Errol Flynn

Errol Flynn married thrice in his life. His first marriage was with actress Lili Damita, in 1935, and it lasted seven years. The couple was blessed with one son.

He married Nora Eddington in 1944 and had two daughters from the marriage. The couple divorced in 1949.

His third marriage was with actress Patrice Wymore, in 1950, and lasted till his death. The marriage produced one daughter.

Errol Flynn was born on June 20, 1909, in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, to Theodore Thomson Flynn and Marrelle Young. His father was a respected marine biologist.

He received his early education in Hobart and later on went to a private boarding school in Barnes, London. He was always a trouble-maker and a mischievous child and as a result he was expelled from a number of exclusive Australian and British Schools.

He got his first job as a junior clerk in a Sydney shipping company when he was 15. But he was ousted on the account of stealing cash.

At the age of 18, he went to Papua New Guinea and worked as a police constable, sanitation engineer, treasure hunter, sheep castrator, shipmaster for hire, fisherman, tobacco plantation worker and metal miner.

In 1933, Errol Flynn got his first film when an Australian film producer saw his portfolio and cast him in the lead role of Fletcher Christian in 'In The Wake of the Bounty', a low-budget documentary.

In 1934, he honed his acting skills by working at the Northampton Repertory Company and Warner Brother's Teddington Studio. Warner Bros then signed him and he went to America as a contract actor.

Flynn became an overnight sensation after his first film 'Captain Blood' in 1935. Immediately typecast as a swashbuckler, he gave a string of hits in the next six years. His hit movies during this era included: 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' (1936), 'The Prince and the Pauper' (1937), 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1938), 'The Dawn Patrol' (1938), 'Dodge City' (1939), 'The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex' (1939) and 'The Sea Hawk' (1940).

His on-screen romantic pairing with Olivia de Havilland became a huge hit and the two co-starred in eight films together during the 1930s and 1940s. These films were: 'Captain Blood' (1935), 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' (1936), 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1938), 'Four's a Crowd' (1938), 'Dodge City' (1939), 'The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex' (1939), 'Santa Fe Trail' (1940), and 'They Died with Their Boots On' (1941)

He became an American citizen on August 15, 1942 and was eligible for the military draft as the country was heading towards World War II. He attempted to join the force, but owing to his many health problems he was declared unfit.

In 1940, Variety magazine named him as the fourth most popular star in the US and the seventh most in Britain.

The UK based Empire magazine ranked him No. 70 on 'The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time' list, in 1997, and No. 86 on the '100 Sexiest Stars in Film History'.