Hearts Club) Band!
It’s Even Said The Mop Tops Stayed at One of Errol’s Old Hideaways in LA – “The Mansion” in Laurel Canyon
* Landing February 7, 1964: Idlewylde Airport, New York City, soon to be “JFK”
— Tim
Here’s some Superbowl Sunday shots of and from the location of Errol’s old secret hideaway in Boca Raton. The original and then-exceptionally-remote beach-side home in which he stayed is gone, but these photos will help reveal what a premier location it was, and still is. .. Extremely few people know that Errol stayed here, even, I can confirm, including people who live on and nearby the property.
“Errol Flynn in Boca Raton 1936”, from a Private Palm Beach County Collection:
Where the home was located, on old Ocean Road (aka Beach Road), now known as A1A:
His view of the Atlantic, toward the Bahamas:
From the direction of the Neilson property toward The Cloisters, “the greatest resort in the world”, one of Errol’s most majestic South Florida haunts in the late 30s:
A view Northwest, towards what is now Mizner Park:
— Tim
Featuring Robert Florczak’s regular Column Movie Locations Then and Now, and Hobart to Hollywood, about our Mr. Flynn!
— David DeWitt
Here is where Sean lived with Lili in Palm Beach:
Sean is said to have frequently stayed in a cottage behind the main house, the top of which (the main house) can be seen in this photo, near the intersection of Seabreeze (aka Sea Breeze) & Cocoanut – third house in on the right (south) side:
— Tim
Sotheby’s will auction Vincent van Gogh’s 1889 ‘Man Is at Sea.’ SOTHEBYS
— David DeWitt
Tonga, I believe, was the island near which Fletcher Christian launched his now-infamous Mutiny on the Bounty. BUT, this tab is dedicated not to that Tonga, but rather to the 72-ft sailing vessel that Errol is believed to have (rather mysteriously) sailed through the Caribbean, perhaps mostly around pre-Castro Cuba. Information, and especially hard evidence, is hard to come by. I am in St, Petersburg, Florida, investigating the final demise of the Tonga, where it reportedly burned and visited Davy Jones’ Locker off the coast of the town’s preeminent neighborhood, Snell Isle, in 1985, as a result of Hurricane Elena.
But, first, before that sinking, there was this “sinking”!
Here She Descended Into Her Watery Grave:
Very Near the St. Petersburg Pier (in background below), where (Marlon Brando’s) HMS Bounty was simultaneously located. … Which, decades later, also sank during a hurricane/superstorm – Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy!
— Tim
Inspired by Errol!
St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum
— Tim
-thanks, Tim Reid for the link!
— David DeWitt
Visited Yuma today, where, in June of ’35, Errol & Tiger Lil (in)famously entered into (Un)Holy Matrimony.* Here’s how EF recounted the event:
Below are links to the history of how Yuma came to become known as “Where the Stars Marry” and why the Justice of the Peace who married EF & LD – Earl A. Freeman – earned the title of “The Marry-ing Judge” – as did his successor Justice of the Peace Lutes, whose family still has a wedding chapel and restaurant (Lutes’ Casino) in town. I spoke with Justice of the Peace Lutes son today at his restaurant, which, by the way, is GREAT – like an Old West Saloon of sorts, with huge pictures of Hollywood Stars adorning its rustic walls.
I also visited the History Museum and Heritage Center. Gable visited town more than Errol, to hunt doves!, so they knew more local anecdotes concerning him. But Errol, being Errol, fascinates everyone, and the townspeople were fascinated to learn more about the marriage, not really knowing much regarding Lili.I have a few photos on my phone, which I’ll try to post when I get a good chance.
* Having joked about the marriage, I fully realize of course that it may have been essential to Errol’s success in Hollywood. Without Lili, we may well have never heard of Errol Flynn, at least not as we know him today. (So, thank yopu for that, Lili!) Moreover, and more importantly, it resulted in the birth of a wonderful son.
Photos from June 25, 1935
— Tim
