Errol Flynn

Swashbuckling Tasmanian-born actor

After an extraordinary series of early jobs, including gold prospector,  police constable, sanitation engineer, treasure hunter, sheep castrator, shipmaster, fisherman, and soldier, Flynn took up acting, a pastime he had previously stumbled into when asked to play Fletcher Christian in a film called In the Wake of the Bounty (1933).  Flynn's natural athletic talent and good looks attracted the attention of Warner and in 1935 he replaced Robert Donat in the title role of Captain Blood (1935). He quickly rocketed to stardom as the undisputed king of swashbuckler films in such classics as The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Dawn Patrol (1938), Dodge City (1939), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), The Sea Hawk (1940) and They Died With Their Boots On (1942).

Flynn’s off-screen passions; drinking, fighting, boating and sex, made his film escapades seem pale in comparison. His love life brought him considerable fame, three statutory rape trials, and a lasting memorial in the expression "In like Flynn". Serious roles began to elude Flynn, and as his lifestyle eroded his youthful good looks, his career declined. Troubles with lawsuits and the Inland Revenue Service plagued him his final years, eroding what little money he had saved.

Late in his life one final great role came his way, when he played the alcoholic John Barrymore in Too Much, Too Soon (1958), a part tailor-made for him.

This is a superb vintage album page (7" x 6.5"), boldly signed and inscribed ("Hello Brenda! Errol Flynn") in blue ink. In excellent condition (the signature is bolder and sharper than suggested by my scanner). From a 1940s autograph collection. (Apparently Brenda obtained the signature at Sandown Park Races.)

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