WEBVTT - Errol Flynn "When You're a Star" 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.440 This show contains mature content and adult themes. It may 0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:12.559 not be suitable for young audiences. 0:00:14.120 --> 0:00:17.560 In twenty seventeen, Harvey Weinstein was outed as a serial 0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:21.880 sexual abuser. Many brave women came forward and told their stories. 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:25.720 They exposed one of Hollywood's most powerful moguls as a 0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:31.320 vicious sexual predator who operated horrifically and seemingly without consequences. 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:35.360 But Weinstein was standing on the shoulders of monsters. For 0:00:35.440 --> 0:00:39.800 so many years, those monsters remained unchecked in Hollywood, shielded 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:42.440 by the millions of dollars they made for their studios. 0:00:43.000 --> 0:00:45.839 Sex for fame is not new. In fact, it's as 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:49.720 old as Hollywood itself. Today, we'll look at Errol Flynn, 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:52.479 the Golden Age movie star who, at the peak of 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:55.880 his stardom at age thirty three, was charged in nineteen 0:00:55.960 --> 0:01:00.520 forty two with three counts of statutory rape of his users, 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:03.760 Peggy Satterley, claimed that in nineteen forty one, when she 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:07.120 was fifteen years old, Flynn invited her to his boat, 0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:10.720 spiked her drink with liquor, and reaped her. At the 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:13.080 time of his trial, Flynn was one of the most 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:16.319 well known actors in Hollywood. He was famous for films 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:19.200 such as the Adventures of Robin Hood released in nineteen 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:23.039 thirty eight, The Seahawk released in nineteen forty, and Die 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:27.200 Bomber in nineteen forty one, among many others, and that 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:31.800 fame clearly influenced what happened during his trial. Today, using 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:34.759 research from the Variety Archives, will take a look at 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:37.959 how celebrity can impact a trial and how this sort 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:41.479 of influence over a jury has been happening for decades. 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:46.200 From Variety and iHeart Podcasts, I'm Tracy Patton. This is 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:50.960 the secret history of the Casting Couch. Today's episode When 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:56.880 You're a Star with Me Today is Matt Donnelly, Variety's 0:01:56.920 --> 0:02:00.240 senior Entertainment and Media writer. Welcome, Matt, thank you. 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:02.800 So much for having me. I'm really interested today to 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:05.240 dig into our first actor that we're discussing on the show. 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:07.040 Yes, and it's about time. 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:11.000 So what is it that drives some A list actors, Matt, 0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:12.560 to commit sexual assault? 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:14.000 Is it ego or. 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:16.720 Power or maybe it's just because they think they're a 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:18.320 star and they can get away with it. 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:20.720 I think it's a really toxic combination of everything you 0:02:20.880 --> 0:02:21.480 just mentioned. 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:24.919 Well, to put aero Flynn in his dalliances with young women. 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:28.120 In perspective, let's look at an infamous sex scandal in 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:31.760 Hollywood at the time. As Vanity Fair described it, the 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:35.240 Patricia Douglas case in nineteen thirty seven is probably the 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:40.519 biggest best suppressed scandal in Hollywood history. Then as now, 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:44.079 money is often the driving force behind most bad behavior 0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:47.000 in Hollywood. In nineteen thirty seven, near the peak of 0:02:47.040 --> 0:02:52.720 the depression, MGM Studios grossed fourteen million dollars, which would 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:56.560 be about three hundred and twenty eight million dollars today. 0:02:57.000 --> 0:02:59.640 This was far more than its rivals and twice the 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:01.920 money the studio had made the previous year. 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:04.120 Studio chief Louis B. 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:08.560 Mayer announced that MGM's annual five day sales convention would 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:11.960 be held in Culver City. He promised the studios two 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:16.480 hundred or so national sales force a super special production. 