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My Wicked, Wicked Ways

by Errol Flynn, Jeffrey Meyers (Introduction)

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 660 ratings · 74 reviews

Hero to millions who loved him as Robin Hood and Captain Blood, Errol Flynn lived a life that surpassed any adventure he ever filmed. Many of his exploits were made public for the first time in this autobiography, completed just a few months before his death at age 50.

Surprisingly candid, this book reveals an introspective and enigmatic personality previously hidden behin

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Paperback, 438 pages

Published by Aurum (first published 1959)

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Sep 13, 2009 Dave Russell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: autobiography, nonfiction

I've never read anyone wallow so gloriously in their own evil--and evil is the only word for it. The womanizing was apparently the least wicked thing he did. He was a slave trader in New Guinea, for God sakes!
So, I obviously didn't come away liking him as a person. But as a writer he was remarkably good, in a glib, raconteurish type of way. It reminded me of Humbert Humbert, the unctuous, self-justifying narrator of Lolita. He is describing his own evil acts, but doing it in such a way that yo...more

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Dec 06, 2008 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars

There was nobody like Errol Flynn. He was one-of-a-kind, a grown-up kid who, constantly looking for adventure, sailed through life on his good looks and innate charm.

He was really a "flake". He avoided responsibility, usually letting his "little head" dictate to the one on top of his neck.

No woman could hold him for very long.

You'd be a fool to loan Errol money, as his creditors back in his native Tasmania would be quick to tell you. He spent that green stuff like there was no tomorrow.

But, tomo...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Melinda Seyler rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Melinda by: newleaph@gmail.com

My Wicked, Wicked Ways by Errol Flynn
Earlier this year I read the Pirate's Daughter and it brought up many questions about Errol Flynn, so I decided to read his autobiography. It was very interesting. Born in Tasmania, he was a real "wild child". He was constantly in trouble in school, seduced by an older woman at 12, proficient at sailing and scamming from the earliest times. His father was an academic, whom Errol held in highest esteem and his mother a handsome woman who ignored and insulted E...more My Wicked, Wicked Ways by Errol Flynn
Earlier this year I read the Pirate's Daughter and it brought up many questions about Errol Flynn, so I decided to read his autobiography. It was very interesting. Born in Tasmania, he was a real "wild child". He was constantly in trouble in school, seduced by an older woman at 12, proficient at sailing and scamming from the earliest times. His father was an academic, whom Errol held in highest esteem and his mother a handsome woman who ignored and insulted Errol and, it is implied, carried on with other men while the father taught abroad for extended periods. After being thrown out of countless schools, Errol left to find his own way at 16. He lived on the streets of ?Melbourne, pulling various cons, making friends with older, more experienced con artists who took him under their wings. Errol made his way to New Guinea, working in gold fields, coca plantations, and other positions, including going into the jungle with a small platoon on behalf of the government, to retaliate against natives who had massacred Australian settlers. He captained a ship and even starred in a movie. Eventually he made his way to Asia and to England, where, by once again making up his credentials, found himself working as an actor in Shakespearean plays. After many ups and downs and LOTS of women, he signed a contract and went to Hollywood.
Errol's story of himself is really very interesting and in the telling of the early years, he comes across as a bit of a rogue, but a likable one. In the middle years, after he gets to Hollywood though, it becomes just sad: his relationships with women, wives, his children, alcohol and his acting career, all seem to be sad- even tragic. The real turning point seems to be the trial he went through for rape (of which he was acquitted) and which, he believes, was a set up to teach Warner Brothers Studios a lesson. After that he dives into too much mindless sex, too much alcohol, hating his roles- or realizing the studios will never give him any better roles- and being seen, as he says numerous times, as only a phallic symbol.
It's sad really. He was very intelligent, though mostly self educated. A good looking, interesting, accomplished man, who was belittled by his mother until the day he died at 50 years and never really trusted women. Supposedly he died in a whorehouse in Vancouver and was carried, under cloak of darkness, back to his boat. The book made me want to see a few of his films and look a bit more critically at them and to feel sorry that a man with so much was not really happy.
(less)

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Aug 21, 2011 Robert J. Sullivan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: autobiography

The autobiography of Errol Flynn (1909-1959) is an extraordinary story of an iconic actor who starred in a string of swashbuckling movies in the 1930's and 1940's, including "Captain Blood", "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "The Sea Hawk", and "The Adventures of Robin Hood". A brawler, drinker, drug addict, and womanizer, he became a caricature of himself and, despite wealth, fame, multiple marriages and affairs, was a deeply unhappy man.

