A cheque dated July 18th, 1945, made out in the sum of $100, payable to Nora Eddington and drawn on the account of Errol Flynn, boldly signed by him with a fountain pen and signed on the reverse by Nora. Nora Eddington (1924 - 2001) was Flynn's second wife, an actress and socialite who he met in 1943 whilst she was working at a courthouse snack bar during his infamous statutory rape trial. They married in 1944 in Mexico and had two daughters: Deirdre (born 1945) and Rory (born 1947). Their marriage was somewhat turbulent and ended in divorce in 1949, though they reportedly parted on amicable terms. Nora appeared in Adventures of Don Juan (1948) and Cruise of the Zaca (1952), and in 1960 she wrote the memoir Errol and Me.
One of the most handsome and romantic leading men in Hollywood, Errol Flynn (1909 - 1959) will always be remembered as the archetypal swashbuckling, devil-may-care hero, a larger than life character whose flamboyant, hedonistic lifestyle was grist to the media mill. Born in Hobart, Tasmania, as a young man he moved to New Guinea, where he prospected for gold, smuggled diamonds and bought a tobacco plantation - which failed. A copper mining venture also failed, and in 1933 he left for England intent on becoming an actor. He got a job with the Northampton Repertory company, and the next year, whilst making a movie at Warner Bros. Teddington studios, was signed to a contract and shipped to America. On the transatlantic voyage he met his first wife, the French star Lili Damita. For his U.S. debut Warners teamed him with Olivia DeHavilland in ‘Captain Blood’ and it made stars of both of them. The director, Michael Curtiz, was responsible for shaping Flynn’s screen image, and over the next few years the pair made a string of successful movies. Although kept well hidden from the public so as not to tarnish his clean-cut screen persona, it was an open secret in Hollywood that Flynn ( who was reputedly 'hung like a donkey') had a voracious sexual appetite and enjoyed countless affairs, flings, and trysts with dozens of women. In November 1942 teenagers Betty Hansen & Peggy Satterlee accused him of statutory rape, but he was cleared of the crime, and the incident only served to enhance his reputation as a ladies’ man.
After America entered World War II Flynn was often criticized for his failure to enlist while continuing to play war heroes in movies. In fact he had attempted to join every arm of the services but been rejected. The studios failure to counter the criticism was due to a desire to hide the state of Flynn’s health. Despite being perceived as a virile, all-action daredevil, he actually suffered from an enlarged heart (which had already resulted in several previous heart attacks), recurrent malaria, tuberculosis and a drink problem.
By the 1950s heavy alcohol and drug abuse left him prematurely aged and bloated, and he was on the downward slope, living in Jamaica with his third wife Patrice Wymore. They separated in 1957 and Flynn started courting a 15-year-old aspiring actress, Beverly Aadland. During a trip together to Vancouver, British Columbia, to sell his yacht, he suffered a heart attack and died.
