Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 â€" 14 October 1959) was an
Australian-born actor. Considered the natural successor to Douglas
Fairbanks, he achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of
Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent
partnerships with Olivia de Havilland, and reputation for his
womanising and hedonistic personal life. His most notable roles
include the eponymous hero in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938),
which was later named by the American Film Institute as the 18th
greatest hero in American film history, the lead role in Captain Blood
(1935), Major Geoffrey Vickers in The Charge of the Light Brigade
(1936), and the hero in a number of Westerns such as Dodge City
(1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), and San Antonio (1945).Errol Leslie
Flynn was born on 20 June 1909 in Battery Point, Tasmania. His father,
Theodore Thomson Flynn, was a lecturer (1909) and later professor
(1911) of biology at the University of Tasmania. His mother was born
Lily Mary Young, but shortly after marrying Theodore at St John's
Church of England, Birchgrove, Sydney, on 23 January 1909, she changed
her first name to Marelle. Flynn described his mother's family as
"seafaring folk" and this appears to be where his lifelong interest in
boats and the sea originated. Both of his parents were Australian-born
of Irish, English and Scottish descent. Despite Flynn's claims, the
evidence indicates that he was not descended from any of the Bounty
mutineers.Flynn received his early schooling in Hobart. He made one of
his first appearances as a performer in 1918, aged nine, when he
served as a page boy to Enid Lyons in a queen carnival. In her
memoirs, Lyons recalled Flynn as "a dashing figureâ€"a handsome boy of
nine with a fearless, somewhat haughty expression, already showing
that sang-froid for which he was later to become famous throughout the
civilized world". She further noted: "Unfortunately Errol at the age
of nine did not yet possess that magic for extracting money from the
public which so distinguished his career as an actor. Our cause gained
no apparent advantage from his presence in my entourage; we gained
only third place in a field of seven."
Australian-born actor. Considered the natural successor to Douglas
Fairbanks, he achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of
Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent
partnerships with Olivia de Havilland, and reputation for his
womanising and hedonistic personal life. His most notable roles
include the eponymous hero in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938),
which was later named by the American Film Institute as the 18th
greatest hero in American film history, the lead role in Captain Blood
(1935), Major Geoffrey Vickers in The Charge of the Light Brigade
(1936), and the hero in a number of Westerns such as Dodge City
(1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), and San Antonio (1945).Errol Leslie
Flynn was born on 20 June 1909 in Battery Point, Tasmania. His father,
Theodore Thomson Flynn, was a lecturer (1909) and later professor
(1911) of biology at the University of Tasmania. His mother was born
Lily Mary Young, but shortly after marrying Theodore at St John's
Church of England, Birchgrove, Sydney, on 23 January 1909, she changed
her first name to Marelle. Flynn described his mother's family as
"seafaring folk" and this appears to be where his lifelong interest in
boats and the sea originated. Both of his parents were Australian-born
of Irish, English and Scottish descent. Despite Flynn's claims, the
evidence indicates that he was not descended from any of the Bounty
mutineers.Flynn received his early schooling in Hobart. He made one of
his first appearances as a performer in 1918, aged nine, when he
served as a page boy to Enid Lyons in a queen carnival. In her
memoirs, Lyons recalled Flynn as "a dashing figureâ€"a handsome boy of
nine with a fearless, somewhat haughty expression, already showing
that sang-froid for which he was later to become famous throughout the
civilized world". She further noted: "Unfortunately Errol at the age
of nine did not yet possess that magic for extracting money from the
public which so distinguished his career as an actor. Our cause gained
no apparent advantage from his presence in my entourage; we gained
only third place in a field of seven."
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