With a Great Photo and Compliment, from and about Her Presentation at the 2015 TCM Classic Movie Festival
— Tim
Flynn`s Footsteps Day 1: Crossing swords with Maestro Musumeci
27
Mar
Dear fellow Flynn fans,
when roaming in Roma, every true Flynnatic should follow the trail of tales Errol left behind in the Eternal City.
“Rome is where the heart is” may have been the motto of our Hollywood hero when he still was licking his wounds from the appleshot gone astray in Courmayeur.
With “The Story of William Tell” half in the can and half in the bin, Flynn decided to settle in Hollywood at Tiber in hope to find financial funds there and to restart his ambitious film project at a later date. But as we now know, it was waiting for Godot on Via Veneto.
Maestro Renzo Musumeci Greco, son of Enzo Musumeci Greco (1911-1994), a renowned sword master and world class Cinecittà choreographer, took time out of his busy schedule to meet me at his “Accademia D`Armi” near the Pantheon and show me Errol`s old fencing grounds. The Academy was founded in 1878 by his great grandfather, Salvatore Greco dei Chiaramonte (1835-1910), who fought as Head of the Sicilian Red Shirts alongside Giuseppe Garibaldi in his quest for the Unity of Italy. As history wanted it, the Austrian Army was sent packing and given Verdi´s “Va pensiero” as sing along song on their long way back home over the Italian Alps. From then on the art of sword wielding was taught in the House of Musumeci Greco for sportsmanship only. Still there were challenges issued, but they were considered decided once first blood was drawn.
Sal`s sons were champions without compare. Agesilao Greco (1866-1963) went undefeated for nearly 50 years. At an exhibition bout at an Imperial festivity in Vienna of 1896, he crossed swords with the first Olympian Champion Verbruge from Belgium. When the Olympiad failed to greet the Italian Ambassador, the atmosphere literally could have been and was about to be cut with a knife. Suddenly AG with a swift stroke flung the sword out of his opponent`s hand and in front of the Italian diplomat`s feet. Amongst deafening silence the two duelants took their stances again to resume their encounter. Within seconds the Belgian`s sword took on the same trajectory and landed on the exact spot as before. The crowd burst into cheers. That way the cocky Belgian had been forced to bend his knees not once but twice in front of the ambassador. The younger Greco brother Aurelio (1879-1954) published a handbook for the correct use of the sword and held his own in the Fight of the Century in 1922 with a certain Candido Sassone (the name translates into “Big Rock”) who had managed to evade any confrontation in years prior and was cat called out only by a polemical newspaper article. It took 7 encounters to decide a winner. The last clash resulted in a open gash of Sassone. The honor of the Grecos, I am inclined to say the “Klitschkos” of their time, was intact.
Enzo Musumeci Greco, had a brilliant international sport career before he found his niche teaching film stars to cloak and dagger with swagger. Richard Burton, Burt Lancaster, Tyrone Power, Orson Welles and Charlton Heston broke a sweat in that hallowed hall of Via del Seminario 87. Once Errol had decided to film a spoof-off of his Don Juan movie from 1948 called “Crossed swords” Maestro Enzo came into swordplay. Their relationship turned friendship and their collaboration was extended to provide bona fide fights for “Le Avventure di Guglielmo Tell”. The incumbent Maestro Renzo was one year old, when a troupe of 150 people gathered at the foot of Mont Blanc to “teach Jack Warner a lesson” on how to film histopics. Vast sums were spent on a medieval village and on all workers were provided with sweaters to withstand wind and weather in the Northern province of Piemont. Newspapers reported about a lush birthday party at a local hotel for Errol`s 44th birthday. Six weeks later the the money had run out and the movie machinery came to grinding halt. Flynn`s cars were seized and director Jack Cardiff sent his wife and 3 boys home to England, before “they could be held ransom…”
The family tradition of blazing big screen blades goes on. Maestro Renzo has worked with Max Von Sydow in a swashbuckler called “The desert of the Tartars”, with film makers Luchino Visconti (“The innocent”), Carlos Saura (“I, Don Giovanni”, 2009) and Franco Zeffirelli. Like his father taught Gina Lollobrigida, he had the great pleasure to advise Monica Bellucci on stepping and stabbing right. I salute him for lifting that veil on Will Tell a little more for us here.
