My Days with Errol Flynn

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My Days With Errol Flynn [1] is an autobiography of Vernon “Buster” Wiles that focuses predominantly on the times he spent with actor Errol Flynn in Hollywood during the late 1930s and 1940s. The book, which was first published in 1988, was co-written by Wiles and professional writer William Donati. Both men were lifelong advocates of Flynn and his legacy, taking time to denounce the actor’s critics in person and in print. Wiles and Donati were especially critical of the controversial author and “celebrity biographer” Charles Higham, and My Days With Errol Flynn contains a section devoted to destroying Higham’s allegations against Flynn. [2]

Errol Flynn Australian actor

Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn was an Australian-born American actor during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Considered the natural successor to Douglas Fairbanks, he achieved worldwide fame for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, as well as frequent partnerships with Olivia de Havilland. He was best known for his role as Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938); his portrayal of the character was named by the American Film Institute as the 18th-greatest hero in American film history. His other famous roles included the eponymous lead in Captain Blood (1935), Major Geoffrey Vickers in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), as well as a number of Westerns, such as Dodge City (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940) and San Antonio (1945).

Hollywood Neighborhood of Los Angeles in California, United States

Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California, notable as the home of the U.S. film industry, including several of its historic studios. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the industry and the people associated with it.

William Donati is a biographer and academic. He holds four university degrees in literature, including a PhD in English.

Contents

Synopsis

Buster Wiles was a stuntman and screen double during this period, working on a number of Flynn’s most popular films, such as The Charge Of The Light Brigade (1936). In his book Wiles recounts numerous escapades he had with Flynn during Hollywood’s “Golden Age”, and he provides behind-the-scenes insight into the productions he made with the legendary actor. One of those scenes is an iconic one in American film history and also involves Howard Hill, who by the late 1930s was widely regarded as “The World’s Greatest Archer”. Wiles in the book explains how the famous “splitting-the-arrow” scene in Flynn’s “swashbucker” The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) was accomplished. [3]

Howard Hill American archer

Howard Hill was an expert bowman who for over two decades, from the early 1930s into the 1950s, was often introduced or billed as "The World's Greatest Archer". He established the record for winning the most bow-and-arrow field tournaments in succession, a total of 196 competitions. In addition, Hill served as a supporting actor, trick-shot performer, and technical adviser on archery for Hollywood shorts and feature films. He also produced and directed documentaries and instructional films on bowhunting, and in the 1950s published two books on the subject, Hunting the Hard Way and Wild Adventure.

Archery art, sport, practice or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows

Archery is the art, sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows. The word comes from the Latin arcus. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern times, it is mainly a competitive sport and recreational activity. A person who participates in archery is typically called an archer or a bowman, and a person who is fond of or an expert at archery is sometimes called a toxophilite.

Swashbuckler film subgenre of the action film genre

Swashbuckler films are a subgenre of the action film genre, often characterised by swordfighting and adventurous heroic characters, known as swashbucklers. Real historical events often feature prominently in the plot, morality is often clear-cut, heroic characters are clearly heroic and even villains tend to have a code of honour. There is often a damsel in distress and a romantic element.

Although Wiles documented his numerous exploits with Flynn and wrote an entire book about the actor, Flynn did not include a single sentence about Buster in his own infamous autobiography My Wicked, Wicked Ways . [4] Similarly, Wiles makes no mention of many of Flynn's other pals including his housemate David Niven, an omission that Niven reciprocates in his own extremely amusing books The Moon's a Balloon [5] and Bring On The Empty Horses. [6]

<i>My Wicked, Wicked Ways</i> book by Errol Flynn

My Wicked, Wicked Ways is an autobiography written by Australian-born American actor Errol Flynn with the aid of ghostwriter Earl Conrad. It was released posthumously following the death of the actor and became immensely popular for its cynical tone and candid depiction of the world of filmmaking in Hollywood. My Wicked, Wicked Ways has sold over one million copies. The book has never been out of print.

David Niven English actor and novelist

James David Graham Niven was a British actor, memoirist and novelist. His many roles included Squadron Leader Peter Carter in A Matter of Life and Death, Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days, and Sir Charles Lytton in The Pink Panther. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Separate Tables (1958).

The Moon's a Balloon is a best-selling memoir by British actor David Niven (1910–1983), published in 1971. It details his early life. There have been several editions and many translations of the book over the years. Niven followed it with a sequel Bring on the Empty Horses in 1975.

The book also contains a number of unique pictures of Flynn's residence on Mulholland Drive shortly before its unfortunate demolition in the late 1980s.

Reviews

The book was positively reviewed and a paperback edition remains in print. It is popular with Flynn aficionados still and provides insight into the Star System for anyone interested in the Golden Age Of Hollywood.

Buster Wiles

Vernon "Buster" Wiles was born in Missouri, raised in Tennessee, and worked in Hollywood as a stuntman and double for some twenty years. Prior to this, Buster had a semi itinerant lifestyle and worked as a newsboy, boxer and a caddy prior to his success in Hollywood. He was a lifelong sports fan, especially enjoying football and boxing. Leaving the movie business in the late 1950s, Buster settled in Beaverton, Oregon, with his wife and two daughters. He became a jockeys' agent. He worked the horse-racing tracks of the West Coast of the United States every racing season.

Having met when working on several of Flynn's vehicles, Buster and Errol Flynn became firm friends during the latter's time in Hollywood. Wiles was born in 1910 and died in 1990, shortly after his co-writer William Donati, who had died in July 1989.

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References

  1. ↑ Wiles, Buster. My Days With Errol Flynn: The Autobiography of Stuntman Buster Wiles, Roundtable Pub, 1988, ISBN   0-915677-36-9 / 0-915677-36-9, 1988
  2. ↑ “Charles Higham”, obituary, archives of The Daily Telegraph (London, England), May 7, 2012.
  3. ↑ The splitting-the-arrow scene can been viewed in an extended excerpt from The Adventures of Robin Hood available on YouTube. “Scene from The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938 BluRay)” posted on YouTube by heckofjob, August 19, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  4. ↑ Flynn, Errol. My Wicked, Wicked Ways. Heinemann, 1960
  5. ↑ Niven, David. The Moon's a Balloon. Puttnam Press, 1972
  6. ↑ Niven, David. Bring On The Empty Horses. Puttnam Press, 1975
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