Historic Art Deco Theater in England Opened Eighty Years Ago with Charge of the Light Brigade
— Tim
Archive for the ‘Special Events’ Category
Mail Bag! Note from Errol & Fidel actor Jonathan Stewart!
20
Jul
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!
Best,
Jonathan Stewart
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
Mail Bag! Donna Juan delivers Birthday Wishes To Olivia from EFB!
03
Jul
Donna, we thank you from the bottom our Flynn loving hearts!
— David DeWitt
The Elephant in One of the 118 Rooms
04
May
An EFB Four Score News Report
In 1937, at her 118-room beach house in Santa Monica, Marion Davies threw William Randolph Hearst a birthday bash to end all birthday bashs. By all accounts, this circus-themed extravaganza was a sight to behold. One sight, however, surely didn’t please Citizen Hearst, though. That was the sight of Errol Flynn and co-troublemaker David Niven dressed-up as a two-man elephant “shovel brigade”. The elephant in the 118-room beach mansion, of course, was WR, the birthday boy himself.
… Only Flynn would have the nerve to pull such a prank against the career-breaking Citizen Hearst.
LOS ANGELES EVENING HERALD EXPRESS – May 2, 1937
Huge Stories and lots of photos on W.R. Hearst’s Birthday Party.
One photo with Cary Grant and many other revelers, including
Randolph Scott and Marion Davies as trapeze performers, calling
themselves The Flying San Simeons. Errol Flynn and David Niven
made up a shovel brigade, wearing blue and white striped sweatshirts
with tight fitting trousers, Miss Davies costumed as Russian Circus
performer on Merry Go Round. Others attending:
Basil Rathbone, Hal Roach, Walter Wanger, Clarence Brown, Harold Lloyd,
Henry Fonda, Lloyd Bacon, Mervyn LeRoy, James Gleason, Charles Boyer,
Leslie Howard, Samuel Goldwyn, Frank McHugh, Lucien Hubbard, Hal Wallis,
Pat O’Brien, Gary Cooper, Ben Hecht, Walter Winchell, Alice Faye, Stu Erwin,
Pandro Berman, Carole Lombard, Aileen Pringle, Anita Louise, Ginger Rogers,
Marlene Dietrich, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Charles Ruggles, Tyrone Power Jr.,
Clark Gable, Adrian, King Vidor, Caesar Romero, Jackie Coogan, Louis B. Mayer,
zillions of others.
— Tim
Errol’s Adventures of Robin Hood — 80th Anniversary —— May Day, 1937 —— The Stories Begin
03
May
An EFB Four Score Anniversary Production
The Adventures of Robin Hood – The Stories Begin
Published on May 1, 1937 – Perfect because of the May Day connections to the legend of Robin Hood.
Movie Released in May of 1938.
LOUELLA PARSONS – LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
How do you like the idea of the dashing young Errol Flynn as the adventurous Robin Hood?
We hope you do because you’re going to see him in one of his next pictures in the role,
of the legendary hero who stole from the rich that the poor might live. Interesting that
young Flynn, who has so often been called Douglas Fairbanks’ successor, should inherit one
of the most popular of the Fairbanks’ roles.
According to Jack Warner, who definitely settled on the Robin Hood idea just before he left
for New York, this will be an outdoor Technicolor special with an effective background for
Robin Hood’s romantic adventures. Since it is not a musical Reginald de Koven’s tuneful
operetta will not be included although Warners own the libretto by Harry Smith. Olivia
de Havilland, who has made her most successful pictures with Flynn, will be his starring
partner with Patric Knowles in a featured role.
— Tim
“Flynn in Focus on TCM” January 17, 2017
04
Jan
Quoting the Bucks County Courier Post:
"Flynn in Focus on TCM"
"Fans of swashbuckling favorite Errol Flynn have the opportunity on Jan. 17 to binge watch seven of his favorite films.
The film-lover’s network Turner Classic Movies will begin airing the titles beginning at 6 a.m. that day.
According to TCM’s detailed Now Playing: A Viewer’s Gide to Turner Classic Movies, the titles will be:"
"Adventures of Don Juan”, with Viveca Lindfors in the breezy version of the legendary lover charged with saving his queen from treason. Vincent Sherman directed. (1948; 6 a.m.)
“Captain Blood”, with Olivia De Havilland in Flynn’s star-making role as a doctor-turned-pirate. Michael Curtiz directed. (1935; 8 a.m.)
“Kim“, with Dean Stockwell in an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s tale of an orphaned boy and his adventures with the British Army. Victor Saville directed. (1950; 10 a.m.)
“Northern Pursuit”, with Julie Bishop in a thriller about a Mountie tracking a Nazi flyer through the Canadian wilderness. Raoul Walsh directed. (1943; noon)
“The Prince and the Pauper”, with Claude Rains in an adaptation of a Mark Twain tale about a prince who changes places with a peasant boy. William Keighley directed. (1937; 1:45 p.m.)
“The Adventures of Robin Hood”, with Basil Rathbone in the ultimate version of the story about a hero who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. Curtiz directed. (1938; 3:45 p.m.)
“The Sea Hawk”, with Claude Raines in the adventure epic about a British buccaneer who challenges the Spanish fleet. Curtis directed. (1940; 5:30 p.m.)
,
“For Flynn fans, binge watching these titles ranks as a great way to kick off 2017.”
— Tim
