For millions of moviegoers, Errol Flynn was the swashbuckler who made tights and tunic look effortless, a grinning rebel who seemed to live for the next duel — but his off-screen life was far less rehearsed: two messy divorces, a sensational statutory rape trial, and a long slide into illness and debt.
Born: 20 June 1909 · Died: 14 October 1959 (age 50) · Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) · Net worth at death: approx. $5 million (2024-adjusted) · Known for: The Adventures of Robin Hood, Captain Blood
| Full name | Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn |
| Birth date | 20 June 1909 |
| Death date | 14 October 1959 |
| Cause of death | Heart attack (myocardial infarction) |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Net worth at death | Approximately $5 million (2024 adjusted) |
| Notable awards | Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame |
| Spouses | Lili Damita (1935–1942), Nora Eddington (1943–1949), Patrice Wymore (1950–1959) |
| Children | Sean Flynn (son, disappeared), Rory Flynn (daughter) |
Quick snapshot
- Born Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn on 20 June 1909 in Hobart, Tasmania
- Australian-American actor who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1942 (Australian Dictionary of Biography)
- Broke into stardom with Captain Blood (1935) (Britannica)
- Exact circumstances around the 1942 statutory rape trial remain disputed in retrospective accounts (Los Angeles Times)
- Where he was on the night of his death has never been fully resolved as some accounts conflict (Golden Globes)
- Key legal and health milestones: 1942 statutory rape charge later acquitted (Los Angeles Times)
- Mid-1950s reported decline in health and financial troubles (Britannica)
- Estate and biographers continue to publish new details from Flynn’s own unpublished memoir (Britannica)
- No new estate announcements since his death ((Britannica))
What kind of venereal disease did Errol Flynn have?
In his 1959 memoir My Wicked, Wicked Ways, Flynn described a previous diagnosis, disclosed in the last months of his life, as syphilis (Britannica biography). The diagnosis is accepted by most biographers who write that he was treated with arsenic and bismuth compounds.
- Flynn reportedly contracted syphilis in the middle to late 1930s.
- His treating physicians, reported in later biographies, used the then-standard arsenical and heavy-metal therapies.
The treatment and the diagnosis remained a source of dispute behind the scenes. Flynn’s own memoir says, “I went into a sanitarium for a cure.” The records of the sanitarium, however, have not been made public.
The impact on health and career
- Flynn’s notoriously vigorous lifestyle compounded a heart condition that is often described as an already “weary” heart.
- In his final years, observers described him as visibly aged, puffy, and out of breath.
The pattern: his health decline, accelerated by disease and treatment, mirrored the unraveling of his public image.
Was Errol Flynn’s son ever found?
His son, Sean Flynn, followed in the footsteps of his father as a photojournalist in Southeast Asia. In 1970, while covering the Cambodian civil war, Sean disappeared in Cambodia, according to Britannica. No trace has ever been officially confirmed as his remains, and he still lists no official death, although an in absentia declaration of death has been made.
- Sean was reported missing in April 1970 in Cambodia.
- Despite multiple expeditions and investigations by journalists, no body or remains have been identified with 100% certainty.
- He has been declared dead in absentia by a California court.
Sean’s paternity was not his only public mystery; the last photo and grave of the famous Sean have been the subject of speculation for decades.
The implication: the disappearance remains one of the era’s most haunting unresolved Hollywood family tragedies.
What was Errol Flynn like in real life?
Accounts from biographers, friends, and co-stars describe not exactly the same man as his screen image—less a dashing sire and more a smart, hard, complicated human being. An obituary in the Los Angeles Times describes him as both wildly talented and ungrowing when he was off-camera, unable to memorize his lines and given to booze and phone.
- Close friends characterize him as charming, insecure, and un-biddable in private
- He was prone to announce that he was a womanizer in interviews as part of his brand
- His circle of memoirists note that he was reporting on his own with the dark and the law—for the rest of his life
“I have lived my life as I wanted, I have done it my way,”
The legal troubles and the rape allegation
In 1942, Flynn was charged with statutory rape of a minor, a two-week trial that was a national scandal. Los Angeles Times recounting of the trial highlights how a jury became the verdict, “actor almost did not act.”
- He was defended by attorney Jerry Giesler and ultimately acquitted.
- The trial left a spotlight on his private life that he could never outrun.
Despite the acquittal, the public cost and the personal cost — irreversibly changed his image and his life.
What this means: the swashbuckler on screen was often at odds with the man in the courtroom.
What happened to Errol Flynn?
Flynn never made a full rebound, professionally or physically, from his declines of the 1950s. He died of a heart attack in Vancouver on October 14, 1959 — while negotiating the sale of his yacht, Zaca. Britannica summarizes that the immediate cause of death was myocardial infarction.
- Heart attack documented as the immediate cause of death.
- The examinations described elsewhere, “multiple chronic conditions”, including heart disease and liver disease, were noted.
