Actor. He is best remembered for his numerous roles as a swashbuckling hero or a dashing romantic character. Born in Battery Point, Hobart, Australia to Theodore Thomson Flynn, a noted biologist, and to Marelle Young Flynn, an adventurous young woman who was descended from Fletcher Christian of the HMS Bounty fame. In his early years, his family relocated back to England, where Flynn, a rambunctious child, managed to get into trouble and thrown out of every school he attended. When he finally completed high school, he worked in a series of odd jobs, never keeping one more than a few months. Often staying just ahead of the law or jealous husbands, he was forced to keep moving and eventually returned to Australia, where, in 1933, he decided to try acting. He played the role of his ancestor, Fletcher Christian, in the Australian film "Wake of the Bounty" (1933). His good looks and natural athletic abilities brought him to the notice of Warner Bros. Pictures, and he was soon offered a job in Hollywood. After several bit parts, he won the role of 'Dr. Peter Blood' in "Captain Blood" (1935), and his on-screen chemistry with his leading lady, Olivia de Havilland, made him a star. After this film, his best roles became those of swashbuckling heroes, freedom loving rebel leaders, and a man of action who fought injustice, only to win the heart of a damsel in distress along the way. He would make eight films with de Havilland. His best-remembered role with her was that of 'Robin Hood' in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938). Robin Hood's dramatic finale sword fight with Sir Guy (played by Basil Rathbone) is still remembered today as one of the best. Off-screen, he was a man of passion equal to his on-screen persona, drinking, fighting, boating, and womanizing, sometimes so much so that his on-screen exploits would pale in comparison. He was once quoted as saying, "I like my whisky old and my women young." His love of women brought him a statutory rape trial and was memorialized in the expression "In Like Flynn," (coined in 1942), yet the scandals only seemed to build his image with the public, and not destroy it as with other actors. He would marry three times, and had 3 daughters and a son. In later years, his drinking, wenching and love of bacchanalia began to catch up with him, and his later screen appearances saw him cast as an alcoholic, including in: "The Sun Also Rises" (1957) and "Too Much, Too Soon" (1958). His final years were spent on his yacht, Zaca, in Port Antonio, Jamaica, where he worked on his posthumously-published autobiography, "My Wicked, Wicked Ways." His last words were reported to have been, "I shall return."

Actor. He is best remembered for his numerous roles as a swashbuckling hero or a dashing romantic character. Born in Battery Point, Hobart, Australia to Theodore Thomson Flynn, a noted biologist, and to Marelle Young Flynn, an adventurous young woman who was descended from Fletcher Christian of the HMS Bounty fame. In his early years, his family relocated back to England, where Flynn, a rambunctious child, managed to get into trouble and thrown out of every school he attended. When he finally completed high school, he worked in a series of odd jobs, never keeping one more than a few months. Often staying just ahead of the law or jealous husbands, he was forced to keep moving and eventually returned to Australia, where, in 1933, he decided to try acting. He played the role of his ancestor, Fletcher Christian, in the Australian film "Wake of the Bounty" (1933). His good looks and natural athletic abilities brought him to the notice of Warner Bros. Pictures, and he was soon offered a job in Hollywood. After several bit parts, he won the role of 'Dr. Peter Blood' in "Captain Blood" (1935), and his on-screen chemistry with his leading lady, Olivia de Havilland, made him a star. After this film, his best roles became those of swashbuckling heroes, freedom loving rebel leaders, and a man of action who fought injustice, only to win the heart of a damsel in distress along the way. He would make eight films with de Havilland. His best-remembered role with her was that of 'Robin Hood' in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938). Robin Hood's dramatic finale sword fight with Sir Guy (played by Basil Rathbone) is still remembered today as one of the best. Off-screen, he was a man of passion equal to his on-screen persona, drinking, fighting, boating, and womanizing, sometimes so much so that his on-screen exploits would pale in comparison. He was once quoted as saying, "I like my whisky old and my women young." His love of women brought him a statutory rape trial and was memorialized in the expression "In Like Flynn," (coined in 1942), yet the scandals only seemed to build his image with the public, and not destroy it as with other actors. He would marry three times, and had 3 daughters and a son. In later years, his drinking, wenching and love of bacchanalia began to catch up with him, and his later screen appearances saw him cast as an alcoholic, including in: "The Sun Also Rises" (1957) and "Too Much, Too Soon" (1958). His final years were spent on his yacht, Zaca, in Port Antonio, Jamaica, where he worked on his posthumously-published autobiography, "My Wicked, Wicked Ways." His last words were reported to have been, "I shall return."

Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson