Errol Flynn

Errol Flynn was one of Hollywood's biggest stars in the 1930s and '40s, the dynamic star of rousing adventures -- swashbucklers -- who was famous for his boundless energy and devil-may-care attitude. He spent his youth in Australia, England and New Guinea before appearing in his first movie in 1933, the Australian feature The Wake of the Bounty. From there he went to England briefly before being snapped up by Hollywood. In movies such as Captain Blood (1935) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Flynn was the dashing hero whose winning smile and flashy swordplay made the ladies whimper with longing. Off screen Flynn had a reputation as a boozer, womanizer and all-around bad boy. Tongues wagged in 1942 when he was tried for statutory rape (and acquitted), but the scandal didn't diminish his celebrity or his popularity. He starred mostly in westerns, sea adventures and war movies, including The Charge of the Light Brigade (1935), They Died With Their Boots On (1941) and The Adventures of Don Juan (1948). Since his early death (at age 50) his private life has led to all kinds of speculation, from accusations that he was a Nazi sympathizer (later discredited) to lurid tales of his hedonistic sex life (who knows?).

Extra credit: Flynn worked frequently with director Michael Curtiz and actress Olivia de Havilland... His autobiography is titled My Wicked, Wicked Ways... The phrase "in like Flynn" became popular in the U.S. in the 1940s and is generally acknowledged as a reference to Flynn's success with women.