This is a warts-and-all book. There have been recent acc...more The autobiography of Errol Flynn (1909-1959) is an extraordinary story of an iconic actor who starred in a string of swashbuckling movies in the 1930's and 1940's, including "Captain Blood", "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "The Sea Hawk", and "The Adventures of Robin Hood". A brawler, drinker, drug addict, and womanizer, he became a caricature of himself and, despite wealth, fame, multiple marriages and affairs, was a deeply unhappy man.

This is a warts-and-all book. There have been recent accusations that he was a bisexual and a Nazi spy. Considering what he was willing to admit or bragged about, it seems unlikely that either is true. He grew up in Tasmania with a scientist father (who brought the first live platypus to London) and a mother that Flynn battled with for most of his life. He said he never loved her but he respected her. Considering that she beat regularly, once locked him in a storeroom for two days, and, when asked about her son when he brought them to the US, referred to him as 'a nasty little boy,' it's not hard to see where the actor's problems with women and authority figures came from.

Flynn's life after he ran away from home at 17 was as extraordinary if less savory than any of his movies. Sometimes living on the streets, he made his way to New Guinea where, in quick succession, he led a group of native policemen as part of a punitive expedition against natives who had murdered white gold miners, became a copra planter, played Fletcher Christian in a movie about the mutiny on the Bounty, became a tobacco planter, gold miner, slave trader, and sea captain.

Bumming his way across Asia in the company of a Dutch doctor, they lived cheap and made money by theft and cheating at gambling. Flynn went to England and worked in an acting company, made a couple of small movies, then was discovered by Hollywood, where he was an overnight success as "Captain Blood." He was 26.

He married the shallow, violent Lila Damita when she threatened suicide in 1935, and fled to Spain as a war correspondent with his Dutch doctor friend with the hope that he'd be killed. He returned to Hollywood and more movies, women, and drinking. His contract kept him swinging swords and riding horses in roles he despised. A bitter divorce cost him enormous sums and a crooked business manager cost him more.

As his harsh life took a toll on his looks, he started getting character roles that he actually liked, including playing his late friend and drinking companion, John Barrymore. He finished the book and died before it was published.

There is more in the book: his love of boats and the sea, his women (he admitted he didn't like women), his trial for statutory rape, fights, practical jokes, suicidal impulses, travel, and a love of learning. There is a lot distasteful about Errol Flynn: his predatory attitude toward women, his drinking and drug use, theft. He was also capable, charming, curious and yearned for something more out of life than being a parody of lust and swashbuckling. I could argue in the nature-vs.-nurture discussion that he was created or warped by some very unhealthy relationships, particularly with his mother, and difficult circumstances. If his life had been less bizarre, he could have been a great man. As to his stated wish not to lead a mediocre life, in that he succeeded.

4 stars.(less)

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Nov 29, 2010 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography