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:20.640 According to Vanity Fair, after a long drunken train trip, 0:03:20.840 --> 0:03:24.919 the salesman arrived in Los Angeles and immediately began groping 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:28.639 the starlets who were tasked with pinning carnations on their lapels. 0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:33.760 One of those so called starlets was Patricia Douglas. Unlike 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:36.640 the girls in the Flynn rape trials, Douglas was twenty 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:39.640 years old, in other words, over the age of legal consent. 0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:43.920 She was, however, very much on the Hollywood scene before that, 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:47.320 dating movie and stage stars like Dick Powell and William 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:52.680 Frawley while still under age. Supposedly, famed comic Jimmy Duranty 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:56.080 was so smitten with her that he tried to convince 0:03:56.080 --> 0:03:59.560 her mother to allow him to marry Patricia, who was 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:04.160 just fifteen years old. At the Big Sales Convention, Mayor 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:07.520 wasn't subtle about the festivities he was offering his sales team. 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:11.960 Vanity Fair reported that he told the hundreds of inebriated revelers, 0:04:12.640 --> 0:04:16.000 these lovely girls, and you have the finest of them 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:18.720 to greet you, and that's to show you how we 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:21.359 feel about you, and the kind of a good time 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:26.200 that's ahead of you. Anything you want. Douglas was one 0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:29.039 of one hundred and twenty young female dancers dressed in 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:33.359 cowboy hats, bolero jackets, and short skirts and transported to 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:37.799 a large banquet hall. Vanity Fair described the nightmarish situation. 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:42.320 Salesmen mistook the professional dancers for party favors and treated 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:46.920 them accordingly, without telephones or transportation, the young women had 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:51.359 no means of escape. Tricked into attendance, then trapped into service, 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:54.680 they were left to fend for themselves. A waiter at 0:04:54.680 --> 0:04:58.440 the event later testified that the party was the worst, 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:01.880 the wildest, and the rot I have ever seen. The 0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:05.560 men's attitude was very rough. They were running their hands 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:08.000 over the girl's bodies and tried to force liquor on 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:12.120 the girls. That night, according to Patricia Douglas, one of 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:16.520 those drunken MGM salesmen raped her, and when she tried 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:20.440 to press charges, she discovered the power of the Hollywood Studios. 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:24.799 LA District Attorney Buron Fits had been elected shortly after 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:28.359 having beaten an indictment for perjury in a rape case 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:32.160 involving a sixteen year old girl. A top contributor to 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:35.640 his campaign was none other than Louis B. 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:36.120 Mayer. 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:40.080 What followed Patricia Douglas's attempts to receive justice was a 0:05:40.160 --> 0:05:45.400 sadly familiar campaign of studio finance, publicity, blaming and shaming 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:50.200 the victim. The accused salesman was never charged, So. 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:53.600 Really interesting insight into sort of a blueprint for a 0:05:53.640 --> 0:05:56.839 studio covering up an horrific crime like this. But let's 0:05:56.880 --> 0:05:58.440 talk about Errol Flynn's career. 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.960 Yes, of course, Errol Flynn was probably best known for 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:05.120 starring in the Adventures of Robinhood in nineteen thirty eight. 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:09.720 That same year, Life magazine named him the most famous 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:13.000 man in America. He was in more than fifty A 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:16.320 List films and almost always played the lead. He was 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:19.279 under contract at Warner Brothers for twenty years and made 0:06:19.400 --> 0:06:23.160 millions for them. Eventually, Flynn bought eight and a half 0:06:23.200 --> 0:06:26.840 acres on Mulholland Drive. He built a sprawling, two story 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:30.120 colonial party palace in the Hollywood Hills and called it 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:34.560 Mulholland Farm. It was a perfect secluded spot for his 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:37.000 debauchery and sexual escapades. 