“Grazie Gran Signore Renzo e spero di arrivederLa prestissimo a Vienna!”
Enjoy,
— shangheinz
An Easter (Island) Quiz
27
Mar
How in the world is this scene from Night at the Museum connected to Errol Flynn?
— Tim
“Errol”/”In Like Flynn” the World’s Greatest
26
Mar
“By winning that competition, Errol, whom we show under the name In Like Flynn, became the greatest-winning Irish wolfhound in the world. No other wolfhound has won as many best-in-shows as him anywhere in world.”
— Tim
The Sahara Connection
24
Mar
Many years ago I remember a conversation I had with a gentlemen who was family, though not blood related- my brothers and I considered him like an uncle, in fact we called him uncle John. He was involved with real estate in NJ where we lived at the time, he also dabbled in places like South Florida and Los Angeles – although never spoken about, we knew there might have been a “Wiseguy” connection; gulp!
He knowing that my father and mother wanted to move to South Florida, offered my parents a wonderful deal in the purchase of a motel that needed much work in the South Florida area known as Hollywood. In taking a leap of faith my parents took the chance and in time with a lot of hard work we made it happen.
Soon after we moved into that south Florida motel, uncle John made one of his visits. He and I were having a conversation when he brought up a real estate transaction he once was involved with in what I believe was in the 1950’s. In it he mentioned one of the players in this deal was none other than our man Flynn, himself! He asked if ever I had heard of him? To his surprise he learned very quickly how EF was my film idol. He proceeded to tell me a story of that transaction real estate that also involved EF; a partnership of a South Florida (North Miami Beach) area resort hotel called the “Sahara”.
In his telling of the story he told me how Errol loved the beaches there and spear fishing, which I knew that this would have been very true, for growing up in those same south Florida beaches, I and most of other teenagers, etc. would also spear fish while either snorkeling or scuba diving. Soon thereafter I followed up with becoming a lifeguard on those same beaches, in fact at another beach resort hotel right down the street from the Sahara. Everyday going to and fro work I would always slow down and look at the Sahara, and think how cool it would have been hanging out there with Errol spear fishing; to have been born a few years earlier, maybe I too could have had the opportunity to have joined him on his yacht, the Zaca, wow! that would have been something.
In any case, uncle John told me stories of how he, Errol and others would hang out while he was at the Sahara indulging in Errol’s pastime, a few drinks. They would pick Errol’s head about his days of Robin Hood or Captain Blood, etc., which according to uncle John, Errol would talk about them yet not with great pleasure. What a shame I used to think, to be so big in life to so many and yet for Errol to regret them in such a way. A few short years later, I in some way too got to understand this; prancing around on Rock and Roll stages, and not really being appreciated for what my real musical capabilities were, for you sort of feel like a cartoon freak as appose to the real hard studies you put in your craft. In saying this, we all know how Errol knew it himself to be better than that of what he was so looked upon; a character in tights and a sword.
I believe the Sahara is still up, but since I have not ventured that way in a good few years, I cant say for sure, nor to what capacity it resembles of old (see pics) – I also remember reading somewhere in one of my many books I have on Errol, maybe it was in “My Wicked Wicked Ways” or some other literature, which makes its mention of his association with that Sahara. Also if I remember correctly, he did not fare well with it soon there after – sounds like another of Errol’s later years in bad investment choices.
To me in some way feel blessed to have someone known close to me who actually knew the king of cinema, Errol Flynn, himself! and to have heard some very cool stories first hand, and although I would have preferred to have been there myself, I guess this is a second best….
— Sergio
Arnella
22
Mar
Never saw this pic before. Found while searching for the estate on Jamaica.
— twinarchers