Flynn, Errol. MY WICKED, WICKED WAYS: The Autobiography of Errol Flynn. (1959). ****. I’m not sure what drove Flynn to write this autobiography. It was either to provide the truth of his background and subsequent life, or to add further to his boxoffice image and build upon the popular press surrounding him. The book reads much like “The History of Tom Jones.” We learn that Flynn was not Irish; he was born in Tasmania. He attended several schools there and in Australia, mostly because his father...more Flynn, Errol. MY WICKED, WICKED WAYS: The Autobiography of Errol Flynn. (1959). ****. I’m not sure what drove Flynn to write this autobiography. It was either to provide the truth of his background and subsequent life, or to add further to his boxoffice image and build upon the popular press surrounding him. The book reads much like “The History of Tom Jones.” We learn that Flynn was not Irish; he was born in Tasmania. He attended several schools there and in Australia, mostly because his father, a famous marine biology professor had lots of pull. Errol didn’t do well in school, and was finally expelled from the last one he was able to get into. At the age of seventeen, he heard of the discovery of gold in New Guinea, and hied off to get in on the action. He never did get to dig for any of the gold, but managed to participate in a number of different endeavors that helped provide him with, barely, a living. Along the way, he met a succession of characters that soon became his best friends. He and another friend decided to volunteer for the Chinese army during the Sino-Japanese war. They both quickly bored of the whole thing, since they were given menial duties that didn’t match their need for heroics. They abandoned the army and sneaked off on a freighter that was headed for India. We learn of their adventures there. We also learn of Flynn’s penchant for good looking women, many of whom he managed to meet and seduce in every country he visited. Leaving India, Flynn ended up in England, where he broke into an acting career, mostly on the stages of Stratford-on-Avon. Through a chance meeting with an agent from Hollywood, he got an invitation to move to California and get a part in a film. While in Hollywood, he took advantage of his surroundings and managed to meet and, mostly, make friends with many of the better actors and actresses at the time. He also took lots of R & R. On one trip to Mexico, he met Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo at their home outside of Mexico City. Although their first meeting was hostile, they soon became good friends. He then married his first wife, Lili Damita, and soon recognized that he had made a mistake. Flynn was always better at short-term relationships than he was at marriages. He soon learned that divorce was a costly item, and continually complained about how much he was paying Lili over the years in alimony and child support. Money is a recurrent theme in Flynn’s tale. Although he made fabulous amounts of money during his career, he managed to blow it just as quickly, and ended up owning the government almost $1 million in back taxes. This doesn’t sound like a lot of money today, but back then, Flynn averaged $250,000 per year. What he devotes a full chapter to are the rape trials he had to go through. Both involved charges of statutory rape. Of course Flynn pled not guilty, but it took a long time for the courts to rule in his favor. Add the expenses of the trial and the lawyers to his already taut budget, and you begin tounderstand his monetary concerns. He takes us through his third marriage and ends his tale with a series of lessons he has learned about life. This is the only disappointing part of this chronicle. Otherwise, it’s a true adventure story of a man who tried to live life to its fullest, and who ultimately had to pay for all of it. Recommended.(less)

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Jul 30, 2011 Apolla rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Any and all

I started laughing from the start and found myself amused throughout.

It's not nearly as candid as the blurb claims - there's no mention of his 15-year-old girlfriend, and all sorts of other naughty or outright scandalous bits of anecdote are left out - but the ghostwriter did a good job of echoing Flynn's style - he did fancy himself a writer did our Errol.

Is it an amusing snapshot of Hollywood in the 30s and 40s? Yes. Is it sometimes awfully sad? Sure. Is he just lying through his teeth? Oh yea...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Leticia rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was amazing. Errol Flynn is the original "Most Interesting Man in the World". From his childhood in Australia, Tazmania, and teens in New Guinea, he astonishes you with all he has gone through to survive. He owned a plantation, rigged cock fights, stole and killed all before the age of 25.
His writing is simple where he does not bog you down with historical landscapes. He just tells you what he did, where he did it and who was involved.
Once he gets to Hollywood he doesn't pull any punc...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Caitlin Creevy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Contains spoilers.

So, lets start off by saying that Errol Flynn was a slave-trader who purchased young girls from their families to do his sexual bidding - as well as to bathe him, led numerous people to their deaths, utterly neglected his children, and remorselessly cheated on his wives. His narcissism knows no limits.
For these and other reasons, his autobiography is un-put-down-able. It helps that his ghost writer was terrific. One gets the impression that the book really nails Flynn 's voice....more

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Aug 18, 2010 Gobnait Ó Fhloinn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would give this book 2.5 stars, if I could.

I found the first half of the book a fascinating read. If he lived through half of the things that he had written about, he led a very exciting life. I thoroughly enjoyed it and read it in less than three days.

Once he got to Hollywood, I became bored stiff. I did not care to hear his name dropping and how many sets of tennis that he played everyday. I was not impressed with who or how many famous women that he had slept with. So, I quit reading the bo...more

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May 23, 2012 Bill Wren rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book reads as if it’s the transcript of a recording of a great raconteur, a teller of tall-tales whose favourite tale is his own life. You get the sense of a man who is totally self-absorbed but, somehow, has such a winning personality you love him for it.

