Errol Flynn and Beverly Aadland, 5th May 1959
Errol Flynn was purportedly to have once said: ‘I like my whisky old, and my women young’. The above photo, whilst not saying anything about his choice of whisky although there is an impressive array of glasses in front of him, certainly says something about his taste in women, or should I say girls.
The picture of Flynn, taken in May 1959, was taken a month or so before his fiftieth birthday. He’s accompanied in the photograph by his girlfriend, Beverly Aadland, who was a few months from her 17th birthday that September. According to Beverley’s mother, who wrote about Flynn and Aadland’s romance in a book called ‘The Big Love’, by the the time of this meal they had already been together for a year. They are at The Lido Club which was situated in Swallow Street - a little lane that runs between Piccadilly and Regent Street.
“For the last time, he’s not my father…”.
Flynn, who was born in Tasmania, went to school from the age of fourteen to fifteen in Barnes in South West London. It was a very minor public school, that has long since disappeared, called The South West London College. It was situated at numbers 99-101 Castelnau which is a road of regency villas that lead up to the Southern side of Hammersmith Bridge.
Errol Flynn at the South West London College circa 1923
99-101 Castelnau today
After a particularly unhappy time in London (imagine what it was like after living in Tasmania all his life) he left the school in 1925 and sailed back to Australia and a subsequent meteoric rise to fame and film stardom in the US. Incidentally Errol Flynn’s father, Theodore Flynn and noted zoologist, travelled the other way, from Tasmania to the UK, and became Professor of Marine Biology at Queen’s University in Belfast from 1930 until 1948.
I once read that Flynn wanted to call his autobiography ‘In Like Me’. Which would have been brilliant, unfortunately the publisher insisted on ‘My Wicked Wicked Ways’.
Errol Flynn is here on a Canadian programme called Front Page Challenge where the guests have to guess who he is. It was recorded in January 1959, a few months before his death. Incidentally one of the guests is the journalist Scott Young, Neil Young’s father.
I can’t find anything written about The Lido Club in Swallow Street. I wondered if anyone out there has heard of it, or has any information about the place?
First off – thank you Jennifer ! It’s ridiculous how these people who never actually knew my mother slander her in such a way. Honestly , she never wanted to be in show business it was pushed on her by her mother my grandmother whom I never met. She dreamed of what most women want a family of her own . A loving husband who cherished her and a child to raise . Her dream came true . In 1980 when I was born , we had a normal life , loving family . My mothers legacy continues through me and my girls – and to those who truly knew what an amazing person she was .
I loved errol after reading my wicked, wicked ways as a young man. Some years after the disappearance of sean in cambodia I named my new born son sean.About seven years ago I followed seans probable trail after his capture from the vietnamese border, tnrough prey vieng province and deep into the rubber plantations of kompong cham.We found the village in which he was imprisoned and the old lady who remembered him and his fondness for the ganga she gave him.One day she returned from the fields and he and his companion were gone, murdered by the khmer rouge.
I agree with Aadlanda – There is nothing wrong with what her mother did. She was a very good singer and I loved her voice.
Marc
The problem was the age of the girl. Errol was 48, she was 15. It’s called statutory rape, ie, the girl is deemed too young to make a consenual decision about sex.
If you read articles written by Flynn, they show he is smart with a real way with words.
If you look at the pictures of him in the late 40′s/50′s, they show an old man, well advanced of his real age.
Errol flynn was an obnoxious sickening man who certainly was very disfunctional who the hell would would want that money and burden of such a life
Aadlanda – I knew your mom when she was a ward of Leonard & Frances Eilers… I was part of that whole group out there. Your mom and I became good friends…we were both mavericks. I was a little older, though, and was chosen to “chaperone” her on her honeymoon when she married Maurice DeLeon. We had good times together when we were young… last time I saw her was at Leonard’s memorial. I was shocked when Joy called me to tell me Bev had died. She was a great girl, Aadlanda, spirited and bright with a great sense of humor. I can hear her laugh even now, after all those years. Who we choose to love is nobody’s business. THAT we choose to love is key to the quality of our life. I’ll never forget her.
I’m totally agree with you James Madden, its not normal.
For anyone saying Flynn didn’t NEED to rape anyone.. do you know anything about rape at all? It’s not about forcing women because you can’t get any otherwise, it’s about control. Lots of prominent and yes, even beautiful and talented men have raped women. So you can’t use that as your argument. At the least he was a statutory rapist. But I’m sure those of you with daughters would think nothing of letting her shack up with a guy in his forties when she’s 15? Sure..
GOOD FOR YOU, PENNY! ……. ‘Yes’- She loved the guy! – Let it be!
Hi Nicko! – and ‘YES’, so would I!!
Could’nt agree more Nicko! – Take Care….
You know it was the times in those days and before young women were married as young as 15 so maybe it was Condon by her parents was it right by today’s thinking probably not
Im truly convinced Errol committed suicide with a morphine overdose to get away from Beverly I have read so many of her interviews given right after he passed away she was CRAZY obsessed with him this was just another fun fling but he couldn’t break up with her cause of her age he made the fatal mistake of having sex with a 15 year old that would’ve reported him to the authorities had he tried to break things off she would’ve taken the break up hard and she was pressuring him for a baby by 1958 a few months into there romance she is asking for marriage and a baby? He was already married with 4 kids Errol should’ve known better than to mess with unstable clingy teens like her, Beverlys account is unrealistic and Errol probably tried to roll with things not knowing how to get rid of her or how he was going to get out of this so his health got extremely worse after he got with her he was slowly committing suicide by drinking he even tried to lill himself by eating raw meat.. he was in terrible shape once he met her when it came time to have to sell the Zaca & own up to divorcing Patrice he decided to fake pains and get a lethal injection he knew would kill him!! He never changed his will & right away Beverly is trying to lay claim to his estate and even tried to sue the estate and her mom sold the letters & wrote a book so just imagine if he had tried to end things they would’ve ruined him. He was in over his head with this crazy clingy man hunger gold digger who saw her ticket to a good life with Errol but had she been 18 he would’ve dropped her. This relationship put him in the grave.