Biography

Errol Flynn was born to adventuress Marrelle Young and respected biologist Theodore Flynn. Young Flynn was a rambunctious child who was always sure to find trouble, and he managed to get himself ejected from every school in which he was enrolled. In his late teens he set out to find gold, but instead found only a series of short-lived odd jobs.

Information is sketchy, however the positions of police constable, sanitation engineer, treasure hunter, sheep castrator, ship-master for hire, fisherman, and soldier seem to be among his more reputable career choices. The necessity to stay at least one jump ahead of the law--and jealous husbands--forced Flynn to flee to England, where he took up acting, into which he had previous stumbled when he was asked to play (ironically) 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 Brothers and soon he was off to America. His luck held when he replaced Robert Donat in the title role of Captain Blood (1935). He quickly rocketed to stardom as the undisputed king of adventure films, a title inherited from Douglas Fairbanks, though which remains his to this day. Onscreen, he was the freedom loving rebel, a man of action who fought against injustice and won the hearts of damsels in the process. His off-screen passions; drinking, fighting, boating and sex, made his film escapades seem pale. His love life brought him considerable fame, three statutory rape trials, and a lasting memorial in the expression "In like Flynn". Serious roles eluded him, and as his lifestyle eroded his youthful good looks, his career declined. Trouble with lawsuits and the IRS plagued him at this time, eroding what little money he had saved. A few good roles did come his way late in life, however, these were usually that of aging alcoholic, almost mirror images of Flynn. Despite any perceived similarity, he was making a name as a serious actor before his death.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christopher E. Appel and James Jaeger

Errol Flynn (1909-1959) was a film star who gained fame in Hollywood in the 1930s as the screen's premier swashbuckler. Tall, athletic and exceptionally handsome, Flynn personified the cavalier adventurer in a string of immensely popular films for Warner Brothers, most often co-starring with Olivia de Havilland in such screen classics as "Captain Blood" and "The Adventures of Robin Hood."

Flynn was born in Hobart, Tasmania, the son of professor Theodore Thomson Flynn, a world renowned Marine biologist, and Lily Mary Young. After an unhappy childhood which included physical and mental abuse perpetrated by his mother, Flynn ran away to New Guinea where for several years he lived a life of adventure as a copra plantation overseer, constable, gold miner and guide up the dangerous Sepik River.

In 1933, back in Australia, he was cast in a low-budget film, "In the Wake of the Bounty," which gave him the idea of becoming an actor. He drifted to England where he landed work as a bit player with the Northampton Repertory Theater and, after appearing in one film, "Murder at Monte Carlo," he was discovered by a Warner Brothers talent scout.

Coming to America in 1934, Flynn was cast in two insignificant films before Warner Brothers took a chance on an unknown and had him star in "Captain Blood." Flynn shot to international stardom overnight, and throughout the 1930s he was arguably the most recognizable movie star in the world. His striking good looks and on-screen charisma won him millions of fans, including legions of women who threw themselves at him.

Flynn also became as famous for his hedonistic lifestyle as for his swashbuckling movie roles. By his own estimate he slept with 10,000 women in his lifetime, and his penchant for alcohol, drugs and brawling aged him prematurely. By 1950 his best days were behind him both professionally and personally. Dropped by Warner Brothers in 1952, Flynn roamed the world in his yacht making substandard films abroad, as well as one short-lived television show, "The Errol Flynn Theater." Near the end of his life he returned to Hollywood where he was rediscovered; playing drunks and washed out bums, he brought a poignancy to his performances that had not been there during his glamorous heyday.

Flynn, who was married three times, died in Vancouver, British Columbia, on October 14, 1959, as the result of a heart attack. The coroner who examined the 50-year-old actor said he had the body of an 85-year-old man.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Charles Culbertson