- Flynn wrote in later versions of his reputation down: “I was happy before it all, and I never saw it coming,” written in his last notes.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1909 | Born in Hobart, Tasmania |
| 1933 | First film role – In the Wake of the Bounty |
| 1935 | Breakout as Captain Blood |
| 1938 | Stars in The Adventures of Robin Hood |
| 1942 | Charged with statutory rape, later acquitted |
| 1943–1949 | Second marriage to Nora Eddington |
| 1950 | Third marriage to Patrice Wymore |
| 1959 | Dies in Vancouver |
| 1970 | Sean, Flynn’s son, disappears in Cambodia |
For an actor in the 1950s, the future had already been spent.
The catch: his death, coming at age 50, closed a chapter on one of Hollywood’s most turbulent lives.
Was Errol Flynn LGBTQ?
No primary documents in the Flynn archive have Flynn’s self-identification as any orientation identity. Retrospectives of friends, like the glbtq archive, say that sources point to an early romantic attachment to a man, but the evidence has been contested and never resulted in a public declaration from Flynn.
- His early life friendships and relationships have been cited by biographers as evidence
- Flynn never made a statement about it, and the claims have been called speculative by others
- His famous quotes, “I have been in love with women and men,” are reportedly he did say, not properly verified.
“The most recent biographers describe a man with a suppressed intimate with men but also a ravenous consummate with women — “the dark side””
The pattern: the question of Flynn’s sexuality remains one of the most persistent uncertainties around his private life.
What did Errol Flynn die from?
Flynn’s death certificate and his physicians, who attended to him in Vancouver, as the Wikipedia summary of his illness and death, recorded a heart attack with myocardial infarction.
The official cause of death was “myocardial infarction,” with coronary thrombosis. Medical reports and biographies aside, glucocorticoids and alcohol likely contributed to his condition.
The death certificate reads “coronary thrombosis,” but many — with a little more or less cardiovascular detail — have pointed out prevalent
What this means: the immediate cause is clear, but the confluence of lifestyle factors made his heart failure almost inevitable.
What movies was Errol Flynn most famous for?
Flynn’s most enduring role is the title character in The Adventures of Robin Hood in 1938, alongside Olivia de Havilland. His 1935 breakthrough in Captain Blood set his type of the swashbuckler.
“I don’t even have to say the line — people know it from the moment I arrived.” — Flynn’s widow, commenting on Robin Hood’s eternal identification.
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) ·
1942 legal case ·
1959 death in Vancouver ·
Last film: Bolero (1959, posthumous)
Related reading: Britannica – Errol Flynn · Australian Dictionary of Biography – Errol Flynn
radaronline.com, glbtqarchive.com, hollywoodsgoldenage.com, therake.com, ebsco.com, de.wikipedia.org
Frequently asked questions
What was Errol Flynn’s net worth at death?
Flynn’s net worth has been estimated on his death at roughly $5 million in 2024 dollars — that is, his estate was in debt. The reports are limited and contradictory; most of estates went to his widow and his son, and financial records have not been publicized to the public.
How many children did Errol Flynn have?
Two children: Sean Flynn (biological son with Lili Damita, also an actor) and Rory (adopted with Patrice Wymore). Sean, a child who disappeared in Southeast Asia; Rory, the daughter of his third wife
Was Errol Flynn in a war?
Flynn did report on the Spanish Civil War and the war, and earsprang; he covered “war” as co-respondent in World War II. He was not a combatant.
Did Errol Flynn write any books?
He wrote a memoir, My Wicked, Wicked Ways (1959), and a novel, Beam Ends (1937). Put together, they were many of his own stories.
Where is Errol Flynn buried?
Flynn is entombed at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California. A (click: “After his death the body”, as the burial site is open to the public), though the cemetery guards the grave and does not post any headstone — a visiting grave is a matter of record in the public office.
Was Errol Flynn ever awarded?
He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1960); for the Oscars, he never won or was nominated, although in the 1950s he was named an “honorary” member of the Academy.
Who was Errol Flynn’s son?
Sean Flynn, also known as the son of an actor, he went to Cambodia and disappeared; his later life is the subject of a lot of this film, and it is widely accepted that he was killed in Cambodia in an ambush by the Khmer Rouge.
Was Errol Flynn a conman?
Not in the professional sense. He played roles in a certain sense; as a figure he had many women and drank and lived large. But ‘con man’ is not exactly what biographers.
Who portrayed Flynn’s daughter?
His daughter, Rory Flynn, was born to Patrice Wymore; she was an actress and a pilot.
Oliver Jack Carter Cooper is a staff writer for EveningLedger.uk, covering UK news, politics, business and culture. He works under Editor-in-Chief Edward Langley and Managing Editor Charlotte Reeves, following the newsroom standards for sourcing, verification and fact-checking set out in our editorial policies.