Errol Leslie Flynn
- Born
- 1909-06-20 12:00:00
- Died
- 1959-10-14 12:00:00
- Gender
- Male
- Place of migration
- Migrated to/Born in Australia
Errol Leslie Flynn was born on the 20th of June 1909 in Tasmania. His grandparents on his father's side were from counties Leitrim and Meath.
As a young man, Errol relocated to London where he was schooled for two years from 1923. His time in London was short lived as he returned to Australia in 1926 to resume his education. His years of learning would come to an abrupt end when he was expelled from a grammar school in Sydney. After this he took on a number of odd jobs and spent some time in New Guinea. At this time Errol was completely unaware of how dramatically his life was about to change.
In 1933 he was cast as the lead in the movie In the Wake of the Bounty. Though the film was not a great success, Errol had clearly been bitten by the acting bug. He left Australia for Britain once more, this time to pursue a career as an actor. There he had some success, being cast in a number of theatre productions and even getting some film work, but his career would not take off fully until he relocated to Hollywood.
Upon arriving in Hollywood, Errol was quickly picked up by Warner Bros who cast him in a number of swashbuckling roles, the type of characters which he would be best known for playing. Most famously he played Robin Hood in the 1938 movie. It was this performance that shot Errol into super stardom.
In 1959, Errol's ghostwritten autobiography entitled My Wicked, Wicked Ways was published. In the book Errol claimed that he had been involved in piracy before playing pirates on the silver screen. He also made a number of claims regarding his personal life, and although many of the details may be exaggerated, it cannot be denied that he certainly led a colourful life as a renowned womaniser. He was also a heavy drinker and a deeply unhealthy man, as evidenced by his failure to pass the medical exam for entrance into the U.S. Army.
Errol Flynn died on the 14th of October 1959 leaving behind him a legacy of Hollywood hits and personal scandals.