It’s the breezy voice of a kid who never grew up. In its conclusion, it’s also the voice of a kid who doesn’t quite understand how or why his life has gone the way it has.

For me, the incidents are less important than the personality that c...more

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May 05, 2011 Sherri Dub rated it 4 of 5 stars

Both my husband and myself enjoyed this novel immensely.
I love his movies, his carefree way of facing his life head-on, and the way he saw himself in this book.
A lot of it read like fiction, but who cares.
It was one scandalous event after another, a different setting and another woman, and then his wife left to sift through the reality she was living in the shadows of his ego.
What a scoundrel~But, a loveable one.
If half of this book was true, it was one hell of a life he lived.
My parting thought...more

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Sep 15, 2009 Dnvr rated it 3 of 5 stars

Although this book gives some fascinating insight into the early days of Hollywood and the sinister inner workings of the major studios, it is really a checklist of unworthy deeds committed by a man who was unfortunately revered by many. Flynn does seem rather proud of his "wicked, wicked ways" and shows no remorse nor does he try to justify his actions. He shoots straight, which makes for some interesting reading, but leaves you feeling sorry in the end that someone could be so proud of a life...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Christina rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was kind of a relief to finish this book. Reading it was kind of like having an extended visit from a drunken uncle who has great stories, zero self-awareness, some uncomfortable opinions, and ventures into TMI especially when talking about boobs. Uncle Errol never learns from his mistakes. He pinches your cheeks and causes a lot of awkward moments. He's sipping vodka and fondly believes you think it's water. After several shots from his "water bottle," he starts philosophizing like a drunk c...more

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Aug 02, 2008 Donald McCorquodale rated it 4 of 5 stars

With all the commotion about stars and starlets in the popular press today- it was refreshing to read about a real character. Although I have heard the wickedness admitted to in Errol's biography maybe exaggerated, by all measures it is more exciting that anything any actor or actress today could dream up. I thought the best part of this book was the first half- which covers Flynn's life up to his rise to popularity. After that- it becomes a sort of boo-hoo story of depression and desperation in...more

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Apr 05, 2008 Judy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I found this a compelling read, although parts are disturbing - not quite what I'd expected. Although there is some juicy Hollywood gossip, and a lot of humour, much of the book is quite dark and brooding.

It's supposed to be an amazingly frank autobiography (though actually written by a ghostwriter) and some parts do feel like that, but a lot of it seems like exaggeration or downright lies, especially some of Flynn's wild adventures in New Guinea in the first part of the book. This feels a bit t...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Aaron Dome rated it 4 of 5 stars

Anyone whose way with the ladies spawned an internationally known phrase deserves a closer look, no? In this account Flynn's ghostwriter gives us a portrait of a man who lived life to the fullest in his various adventures around the globe, even before he stumbled into fame as a renowned actor.

After reading of Flynn's exploits and schemes I feel like a shut-in. Flynn's ethics are more than questionable, as he and his assorted partners were willing to con anyone or any organization in search of w...more

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Oct 19, 2011 Jeremy Good rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: autobiography, cinema, mystery-suspense-thriller-adventure, tasmania

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 16, 2010 michael rated it 5 of 5 stars

absolute and unfettered entertainment from start to finish. i cannot recommend this book highly enough. i now have to read the motley crew autobiography to see if it can possibly compare. like a real showman, errol flynn gives you everything you want and none of what you don't. the outrageous-anecdote-to-page ratio runs about 1:1 all the way through. among some that will stick in my head- the final gag with john barrymore, the private steamboat cruise up the mississippi, the spanish teeth that n...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Denise rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I've waited a few years to read this book. Was it worth the wait? Yes. Unlike any autobiography I've read before, you finish thinking you really know the person as if you'd hung around with him for awhile. I'm sure he was a very likeable guy, but he also would have been like that exasperating friend we've all had at some point in our lives. Tall tales, unbelievable claims, name dropping, one upmanship, etc., but you can't dislike him. You have to take this personality as it is. He is a fantastic...more

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Aug 20, 2012 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

Probably my all time favorite autobiography. Flynn can spin a yarn like no other and it is sometimes hard to tell whether he is telling the truth or not, but it really doesn't matter because they are all so entertaining. When finished all I could say was "Wow, what a life."