0:06:37.120 --> 0:06:39.000 You know, Warner Brothers first took a big chance on 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:41.360 Earl in nineteen thirty five, at the start of his career. 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:43.520 They gave him a lead in this pirate adventure movie 0:06:43.560 --> 0:06:46.599 called Captain Blood. I also believe he's synonymous with the 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:47.599 word swashbuckling. 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:50.400 I think you're right, Matt, and it was a huge 0:06:50.480 --> 0:06:53.520 hit that led to starring roles in a list films 0:06:53.560 --> 0:06:56.040 with the biggest names of the day. His co stars 0:06:56.080 --> 0:07:00.240 included Betty Davis, Olivia de Haviland, and Barbara Stanwick. He 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:03.239 was also one of Hollywood's most self destructive stars. 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:04.280 He would try. 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:07.680 Almost anything, at least once he started smoking weed in 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:11.760 the nineteen thirties. He claimed cocaine was an aphrodisiac. He 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:15.200 told his friend, the British actor David Niven, that he'd 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:19.920 tried every drug there was except heroin, but mainly Errol 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:22.800 Flynn liked to drink. He was a regular at the 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:26.280 celebrities only nightclubs on the Sunset Strip, and his drunken 0:07:26.320 --> 0:07:31.080 brawls there were reported in gossip columns nationwide. After the 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:33.440 bars closed, he might take the party with him up 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:36.920 to his mansion on Mulholland and go all night at 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:40.120 the studio. In the mornings, he'd secretly keep up his 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:43.880 consumption by injecting oranges with vodka. 0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:46.480 It's actually kind of impressive and amazing that he could 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:47.640 keep this up for that long. 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:48.280 Yeah. 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:52.800 Absolutely, But then toward the end of nineteen forty two 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:58.800 things started to unravel. On Saturday, September twenty sixth, Flynn 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:01.680 attended a party at the mansion of Jack McAvoy, one 0:08:01.720 --> 0:08:05.240 of his closest friends. They were celebrating Jack's pending divorce 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:09.960 from his wife, a standard oil heiress. Like Flynn, McAvoy 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:13.000 was an adventurer, a world traveler, and thanks to his 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:16.480 soon to be ex wife, Filthy rich. The two men 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:20.240 also shared a compulsion for cocktails and female company. It 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:22.920 was a small party with maybe ten or twelve people, 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:26.800 including a number of attractive young women. Errol Flynn was 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:30.600 playing tennis when Cheechy Nap, Flynn's young friend from the studio, 0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:34.760 showed up uninvited. He had brought along a blonde girl 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:38.120 by the name of Betty Hanson. Betty was new in town, 0:08:38.320 --> 0:08:42.520 straight from Lincoln, Nebraska. Like so many others, she had 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:46.600 come to Hollywood in search of movie stardom. The next day, 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:50.200 Betty told her married sister about meeting the famous Errol Flynn. 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:53.040 She said that he gave her cocktails and then took 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:56.800 her upstairs and, as she put it, seduced her. Betty 0:08:56.880 --> 0:09:01.319 had just turned seventeen six days earlier on September twenty first, 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:06.360 the age of consent was eighteen. Outraged, her sister contacted 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:09.920 the District Attorney's office to file a complaint against Flynn 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:13.520 as far as the DA's investigators were concerned, there was 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:16.480 nothing unusual about the fact that Errol Flynn had had 0:09:16.520 --> 0:09:20.120 sex with a young woman. He was known for that. However, 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:24.520 the big news here was that Betty was underage. That 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:28.600 meant that they now had a huge Hollywood star on 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:33.840 account of statutory rape, or so they thought. Los Angeles 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:37.440 County DA John Dockweiler took the charge to a grand jury, 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:40.840 but after hearing from Betty Chee Chee and other witnesses, 0:09:41.280 --> 0:09:43.960 the jury declined to indict Eryl Flynn. 