Sean Flynn (photojournalist)
Sean Flynn | |
---|---|
Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
Disappeared | April 6, 1970 (aged 28) Highway One, Cambodia |
Status | Declared presumed dead, 1984 |
Alma mater | Duke University |
Occupation(s) | Photojournalist, actor |
Years active | 1956–1970 |
Parent(s) | Errol Flynn Lili Damita |
Sean Leslie Flynn (May 31, 1941 – disappeared April 6, 1970; declared legally dead in 1984)[1] was an American actor and freelance photojournalist best known for his coverage of the Vietnam War.[2]
Flynn was the only child of Australian-American actor Errol Flynn and his first wife, French-American actress Lili Damita. After studying briefly at Duke University, he embarked on an acting career. He retired by the mid-1960s to become a freelance photojournalist under contract to Time magazine.
In search of exceptional images, Flynn traveled with
Early life
Flynn's parents separated when he was young; he was raised by his mother, Lili Damita. Flynn graduated from the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, in 1960. When Errol Flynn died, he left his son $5,000 to help with his college education.[3] Sean Flynn enrolled at Duke University.
Entertainment career
Sean Flynn first appeared in front of the cameras at the age of fifteen, when he appeared in an episode of his father's television show, The Errol Flynn Theatre. The episode, "Strange Auction," was broadcast in the U.K. in 1956 and in the U.S. in 1957.
Over a summer break in June 1960, Flynn visited his mother in
In May 1961, at the age of 20, Flynn accepted a contract with Sage Western Pictures to appear in 1962's
In September 1961 it was announced Flynn had signed a recording contract for a company known as Hi-Fidelity R.V. Records, and had already recorded four songs for them.[9] Two came out: "Secret Love" b/w "Stay in My Heart".[10] The songs were released as a 45rpm single (Arvee A 5043, 1961, and HiFi Records R. 9003, 1962).[11]
In 1962, Hamilton announced that he wanted to make The Brothers, based on a story by Hamilton, starring himself, Flynn, and Terry Thomas, but the film was never made.[12][13] Around this time Flynn's fiancé was Julie Payne, daughter of actors John Payne and Anne Shirley.[14] A few years later he was engaged to Alessandra Panao.[15]
Flynn made a few more films in Europe, including
Flynn became bored with acting, and he went to Africa in late 1964 to try his hand at being a guide for
Photojournalism career
Vietnam
Flynn arrived in South Vietnam in January 1966 as a freelance photojournalist, first for the French magazine Paris Match, then for Time Life, and finally for United Press International (UPI). Flynn's photos were soon published around the world. He made a name for himself as one of a group of high-risk photojournalists which included Dana Stone, Tim Page, Henri Huet, John Steinbeck IV, Perry Deane Young, Nik Wheeler, and Chas Gerretsen, who would do anything to get the best pictures, even go into combat. In March 1966, Flynn was wounded in the knee while in the field.
In April, Flynn was on patrol with some
In June 1966, Flynn left Vietnam long enough to star in his last movie. Based on the 1959 novel Cinq Gars Pour Singapour by
In November 1966, Flynn was credited with saving an Australian platoon from decimation by a mine by identifying the mine while photographing the troops near Vũng Tàu.[18] He made a parachute jump with the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division the following month.
Israel
In 1967, Flynn went to Jordan to cover the Arab–Israeli war of 1967.
Return to Vietnam
Flynn returned to Vietnam in 1968, after the Tet Offensive. In September of that year, he was working as a cameraman for CBS News when he was injured slightly by grenade fragments while shooting a battle between U.S. and North Vietnamese forces 85 miles south of Da Nang.[19] Flynn went to Cambodia in early 1970 when news broke of North Vietnamese advances into that country.
Disappearance
On April 6, 1970, Flynn and a group of journalists left
Four other journalists, two Frenchmen and two Japanese, had been captured by the Viet Cong inside Cambodia on the same day.
In popular culture
- Dennis Hopper's photojournalist character in the film Apocalypse Now is said to have been based on Sean Flynn.
- The story of Flynn was recounted by Sean Flynn" from the album Combat Rock.[21]
- Flynn has a prominent role in Michael Herr's book about his experiences as a war correspondent, Dispatches.
