Errol Olivia

IPPY Award Bronze Medalist for Performing Arts Digging deep into the vaults of Warner Brothers and the collections of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as other private archives, this book explores the complex personal and professional relationship of Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Flynn, even 50 years after his death, continues to conjure up images to the prototypical handsome, charismatic ladies' man; while de Havilland, a two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner, is the last surviving star of Gone with the Wind. Richly illustrated with both color and black-and-white photos, most previously unpublished, this detailed history tells the sexy story of these two massive stars, both together and apart.

The lives and careers of Warner Brothers' screen legends Joan Blondell, Nancy Coleman, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Glenda Farrell, Kay Francis, Ruby Keeler, Andrea King, Priscilla Lane, Joan Leslie, Ida Lupino, Eleanor Parker, Ann Sheridan, Alexis Smith, and Jane Wyman are the topic of this book. Some achieved great success in film and other areas of show business, but others failed to get the breaks or became victims of the studio system's sometimes unpleasant brand of politics. The personal and professional obstacles that each actress encountered are here set out in detail, often with comments from the actresses who granted interviews with the author and from those people who knew them best on and off the movie set. A filmography is included for each of the fifteen.

“There is much more to de Havilland’s story than her role as Melanie Wilkes, and it’s all here . . . a treat for film fans” (Booklist). Two-time Academy Award winner Olivia de Havilland is best known for her role as Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. She often inhabited characters who were delicate, elegant, and refined; yet at the same time, she was a survivor with a fierce desire to direct her own destiny on and off the screen. She fought and won a lawsuit against Warner Bros. over a contract dispute that changed the studio contract system forever. She is also noted for her long feud with her sister, fellow actress Joan Fontaine—a feud that lasted from 1975 until Fontaine’s death in 2013. Victoria Amador draws on extensive interviews and forty years of personal correspondence with de Havilland to present an in-depth look at her life and career.Amador begins with de Havilland’s childhood—she was born in Japan in 1916 to affluent British parents who had aspirations of success and fortune in faraway countries—and her theatrical ambitions at a young age. The book then follows her career as she skyrocketed to star status, becoming one of the most well-known starlets in Tinseltown. Readers are given an inside look at her love affairs with iconic cinema figures such as James Stewart and John Huston, and her onscreen partnership with Errol Flynn, with whom she starred in The Adventures of Robin Hood and Dodge City. After she moved to Europe, de Havilland became the first woman to serve as the president of the Cannes Film Festival in 1965, and remained active in film and television for another two decades. Olivia de Havilland: Lady Triumphant is a tribute to one of Hollywood’s greatest legends, tracing her evolution from a gentle heroine to a strong-willed, respected, and admired artist.

AMAZON #1 RECENT RELEASE IN ITS 1st MONTH!In 1935, Warner Brothers studio wanted to bring to the screen the legendary tale of Robin Hood, filled with the grand pageantry of medieval times. Its newly annointed king of swashbucklers, Tasmanian-born Errol Flynn, was cast as the handsome, rakish hero and Warners' doe-eyed sweetheart, Olivia de Havilland, was at his side as Lady Marian.The film was a massive undertaking of film making on all levels, from a sweeping score to the still-new technology of Technicolor. It was worth all the effort in the end, as The Adventures of Robin Hood became one of the studios top money makers of the decade, and created an icon in Errol Flynn. Errol, Olivia & the Merry Men of Sherwood goes behind the scenes to see how this classic fairy tale was brought to life and takes a sneak peek a the lives of those who helped create it.

Errol Flynn set the standard for the modern action hero in films like The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dodge City, and The Sea Hawk. This biography follows Flynn from his birth in Tasmania, Australia, in 1909, to his death in Vancouver, Canada, in 1959. Included is analysis of his films, discussion of the 1943 rape trial that changed his life, a survey of the FBI’s infamous surveillance, and the first detailed account of his television appearances in the 1950s. First-hand interviews with Flynn’s friends and colleagues are complemented by research from FBI files, correspondence, Flynn’s diary, and other sources. Illustrated with rare and previously unpublished photographs, the study also gives attention to the historical backgrounds and cultural influences that contributed to Flynn’s fame; the work takes an objective and analytical look at the actor’s adventurous life. The study includes two appendices: the first is a collection of quotations from various celebrities, from memories of his talent and style to anecdotes about his wild pool parties. The second appendix is a filmography including all Flynn’s work for film, stage, and television, with cast and crew information.

Though there have been myriad books on Errol Flynn - scores of biographies, film studies, analyses, etc. - there has never been one that unfurls his dashing life day-by-day, predominantly through photos, letters, news clippings, and documents. This book does so: from Flynn’s birth in Hobart, Australia in 1909 through to his death in Vancouver, Canada in 1959, with over 1,000 images (many rarely or never before published) culled from Florczak's personal collection of over 11,000. The book is the result of the author’s travels around the world to photograph locations key to Flynn’s life, and with text gathered from years of research in the Warner Bros. Archives, the USC Cinematic Arts Library, and the Margaret Herrick Library. Among other popular day-by-day pictorial biographies are those of Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Ernest Hemingway, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Eric Clapton. Flynn’s colorful life was lived out on the world stage and a better candidate for a book of this style would be hard to find.

Set amid descriptions of the unimaginable changes that affected America between Hughes's birth in 1905 and his death in 1976, this book gives an insider's perspective about what money can buy, and what it can't.