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:46.320 And of course it's hard to know whether the jury's 0:09:46.320 --> 0:09:49.440 decision was based on insufficient evidence or because Flynn was 0:09:49.440 --> 0:09:50.080 a huge star. 0:09:50.480 --> 0:09:53.960 Yes, and in the end it did matter. Despite the 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:59.240 jury's refusal to indict Flynn, DA Dockweiler ignored the jury's 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:03.520 decision and indicted him anyway. That may be because another 0:10:03.600 --> 0:10:07.600 DA investigator remembered a similar complaint against Flynn from a 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:11.400 year earlier. In August nineteen forty one, the mother of 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:13.920 a sixteen year old girl had claimed that Flynn had 0:10:13.960 --> 0:10:16.640 sex with her daughter on his yacht during a trip 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:19.800 to Catalina Island. The trip to Catalina was for a 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:23.199 photoshoot for a feature about Errol Flynn for Life magazine. 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:26.679 Peggy's role was to be eye candy and candid shots 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:32.040 with Flynn. Like Betty Hanson, Peggy Satterly had movie star aspirations, 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:35.120 and in the summer of nineteen forty one, her dream 0:10:35.320 --> 0:10:38.440 seemed to be coming true. It was on that trip 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:42.960 that Flynn and Peggy had sex twice. But before Flynn 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:46.640 could be charged, the girl's parents had second thoughts. They 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:49.240 called the DA and asked to have the charges dropped. 0:10:49.559 --> 0:10:52.280 Their daughter had a promising career in show business and 0:10:52.320 --> 0:10:55.520 the parents didn't want bad publicity that might hurt her career. 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:58.120 In the end, the DA charge Flynn with three counts 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:00.920 of statutory rape, one charge for as halting Betty Hanson 0:11:01.240 --> 0:11:02.480 and two for Beggy Saturley. 0:11:03.080 --> 0:11:06.319 And when Hollywood's biggest movie star was arrested, who did 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:12.360 he call? Hollywood's most successful fixed attorney, Jerry Geesler. Geesler 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:15.440 was the attorney in our first Variety Confidential episode about 0:11:15.480 --> 0:11:20.199 the rape trial of Alexander Pantages. Pantages was a millionaire 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:23.840 theater mogul who was accused of statutory rape. In the 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:28.720 Pantagous trial Geesler set a legal precedent for weaponizing rape 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:33.800 victim's sexual histories. Thanks to Geesler, Pantages was acquitted after 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:38.000 the case was retried. Geesler credited that trial with making 0:11:38.080 --> 0:11:41.680 him a successful lawyer. He was known for getting Hollywood 0:11:41.720 --> 0:11:45.120 stars out of just about any kind of jam. His 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:50.320 client list included Marilyn Monroe, Betty Davis, Charlie Chaplin, and 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:53.000 mobster Benjamin Bugsy Siegel. 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:55.680 You know, these types of celebrity indorsed attorneys are still 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:58.080 around today, and you start to recognize the names of 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:00.160 some of them if you pay close attention to any 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:01.840 publicized trials involving a star. 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:05.600 Yes, absolutely, and those publicized trials can be good for business. 0:12:06.000 --> 0:12:08.640 They really do get your name out there. For example, 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:12.280 preliminary hearings don't often draw a crowd, but with Flynn 0:12:12.280 --> 0:12:15.600 as a draw, the courtroom was packed for his hearing 0:12:15.720 --> 0:12:19.880 in November nineteen forty two. When Betty Hansen took the stand, 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:22.640 she said she went to the party at Jack McAvoy's 0:12:22.679 --> 0:12:26.400 house specifically to meet Errol Flynn. She first saw him 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:29.200 on the tennis court there after a swim, she stayed 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:32.800 for dinner. Later she followed Flynn into the sun room. 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:35.319 She said she sat on the arm of Flynn's chair 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:38.800 and then slid down onto his lap. A little later, 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:41.360 she said, she got sick from the cocktails, so Flynn 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:44.480 took her upstairs to lie down. It was then that 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:47.280 they had sex. They were alone in the room for 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:51.079 about fifty minutes, she said, and he complimented her breasts 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:55.920 and her quote. Fanny Peggy Satterly was called next. After 0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:59.160 testifying about the trips to Catalina, she was asked if 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:02.839 Flynn knew she would underage. She said he did, but. 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:03.640 How did he know it? 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:06.520 She was asked because she said he called her his 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:11.199 little JB, which stood for jailbait Errol. Flynn did not 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:12.600 testify that day. 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:14.720 I don't think it gets more incriminating than that. 0:13:15.040 --> 0:13:15.240 Yeah. 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:15.760 Yes. 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:20.600 As reported in Variety, jury selections started on January eleventh, 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:24.439 nineteen forty three. Jerry Geesler's plan was to seat as 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:28.520 many female jurors as possible. He was betting that Flynn's 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:31.760 star power would outweigh the women's disapproval of his having 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:36.200 sex with underage girls. In the end, Geesler succeeded with 0:13:36.240 --> 0:13:39.920 his jury selection plan. There were nine women and three 0:13:39.960 --> 0:13:42.920 men in the jury box when testimony started a few 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:47.319 days later, Errol Flynn's fans turned out in swarms. They 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:50.040 filled the courtroom and lined up in the hallway, hoping 0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:53.400 to catch a glimpse of the big star. Peggy Satterly 0:13:53.559 --> 0:13:56.640 was the first accuser to testify. The prosecutor led her 0:13:56.720 --> 0:13:59.920 through events on the trip to Catalina and back after 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:04.080 Jerry Geesler for the defense, opened his cross examination by 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:07.120 asking her what she'd done to resist Flynn on the ship. 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:12.040 Did you scratch him, he asked, no, she replied. Did 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:14.800 he tear your slip or your panties? He asked next, 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:19.840 Not that I noticed, she said. Geesler then delved into 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:24.480 Peggy's sexual history, a favorite tactic of his victim shaming. 0:14:24.960 --> 0:14:28.120 He claims she posed semi nude for photographs but did 0:14:28.160 --> 0:14:30.600 not show them to the jury. He asked her if 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:32.760 it was true that she had had an abortion. She 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:36.320 said yes. She refused to name the father, but insisted 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:40.280 it was not Errol Flynn. On January twenty eighth, nineteen 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:44.120 forty three, Variety reported that taking the stand in his 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:47.440 own defense, and guided by questions of attorney Jerry Geesler. 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:52.160 Flynn denied all charges of improper relations with miners, Peggy 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:56.040 Satterly Aboordies yacht in nineteen forty one and Betty Hanson 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:59.440 at a bel Air house party. Flynn remained stoic under 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:03.480 a withering cross examination by the prosecution. Very likely on 0:15:03.560 --> 0:15:07.640 advice from Geesler, Flynn followed a strategy that's familiar to 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:13.760 us today, deny, deny, deny. During closing arguments, Jerry Geesler 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:17.920 reminded the jury about Betty Hansen's sexual experience and Peggy 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:23.760 Satterley's abortion. His implication was clear they were sexually experienced women, 0:15:24.000 --> 0:15:27.440 not innocent young girls. He also said that the whole 0:15:27.520 --> 0:15:32.720 case smells like a fix. The jury deliberated for twelve hours. 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:35.920 When they returned, Errol Flynn and his attorneys stood to 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:42.240 face their judgment. The courtroom was silent as seconds ticked by. Finally, 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:46.560 the jury for woman read the verdicts not guilty on 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:50.680 all three counts before the judge dismissed the jury. He 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:53.480 told them the evidence was sufficient for you to have 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:57.560 arrived at a verdict in either direction. Under the circumstances, 0:15:57.640 --> 0:16:00.920 I think you have arrived at a proper vertic aero 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:04.600 Flynn was overjoyed. He pushed past the bailiffs, rushed to 0:16:04.640 --> 0:16:07.440 the jury box, and shook hands with each of the jurors. 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:09.360 You know, this seems like a really good example of 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:12.520 how superstardom can impact a case, and it's reminiscent of 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:15.880 the recent trial of Johnny Depp versus Amberhard, who also 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:20.080 coincidentally played a pirate, a swashbuckling pirate in Pirates. 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:20.680 Of the Cabby Yes. 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:24.520 In covering that trial, Variety's Gene Mattis noted that the 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:28.000 most consequential decision the judge in the case made may 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:31.160 have come weeks before the trial, when she allowed Court 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:34.840 TV to operate two pool cameras in the courtroom. When 0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:38.600 Depp took the stand on Wednesday, live viewership on its 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:41.920 channel peaked at one point two million. 0:16:42.760 --> 0:16:44.840 Those are some serious numbers. 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:48.800 That same article also mentioned that observers worried that the 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:52.400 judge's decision will also have a chilling effect on victims 0:16:52.440 --> 0:16:56.880 of domestic violence. One legal scholar said that allowing this 0:16:57.040 --> 0:16:59.840 trial to be televised as a single worst decision I 0:16:59.880 --> 0:17:03.120 can can think of in the context of intimate partner 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:07.720 violence and sexual violence in recent history. It has ramifications 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:09.080 way beyond this case. 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:12.240 Herds legal team obviously one of no cameras in the courtroom, 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:15.200 but Dep's team argued for them, saying that mister Depp 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:16.480 believes in transparency. 0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:20.399 The case was eventually settled and ended with Amber Heard 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:24.200 paying dep one million dollars, which his attorney said would 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:28.240 be donated to charity. Exactly one year after the trial, 0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:32.640 the headline story in Variety read Johnny Depp fans swarm 0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:37.200 Can with screams and shrines on opening night. Viva Johnny. 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:39.440 So when you're a star that are now. The adage 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:41.520 is true, the more things change, the more they stay 0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:41.880 the same. 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:46.240 Variety was there after Flynn's trial too. On February eighth, 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:51.280 nineteen forty three, Variety reported that Errol Flynn returns immediately 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:54.520 to warners to appear in one sequence of the Thank 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:58.639 Your Lucky Stars musical, using all of the studio's top names. 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:01.640 Flynn's sequence in the film had been held up while 0:18:01.640 --> 0:18:04.960 he fought charges brought on behalf of two Minor Girls. 0:18:05.480 --> 0:18:08.920 Variety also noted that the studio was rushing three projects 0:18:08.960 --> 0:18:13.200 into production for Flynn, but first Flynn headed to Mexico 0:18:13.280 --> 0:18:17.280 for a little R and R. Apparently he learned nothing 0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:20.959 from his ordeal. His companion on the trip was seventeen 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:24.560 years old. Her name was Nora Eddington, and he met 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:27.040 her during the trial at a cigar shop in the 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:28.240 courthouse lobby. 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:29.320 You can't be serious. 0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:33.720 In nineteen fifty four, Warner Brothers ended Flynn's contract. His 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:36.640 films had made millions of dollars for the studio during 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:40.120 his twenty years on the lot, but his compulsive drinking 0:18:40.200 --> 0:18:42.439 had begun to catch up with him. It took a 0:18:42.480 --> 0:18:47.520 toll on his biggest asset, his trademark Good Looks. Alcohol 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:51.360 may also have affected his decision making. In nineteen fifty seven, 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:55.000 Flynn began a scandalous and very public affair with an 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:59.560 aspiring dancer named Beverly Adlund. He'd spotted her on the 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:02.840 Warner B's lot and invited her to a nighttime audition 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:06.600 at a friend's mansion in the Hollywood Hills. Adlin was 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:09.800 eager to accept, but first she had to ask her mother. 0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:15.280 That's because Beverly was serious jailbait. She was just fifteen 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:18.800 years old. She was pixiish and blonde, and reminded him 0:19:18.840 --> 0:19:22.720 of a wood nymph, so Flynn called her his Darling Woodsey. 