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Aug 30, 2012 Alison rated it 4 of 5 stars

Anyone interested in the life of Errol Flynn SHOULD read this. Candid, shocking, the contents certainly raises an eyebrow at times. Flynn lived life to the full, at times he appears to be on a path of self distruction. I know I shouldn't, but I adore Eroll Flynn. AJB

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Jan 31, 2012 Sarah Jane rated it 2 of 5 stars

Such a scandalous man! form what i read it was good, i wish i couldve kept reading but i simply got bored of the book. i liked the information about him and hes one of my fav old actors but i think he shouldve kept to acting and not writing

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May 31, 2011 Brittany Batong rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a fun read, although (as the preface points out) it’s impossible to know how much of this is truth and how much is pure fabrication. Either way, Errol Flynn spins a good yarn or two during the first portion of the memoir (though note that his perspectives on other cultures reflect those of a less-enlightened generation). It is the final portion that truly makes this a worthwhile read; Flynn’s musings on his own life, reputation, and the meaning of it all is incredibly honest and forthri...more

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Jul 18, 2007 Jack rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young Adults

Maybe he wasn't the greatest actor in the world, but everyone loved him and everyone wanted to BE like him... to be "in, like Flynn."

Errol Flynn is one of my arch-types. Like my own life, he filled it with fascinating adventures and interests, but fulfillment always seemed to elude him.

The consummate swashbuckler, the ardent adventurer and a man's man. He writes here about his experiences from about age 16 to his move to America to become one of the biggest movie stars of his era. He was a schoo...more

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Jan 11, 2010 Dan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Charming and honest without always being factual, Flynn's book is as much a reflection of the way he wanted to see himself as it is an autobiography. A fascinating insight into Hollywood and one of the first action movie stars.

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Jul 30, 2007 Wilson rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: dandies

According to Errol Flynn, Errol Flynn was a wild degenerate with stints as a petty thief and a slave trader in the Pacific before ultimately becoming an actor and a bankrupt drunk adrift listlessly in his yacht. Lots of stuff in this book is apparently intense fabrication, and it's hard to figure out what's what. Best part hands down: Flynn wanted to name the book, "In Like Me" but was denied. Now that's awesome. Oh wait, and he also fed a piece of pork on a string to a duck and when the duck cr...more

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May 30, 2012 Sam rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What an amazing character Flynn was. The narrative of his life up through his participation in the Spanish Civil War is thrilling reading. I can't think of an autobiography I've enjoyed more.

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Mar 12, 2011 G. Scot. rated it 5 of 5 stars

This biography reveals the giant of an author within his deepest soul. He loved life and the adventure that life presented to him. An incredible journey that opened many doors to me, to explore life.

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Sep 10, 2011 Texas rated it 4 of 5 stars

An adventurous and private insight into the swasbuckling and glamorous life of a great movie star revealing as often the case they are far unhappier off screen than on it.

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Aug 19, 2009 Jan C rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: show-biz

I read this when I was recuperating from jaw surgery. Not much you can do with two broken jaws but settle down and read books, trashy or no. But it was entertaining.

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About Errol Flynn

Errol Flynn appeared in some 60 films from 1933 to the late 1950s and gained the reputation of being the quintessential Hollywood swashbuckling sword-wielding adventure hero. His private life was a different matter altogether, and he was involved in a number of scandal-laden Hollywood incidents.

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“All I had to do was stick my face into this gruesome mess and bite off the young sheep's testicles. Dag a hogget. I had good teeth. I put my nose into this awful-smelling mess, my teeth solidly around the balls of the six-month-old sheep, and took a bite while I held him upside down. My nose was in fur and ordure. I bit and spat out the product into a pile of what they called prairie oysters. We have them in America too: delicious to eat, but not delicious to remove. They said this was the most sanitary way to de-ball a sheep. After I was done, I passed the sheep onto the next man, who put a little coal tar on the same spot for purposes of cleansing and closing up the wound.
The sheep never let out a bleat.” — 1 person liked it

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