Modern Screen (Jan-Dec 1960)

"Errol Flynn Died in My Arms" (Continued from page 22) no make-up on, could only sob as death stepped in and took away "the only man I really loved" from her embrace. As the final curtain rang down on one of the last of the gallant screen greats, the dreams of the future that Errol and Beverly had shared for themselves suddenly went into oblivion, too. "We were going to be married and live in Jamaica as soon as Errol got his divorce," Beverly sobbed after she recovered from the initial shock of Flynn's sudden death from a heart attack. "We were going to live in a house we designed together. It was to have been the most beautiful house in all the British West Indies. But now ... all those plans are gone forever. "I still can't accept Errol's death. I don't know if 1 ever will. I had promised him if anything happened I would go ahead and face up to life in the Flynn tradition — live for today and have a wonderful time doing it. He always said: 'No tears, break open a bottle, and toast me in pink champagne.' "I can't do that. I never will. He told me also: 'If anybody comes to my funeral I'll cut them out of my will.' But I can't help the way I feel about him. I can't ever forget the two years we spent together — the happy times we had. "Errol was more to me than a sweetheart and the man I was to marry. He was my everything — my father, my mother, my lover, my companion, my advisor, my idol." Fifteen and forty-eight When Beverly met Errol, she was just a wide-eyed girl of fifteen. He was fortyeight. His greatness for the most part was in his past. He was no longer Hollywood's top lover — at least not on screen. In the past few years, freewheeling Errol had led a nomadic life, wandering from Europe to Jamaica, to Cuba, to New York, and back to Hollywood, picking up work wherever be could find it. For twenty-five years he had been the epitome of the suave, love-'em-and-leaveVm Lothario who built his reputation on h heap of broken hearts. He had made women forget Douglas Fairbanks and Rudolph Valentino. Flynn was built for the part. He had the vigor, good looks, charm, and animal magnetism that drew women like moths to the flame. And they all got burned. Now, that flame — still flickering even though not as bright — had attracted Beverly Aadland. "You might ask what I saw in a man thirty-three years older than I," Beverly said. "I will tell you that I saw everything in Errol — everything in the world for me. "I always had been starved for love. I always wanted to be hugged and loved. Even as a little girl, I wanted my father to hug and love me. But he never gave me the attention and devotion I wanted from him. "Perhaps that is why I started dating when I was twelve. By the time I was fifteen — when I finally met Errol — I had been engaged four times! "But most of the boys I had known were shallow. They were after one thing — and one thing only." Fate destined Beverly to meet Errol on the Warner Brothers lot in Hollywood in October, 1957. Beverly had a dancing part in Marjorie Morningstar. Errol was working in Too Much, Too Soon. "I noticed someone staring at me," Beverly related. "I didn't know who it was. 58 I had read about Errol Flynn in some magazines and had seen his pictures. But I didn't recognize him. Not at first. Finally, though, I realized who it was. "I was instantly afraid of him because of the things I had read about him — about that rape trial and things like that." Beverly was referring to the sordid case in 1943 that had threatened to wreck Errol's movie career. Two young girls, Betty Hansen, seventeen, and Peggy Satterlee, sixteen, charged Flynn with rape. It was Flynn who was seduced, his lawyer Gerry Geisler shouted at the trial. Peggy, a chorus girl, said Flynn lured her below decks in his yacht "to show me the moon through a porthole." Betty, a star-struck waitress, claimed Errol served her a "greenish" drink at a Hollywood party, then took her to a bedroom when she became ill, and seduced her. A jury of nine women and three men acquitted him. Two of the men had held out for conviction. It was a close call. The case which shocked Hollywood had come the year of his divorce from actress Lili Damita, the fiery French delight whom Errol had married in 1935. Lili told the court Errol wanted to be free — didn't want a wife and child. They had one son, Sean, who was a year-old at the time. And at that time, 1943, Beverly was only two years old! The intense magnetism Yet when Errol gazed over at Beverly on the Warner lot that October day in 1957, the shapely, blonde starlet couldn't help but feel the intense magnetism that lured women to him. "When he looked at me I felt something," Beverly said. "I know it always was like that — whenever Errol looked at a girl she felt it! "For four days there on the Warner lot it went like that — Errol watching me. "Then Errol sent someone over — it was Orry Kelly, the big dress designer — to tell me: 'Mr. Errol Flynn would like to meet you.' "My heart started to pound when I heard that. A warmth glowed inside me. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach." There was no hesitation on Beverly's part. "Take me to him," she told Kelly impatiently. Kelly escorted Beverly to Errol's dressing room. "I was shaking when we were introduced," Beverly said. " But Errol was so nice that I began to feel at ease somewhat. Still and all I couldn't help being flustered inside." Errol started by saying, "I noticed you, my dear. I think you have possibilities of becoming a great actress." At first Beverly thought Errol was "just being kind." "We talked a while and he asked me a lot of questions about myself. Then came the zinger. " 'I'd like you to come to my house,' Errol told me. " 'Wow!' I told myself. 'This guy really has earned his reputation. He certainly is a fast worker.' " Errol could see the apprehension in Beverly's face. "I want you to read a part of Jane Eyre for me," Errol said. "I'm very tired now and I don't want to do any more work here at the studio. Will you come up?" "I couldn't figure out if it was the old line, 'Come up and see my etchings,' " Beverly said. She couldn't tell if Errol really was sincere. "Errol could see me hesitate and he quickly assured me that we wouldn't be alone. He said his secretary would be at the house, too. He asked me to dinner first, and told me his lawyer would accompany us to the restaurant. "I couldn't resist the invitation any longer. There was something about the way Errol talked — he had a flair, a manner, a style that completely disarmed you." Beverly was voicing the sentiments that were expressed many times before — by the women whom Errol had wooed and won, then impulsively dropped like hot potatoes. Halfway round the world warning signals rose from the wreckages of Errol's past romances to tell Beverly of the danger that could lie ahead. But Beverly was blind to these signals. She accepted Errol's invitation. "After I finished work," she related. "I rushed home to dress for my date." Beverly lived with her mother and father in Ingle wood, just outside Hollywood. "I didn't let on to them that night that I had a date with Errol Flynn. And as things turned out, I'm glad I didn't." Beverly hurried out and met Errol and his lawyer in a restaurant. After dinner. Errol took Beverly to his house "up on a hill." Beverly was overcome "I was awed by the sight, its magnificence and splendor," Beverly said. "I was overcome by the beautiful surroundings, the landscaping, the house itself, and by the breathtaking furnishings. It was so exquisitely decorated. "But most of all I was overwhelmed by Errol himself — by his charm and glamour." As Errol had promised, his secretary was there. Errol took Beverly into the living room and began to talk about his interest in her as an actress. "He told me again he thought I had great possibilities. He wanted to make Jane Eyre, he said, and was thinking of me for the lead role. I was thrilled at the idea of playing the part Joan Fontaine had in the earlier version of that film. I could hardly believe my ears." As Errol talked on, Beverly suddenly became conscious of a small development. The secretary was not in the room any longer. Beverly and Errol were alone. "Errol moved closer to me and said, 'Let's sit on the rug.' "It was a white bearskin rug. I consented and we threw ourselves on it in front of the fireplace. We talked some more and smoked. We used the bear's mouth as an ashtray. "As Errol talked, I forgot all about Jane Eyre. I began to think about other things — like love. I could tell the way Errol began to look at me now that he loved me. And I knew about myself — I loved him. "There were things about him that I never found in any other man. "He was the first person who ever really listened to what I said. I could think about all the unhappiness at home and about my social and love life of the past, and of the bores I used to date. This was so different. "My dates had been so dull and simple. I would go to drive-in movies with them. About the most exciting thing they could do was sneak a bottle of liquor into the car. It was disgusting. "As these things ran through my mind, Errol took my hands and pulled me close. " 'I don't usually kiss girls,' Errol told me. 'I have a reputation, you know. I'm a very dangerous man. But with you, my dear Beverly, I have a sudden great desire to kiss you.' "He put his arms around me and drew