— David DeWitt
The Bust Of Errol Flynn
22
Feb
Many years ago, my wife and I were visiting the small village of Grand Rapids, Ohio. It is an old town, situated on the Miami and Erie Canal, dating back to the mid 1800s. The downtown is filled with craft stores, antiques, and restaurants; a good place to spend a Sunday afternoon, browsing.
We entered a ceramic shop, as my wife enjoyed painting, and one of her hobbies was ceramics. I noticed on one shelf a series of small busts of various Hollywood stars. One caught my eye, after seeing Gable, Astaire, and Karloff, I noticed another well-known face…. Errol Flynn. Having been a Flynn fan now for several years, I just had to have one. My wife agreed to paint it for me; so away we went with my new prize.
Soon, Errol Flynn adorned my bookcase, in his Don Juan shirt, painted red, looking suave and debonair. It remained there for several years. During that time, our son Nickolas was born. After he was a bit older, his bedroom was moved upstairs. Next to his bed stood the bookcase where Errol resided. After awhile, we would notice the bust had been moved, and was facing the books. I would turn it around, then later notice it was once again turned backwards. By then Nickolas was about 3 years old. When questioned about it, he informed us that he didn’t care for that “man staring at him all night”, which solved the mystery of the moving bust for us.
Errol has since moved downstairs. He now resides in our computer room, where he oversees my typing and e-mailing, from atop another bookcase. Nickolas is 17 now, but still remembers being glared at. And every now and then, I find Errol is facing backwards. Nickolas denies it, of course.
— Bob
MY BUSTER WILES STORY
20
Feb
Back in 2004, I met via the Internet a wonderful fellow by the name of David DeWitt. I’d purchased a CD on e-bay for a collection of radio shows from him. We began a correspondence afterward, about Errol Flynn; next thing I know, we become fast friends, separated by miles only, with a seemingly endless supply of things to talk about.
David introduced me to other Flynn fans, and also steered me towards several other interesting books, and I was able to obtain copies of each, one of which was written by Errol’s stunt double and friend, Buster Wiles. It was, and is, a great book to be sure. I became curious about Buster, and learned that he passed away two years after the book came out in 1988.
One of my hobbies is genealogy. Last fall I answered a request for a lady living in Beaverton, Oregon who was looking for ancestors that lived here. I was able to find the graves at the cemetery for her and send photos. She was very grateful and asked if she could do anything for me. On a lark, I asked her if she could check on Buster for obituary, and possibly locate his resting place. Before long, she wrote back, and sent me the newspaper notice for Buster, and also traveled to Skyline Memorial Gardens in Beaverton, and found Buster’s resting place for me, and sent some great photographs from the cemetery. I thought it rather fitting that we know where one of Errol’s best friends, and true supporters now reposes.
— Bob
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13
Feb
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— David DeWitt