0:19:23.200 --> 0:19:26.800 The girl's mother, Florence Adlin, was surprisingly on board with 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:31.960 their relationship, which was, of course illegal. Flynn took Woodsey 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:35.760 on an extended vacation. They visited Flynn's ranch in Jamaica 0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:39.359 and toured Africa. In Europe, they were photographed dining and 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:42.280 drinking in London and were mentioned in gossip columns at 0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:47.320 home and abroad. Somewhere along the way, Eryl proposed, but 0:19:47.520 --> 0:19:50.560 his divorce from his third wife, Patricia Wymore had not 0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:54.480 yet become final, and because Woodsey was not yet seventeen, 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:58.480 In a rare show of discretion, they decided to wait 0:19:58.520 --> 0:20:02.119 a while before announcing their in engagement, but the wedding 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:06.080 never happened. In early October nineteen fifty nine, the couple 0:20:06.160 --> 0:20:09.800 sailed north from California in Flynn's yacht, the Zaka. He 0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:13.280 was broke, he had to sell his beloved Mulholland Farms 0:20:13.280 --> 0:20:15.800 in the Hollywood Hills, and his trip was set to 0:20:15.960 --> 0:20:19.000 end in Vancouver, where Erro planned to sell his boat. 0:20:19.600 --> 0:20:22.040 They stayed with some friends and partied for a few days. 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:26.720 On October fourteenth, Flynn started to feel sick. His host 0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:28.920 had a friend who was a doctor, so they took 0:20:28.960 --> 0:20:33.040 Flynn to the doctor's home. Flynn seemed to improve, except 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:37.080 that he was experiencing intense back pain. Despite the pain, 0:20:37.160 --> 0:20:39.560 the doctor and his wife invited a few friends over 0:20:39.640 --> 0:20:42.600 to meet the movie star. Flynn was regaling them with 0:20:42.720 --> 0:20:47.240 stories about Hollywood, but then suddenly turned pale and stopped. 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:50.040 He said he needed to lie down. The doctor showed 0:20:50.080 --> 0:20:53.720 him into a bedroom. A few minutes later, Woodsy found 0:20:53.800 --> 0:20:56.560 him there in shock. His face was blue and his 0:20:56.680 --> 0:21:00.439 heartbeat was dangerously faint. They rushed him to the hospital, 0:21:00.480 --> 0:21:04.480 where on October twenty third, nineteen fifty nine, he died. 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:13.120 The cause of death read myocardial infarction, coronary thrombosis, coronary atherosclerosis, 0:21:13.440 --> 0:21:19.480 liver degeneration, liver sclerosis, and diverticulosis of the colon. He 0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:23.760 was just fifty years old. On October twenty first, nineteen 0:21:23.840 --> 0:21:28.280 fifty nine, Variety published its obituary for Errol Flynn. It read, 0:21:28.320 --> 0:21:33.919 in part, identified with swashbuckling screen roles, Flynn frequently was 0:21:34.000 --> 0:21:37.919 even more flamboyant in his private life. Since his discovery 0:21:37.920 --> 0:21:40.879 in nineteen thirty five by a Warner Talent scout. He 0:21:40.960 --> 0:21:43.280 not only went on to become one of the ten 0:21:43.440 --> 0:21:47.000 top box office stars, but he also became renowned for 0:21:47.080 --> 0:21:50.959 his feminine exploits. Helping him in his pursuits were a 0:21:51.000 --> 0:21:54.600 magnificent physique and a dashing roguish air. 0:21:54.880 --> 0:21:56.600 All due respect to the writer of that oh bit, 0:21:56.640 --> 0:21:58.560 but I don't know where to begin with how problematic 0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:02.400 that is. Biographer Kitty Kelly would call that myth building, 0:22:02.520 --> 0:22:04.760 and I have never seen more myth building. Helping him 0:22:04.760 --> 0:22:07.479 in his pursuits was a magnificent physique in a dashing 0:22:07.560 --> 0:22:10.680 roguish air. That is wow. 0:22:11.160 --> 0:22:14.840 So Matt Errol Flynn and Johnny Depp definitely had some similarities. 0:22:15.480 --> 0:22:17.639 What do you think they have in common in terms 0:22:17.680 --> 0:22:18.600 of having star power? 0:22:18.840 --> 0:22:20.879 I mean, I think the obvious connection is throngs of 0:22:20.960 --> 0:22:23.520 fans and a public that really doesn't want to see 0:22:23.680 --> 0:22:26.680 their idols sort of tartished in this way, and that's 0:22:26.680 --> 0:22:27.640 stuffing the biggest thing. 0:22:27.840 --> 0:22:28.240 Truly. 0:22:28.480 --> 0:22:32.520 It is extraordinary Flynn's trial, the amount of women that 0:22:32.640 --> 0:22:36.159 showed up that adored him, and this was astounding with 0:22:36.240 --> 0:22:37.280 Johnny Depp as well. 0:22:37.440 --> 0:22:39.359 But I think it also all feeds back into this 0:22:39.400 --> 0:22:41.400 idea of hero worship exactly. 0:22:41.480 --> 0:22:44.200 And you know, there is an interesting thing about the 0:22:44.320 --> 0:22:50.280 mystique of fame. Something happens with big stars with their fans. Yeah, 0:22:50.320 --> 0:22:54.240 they imbue these magical traits in them like they're beyond human. 0:22:54.600 --> 0:22:56.679 Absolutely, and it's not lost on me that many of 0:22:56.720 --> 0:23:00.680 the women was involved with our aspiring actresses. But more 0:23:00.720 --> 0:23:02.560 than that, I think the idea of fantasy him and 0:23:02.560 --> 0:23:04.600 I can tell you three movies in production or that 0:23:04.640 --> 0:23:06.920 are about to release that have plot lines of mega 0:23:06.920 --> 0:23:10.720 famous men that find, you know, just random everyday women 0:23:10.760 --> 0:23:13.399 and make them their lovers. And there's one coming out 0:23:13.400 --> 0:23:15.080 with Anne Hathaway where she falls in love with like 0:23:15.080 --> 0:23:17.439