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Title
Errol Flynn takes the stand
Alternative Title
Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection
Date Created and/or Issued
1943
Contributing Institution
Los Angeles Public Library
Collection
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Rights Information
Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Description
Title supplied by cataloger.; Photograph was edited for publication purposes.
Errol Flynn was born on June 20, 1909 in Tasmania. He was an actor known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films and for his playboy lifestyle. After leaving Australia, Flynn spent time in England, seeking acting roles. He traveled to the United States in 1934 and signed with Warner Brothers Studio. He became an instant celebrity after the release of his first American film, Captain Blood. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1942. The actor had many health problems including chronic back pain, tuberculosis, malaria and verereal diseases, and was not eligible to join the armed services during World War II. Warner Brothers decided to conceal his health issues and Flynn was criticised for not serving, which caused his popularity to decline. In 1942, two underage girls, Betty Hansen and Peggy Satterlee, accused Flynn of statutory rape. The scandal was a major story and many of Flynn's movie fans refused to accept that the charges were true. The trial took place in January and February 1943, and Flynn was acquitted after the defense lawyer attacked the girls' morals and characters. Even though he was acquitted, the trial's scandalous nature permanently damaged his screen image as a romantic leading man, especially with female moviegoers. His failure to join the military, the scandal, and the changing taste of filmgoers after the war effectively ended Flynn's career. He was released from his contract with Warner Brothers in 1950. During the 1950s, in financial ruin, Flynn traveled and acted sporadically, mostly in England. His career had a brief flare-up with an appearance in "The Sun Also Rises" in 1957, but his career was not revived. He died on October 14, 1959 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Photograph caption dated January 27, 1943 reads "Flynn's call to the stand was the 'big moment' of the trial, for the audience, mostly women, had waited anxiously for the occasion. The star is shown above in another character study." Flynn is shown seated on the witness stand.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm.
Photographic prints
Identifier
00112606
Herald Examiner Collection
HE box 5412
CARL0005342724
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/31901
Subject
Flynn, Errol,--1909-1959
Flynn, Errol,--1909-1959--Trials, litigation, etc
Trials (Statutory rape)--California--Los Angeles
Men--California--Los Angeles
Motion picture actors and actresses--United States
Witnesses--California--Los Angeles
Courtrooms--California--Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Portrait photographs
Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express photographs
Herald-Examiner Collection photographs

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