45. He Was A Nightmare
As such, his reputation preceded him at Hollywood parties. He was once even kicked out of a lavish party at Hearst Castle for his drinking. Another time, his old flame Olivia de Havilland’s new partner, director John Huston, quizzed Flynn about not serving in WWII. When Flynn’s response included an allusion to his “relationship” with de Havilland, the two men wound up in a fistfight that ended with both in the hospital.
46. She Cheated On Him
It wasn’t easy being married to Errol Flynn, and no one knew that better than Nora Eddington. But while he was out there bedding extras and women he met in bars, she was hiding a racy secret of her own. Eddington had fallen for a singer named Richard Haymes. He was married too, but they took the plunge and both left their spouses for each other.
The freedom was exhilarating—but, as we know, Flynn never handled rejection very well.
47. He Rebounded…
To soothe his wounded ego, Flynn threw himself into his career, into the bottle, and into a new engagement, this time with a 19-year-old Romanian princess named Irene Chika. For months, they spent every moment together, and the gossip columnists eagerly awaited the announcement of their wedding date. Well, they—and Irene—were in for a big surprise.
48. …And Rebounded From His Rebound
Instead, Errol Flynn made an announcement that knocked the press off of their feet. He was engaged to his latest co-star, a 21-year-old ingenue named Patrice Wymore. They planned a lavish dual ceremony wedding in Monaco and Nice, to be attended by hundreds of glam guests, and mobbed by even more fans. As they entered their reception that night in Monaco, Flynn was ready to start a new life—but he was in for a disturbing surprise of his own.
49. He Got A Terrible Wedding Present
When Flynn arrived at the reception, a stranger approached him with a document in his hand. It was a writ. He handed it to Flynn and announced that he would be charged with rape…all at his own wedding reception. At first, he thought it was a practical joke—but he was so, so wrong. The accuser was a 17-year-old girl named Denise Duvivier, and Flynn claimed he couldn’t remember anyone by that name.
He broke the news to his new bride, and the pair fled to Nice on their boat, the Zaca—but the nightmare didn’t end there.
50. He Knew Something Wasn’t Right
Instead of a honeymoon, Flynn and Wymore were moored in Nice for just a few days before a back injury left Flynn incapacitated for nearly a month. Finally, when he was back on his feet, he returned to Monaco to face the charge. When he heard the case in court, his accuser mentioned a button he’d used to lock the door behind her during the alleged attack.
Flynn claimed that no such button existed, and invited the magistrate to the boat to check. When he looked and found no button, he had no choice but the drop the case, and Flynn finally was able to sail away from it all with his new bride.
51. He Was Broke
As if those types of problems with the law weren't enough, Flynn’s career was floundering and he constantly worried about having enough cash to support himself, his new bride, and the two ex-wives to whom he was still providing alimony. Warner Brothers had ended their 18-year contract with him. Throughout the 50s, Flynn appeared in films here and there, but it wasn’t enough to support his lifestyle—especially since, by then, he was essentially estranged from Wymore and back on the prowl.
Unfortunately, these ongoing financial problems would ultimately lead him towards a dark end.
52. He Knew What Was Coming
A brief Hollywood comeback was not enough to keep the debt collectors at bay for long—not to mention the IRS. He decided to bring his boat the Zaca up to Vancouver to potentially lease it to someone, lest he lose it to the taxmen. It wasn’t the only thing he was saying goodbye to, either. Flynn knew his health was worse than ever, and made sure to spend time with his ex-wife Nora and their daughters before leaving on the trip.
It would be the last time they’d see him.
53. He Slipped Away
While in Vancouver, Flynn asked the couple he was visiting to see a doctor, complaining of pain. The doctor gave him some medication and a leg massage and told him to rest—but when he checked on Flynn again, the doctor made a devastating discovery. Flynn was unresponsive. He rushed him to the hospital, but it was too late.
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54. He Was In Terrible Shape
When hospital staff performed an autopsy, they found that he’d suffered a heart attack, which had been caused by Flynn’s already poor health. The condition of his liver was so poor from years of drinking and addiction that if the heart attack hadn’t taken his life, cirrhosis would have within a year. Errol Flynn’s life had been defined by high-flying adventure, wild partying, and most of all, scandal—but some of the worst scandals only came out after his passing.
55. He Claimed He Was A Spy
In 1980, author Charles Higham published a book titled Errol Flynn: The Untold Story—and it contained a number of shocking allegations. Chief among them was the claim that Flynn had acted as a German spy during WWII. On top of that were claims of affairs with other men. Flynn’s friends and family were outraged and even tried to sue the author. Higham stood his ground, but did admit that while he’d heard his stories from reliable sources, he’d never seen actual proof.
He wasn’t the only one to make disturbing accusations against Flynn.
56. It Wasn’t Out Of The Question…
In 1983, L. Ron Hubbard’s son came forward with his own tale of meeting Errol Flynn. He claimed that his father and Flynn were extremely close friends who brought in illicit substances together and engaged in bedroom acts with underage girls—but hey, at least he never joined Scientology, right? Speaking of underage girls…
57. His Last Fling Was Underage
Errol Flynn may have been estranged from his third wife at the time of his passing—but that doesn’t mean he was alone. His last partner was 100 times more scandalous than those that came before her. When Flynn met Beverly Aadland, she was 15 years old. Flouting the trouble that he’d previously experienced, he made few overtures to hide their affair, except to travel with her mother, Florence, who not only encouraged the whole thing, but also wrote a book about it.
58. Their Relationship Was Creepy
Later, Beverly herself revealed some of the many disturbing aspects of their relationship. According to her, their first encounter was non-consensual, but after that, she fell in love with him. However, their love was built on a constant sense of play and outdoing one another, and these jokes often had a dark side. They would get into enormous fake fights in nightclubs where Flynn would pretend to hit her, and she would pretend to get a nosebleed. Sounds...fun?
After Flynn was gone, Beverly found some scandals of her own. Not long after, she got into a fight with a man while the two were alone in her room, and he ended up getting shot and dying. Yikes.
59. He Was A Voyeur
During his financial battles, the court had forced Flynn to give his beloved Mulholland House to his ex-wife, Lili Damita—and that house held just as many dark secrets as its former owner. Few people knew, but it was set up to be a voyeur’s dream home. Peep-holes and two-way mirrors were set up to allow Flynn to spy on his female guests.
He also set up microphones to overhear private conversations throughout his house. Why hasn’t there been a horror movie made about this guy?
60. His Son Disappeared
Errol Flynn had four (legitimate) children over the course of three marriages, and it was his eldest, son Sean, who inherited his father’s sense of adventure. Unfortunately, this legacy had devastating consequences. Sean took up a career as a photojournalist, covering foreign conflicts as his father once had. Sean and a colleague were traveling in Cambodia in 1970 when they were stopped by the Viet Cong at a checkpoint. They were never seen again.
Seab Flynn’s mother, Lili Damita, spent more than a decade searching for her son, and in 1984, she had him legally declared dead. Despite efforts, his remains have never been recovered.