- Flynn was portrayed by
- In August 2008, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Mythic Films had optioned the rights to the Perry Deane Young memoir, Two of the Missing. At that time, Young was working on a screenplay with director Ralph Hemecker.[31]
- In 2011, a film inspired by Sean Flynn as a photojournalist entitled The Road to Freedom was filmed on location in Cambodia by director Brendan Moriarty.[32]
Filmography
- The Errol Flynn Theatre (1956 TV series) – episode "Strange Auction"
- Where the Boys Are (1960)
- The Son of Captain Blood (1962)
- Duel at the Rio Grande (1963)
- Stop Train 349 (1963)
- Mission to Venice (1964)
- Temple of the White Elephant (1964)
- Seven Guns for Timothy (1966)
- Sharp-Shooting Twin Sisters (1966)
- Five Ashore in Singapore aka Singapore, Singapore (1967)
- Wheel of Ashes(1968)
See also
- John Dawson Dewhirst
- List of journalists killed and missing in the Vietnam War
- Lists of people who disappeared
- Mayaguez incident
References
- ISBN 978-0-9816280-9-7
- ISBN 978-0-313-29171-5.
- ^ "Bulk of Flynn estate left to widow; see court fight" (October 22, 1959). Los Angeles Times
- ^ "Flynn's son making his movie debut" (June 27, 1960). Los Angeles Times
- ^ Hopper, H. (July 16, 1960). "London stage role interests Stewart". Los Angeles Times
- ISBN 978-1-4257-1250-1
- ^ "Errol Flynn's son, 20, gets film contract" (May 27, 1961). Los Angeles Times
- ^ "Filmland Events" (September 8, 1961). Los Angeles Times
- ^ "Young Flynn's Disc Contract Approved" (September 22, 1961). Los Angeles Times
- ^ 45 Discography for Arvee/Orbit/HiFi Records, retrieved December 26, 2008
- ^ "Sean Flynn – Secret Love". Discogs. 1962.
- ^ Scheuer, P. K. (April 30, 1962). "Paul Gallico story sold to Seven Arts" Los Angeles Times
- ^ By A.H. Weiler. (May 26, 1963). "Observations From a Local Vantage Point" New York Times
- ^ Scheuer, P. K. (July 26, 1962). "Harold Lloyd makes world laugh again" Los Angeles Times
- ^ "Fabian's feeling strength of age" (January 25, 1964). The Washington Post and Times-Herald
- ^ "Flynn's son baffles out of Red trap" (April 27, 1966). Los Angeles Times
- ^ "Erroll Flynn's son off to Paris for spy film role" (June 1, 1966). Los Angeles Times
- ^ "Flynn's Son Credited with Saving Aussies" (November 30, 1966). Los Angeles Times
- ^ "Errol Flynn's son hurt" (September 2, 1968). New York Times
- ^ a b "How Errol Flynn's son was lost in Cambodia – all but a pile of bones". independent.co.uk. March 31, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
- ^ a b King, Tim (May 15, 2008). "Remembering Sean Flynn: A Photojournalist Who Died at War". salem-news.com. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
- ^ "Hear Cong in Cambodia seize Errol Flynn's son, 4 others" (April 7, 1970). Chicago Tribune
- ^ Dudman, R. (June 17, 1970). "Writer tells of Reds' captivity" Chicago Tribune
- ^ By, R. B. (July 7, 1972). "Has she given up hope of seeing her husband alive? 'oh, no!'" New York Times
- ISBN 0-306-81251-7Accessed via Google Books June 21, 2009
- ISBN 0-7432-1090-5
- ^ Unresolved Mysteries
- ^ "Remains found in Cambodia thought to be of Errol Flynn's son". The Guardian. Associated Press. March 29, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ Sean Flynn not buried in Cambodia war grave, The Daily Telegraph. June 30, 2010.
- ISSN 0028-7369.
- ^ "Movie about Sean Flynn to be made". The Hollywood Reporter. August 14, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
- ^ Gilsdorf, Ethan (October 3, 2011). "Road to Freedom". boston.com. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
External links
- Brief memoire about Flynn, with an example of his Vietnam images
- Photo of Flynn (left) and Stone taken two hours before their disappearance in 1970
- The Mysterious Disappearance of Sean Flynn and Dana Stone
- 1963 photo-report of Flynn filming Son of Captain Blood in Stars and Stripes.
- Sean Flynn at IMDb