Editing Errol Flynn (section)

==Posthumous controversies==
In a 1982 interview with ''[[Penthouse (magazine)|Penthouse]]'' magazine, [[Ronald DeWolf]], son of the author [[L. Ron Hubbard]] said that his father's friendship with Flynn was so strong that Hubbard's family considered Flynn an adoptive father to DeWolf. He said that Flynn and his father engaged in illegal activities together, including drug smuggling and sexual acts with underage girls, but that Flynn never joined [[Scientology]], Hubbard's movement.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=June 1983 |title=Inside the Church of Scientology: An exclusive interview with L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. |magazine=Penthouse}}</ref>

Journalist [[George Seldes]], who disliked Flynn intensely, wrote in his 1987 memoir that Flynn did not travel to Spain in 1937 to report on its civil war as announced or to deliver cash, medicine, supplies and food for the [[Second Spanish Republic|Republican]] soldiers, as promised. His purpose, according to Seldes, was to perpetrate a hoax that he triggered by sending an "apparently harmless" telegram from Madrid to Paris. The following day, American newspapers published an erroneous report that Flynn had been killed at the Spanish front. "The next day he left Spain&nbsp;...&nbsp;. There were no ambulances, no medical supplies, no food for the Spanish Republic, and not one cent of money. The war correspondents said bitterly that it was the cruellest hoax of the time," Seldes wrote. "Flynn... had used a terrible war just to advertise one of his cheap movies."<ref name=Seldes>{{cite book |title=Witness to a Century: Encounters with the Noted, the Notorious, and the Three SOBs |url=https://archive.org/details/witnesstocentury00seld |url-access=registration |last=Seldes |first=George |location=New York |publisher=Ballantine Books |page=[https://archive.org/details/witnesstocentury00seld/page/324 324] |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-345-33181-6}}</ref>

===Relationship with Beverly Aadland===
In 1961, Beverly Aadland's mother, Florence, co-wrote ''[[The Big Love]]'' with Tedd Thomey, alleging that Flynn had been involved in a sexual relationship with her daughter, who was 15 when it began.<ref>{{Cite news|title=A few more literary favourites among the best of the firsts and the best of the lasts|last=Smith|first=Jack|date=30 December 1985|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-12-30-vw-29967-story.html|access-date=19 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Aadland |first1=Florence |first2=Tedd |last2=Thomey |title=The Big Love |publisher=Grand Central Pub. |year=1986 |edition=reprint |isbn=978-0-446-30159-6}}</ref> The memoir was adapted in 1991 by [[Jay Presson Allen]] and her daughter Brooke Allen into a one-woman play, ''The Big Love'', which starred [[Tracey Ullman]] as Florence Aadland in its New York premiere.<ref name="richards">{{Cite news |last=Richards |first=David |date=14 April 1991 |title=Secret Sharers: Solo Acts in a Confessional Age |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/14/theater/sunday-view-secret-sharers-solo-acts-in-a-confessional-age.html |access-date=28 May 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DukCAAAAMBAJ&q=%22florence+aadland%22+%22the+big+love%22&pg=PA76 |title=Two from the Heart, Two from Hunger |last=Simon |first=John |date=18 March 1991 |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |pages=76–77}}</ref>

In 1996, Beverly Aadland gave an interview to Britain's Channel 4 documentary series ''Secret Lives'' corroborating the sexual relationship and claiming that the first time she and Flynn had sex, he had "forced himself" on her. She also said she loved him and wished they had more time together.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jordan|first=Catherine|date=9 November 1996|title=I Was Errol Flynn's Little Nymph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4705765/I-was-Errol-Flynns-little-nymph.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119054105/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4705765/I-was-Errol-Flynns-little-nymph.html|archive-date=19 November 2017|access-date=7 October 2019|website=The London Telegraph}}</ref> "I was very lucky. He could have had any woman he wanted. Why it was me, I have no idea. Never will."

===Charles Higham biography===
In 1980, author [[Charles Higham (biographer)|Charles Higham]] wrote a highly controversial biography, ''Errol Flynn: The Untold Story'', alleging that Flynn was a [[fascist]] sympathiser who spied for the [[Nazi Party|Nazis]] before and during the Second World War and that he was [[bisexual]] and had multiple same-sex affairs.<ref name="higham">{{Cite book |last=Higham |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Higham (biographer) |title=Errol Flynn: The Untold Story |publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] |location=New York City |year=1980 |isbn=978-0-385-13495-8}}</ref> He claimed Flynn had arranged to have ''Dive Bomber'' filmed on location at the [[San Diego Naval Base]] for the benefit of Japanese military planners, who needed information on American warships and defence installations.<ref name="People"/> Higham admitted that he had no evidence that Flynn was a German agent, but said he had "pieced together a mosaic that proves that he is".<ref name="NYT">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/books/charles-higham-celebrity-biographer-dies-at-81.html |title=Charles Higham, Celebrity Biographer, Dies at 81 |last=Fox |first=Margalit |date=3 May 2012 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref> Flynn's friend [[David Niven]] criticised Higham for his unfounded accusations.<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Charles Higham (biographer) |author=Higham, Charles |title=Who's sitting on Errol Flynn's grave? |newspaper=[[Sunday Times]] |date=13 January 1980 |page=15 |publisher=The Sunday Times (digital archive) <!--|access-date=21 April 2014--> }}</ref> In his autobiography, ''Iron Eyes Cody: My Life As A Hollywood Indian'', [[Iron Eyes Cody]] also trashed Higham's book and described Flynn as "super straight".

Subsequent Flynn biographers are critical of Higham's allegations, and have found no evidence to corroborate them.<ref name=Tele>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9250507/Charles-Higham.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9250507/Charles-Higham.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Charles Higham |department=obituary |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=22 April 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Lincoln Hurst reported that Flynn attempted to join the [[Office of Strategic Services|OSS]] in 1942 and was put under surveillance by the [[FBI]], which uncovered no subversive activities.<ref name="Capshaw">{{cite magazine |author=Capshaw, Ron |url=http://brightlightsfilm.com/book-review-errol-flynn-lincoln-hurst/ |department=Book Review |title=''Errol Flynn: The True Adventures of a Real-Life Rogue'', by Lincoln Hurst |magazine=Bright Lights Journal |issue=69 |date=August 2010 |access-date=1 November 2010}}</ref> Tony Thomas and Buster Wiles accused Higham of altering FBI documents to substantiate his claims.<ref>{{cite book |first=Jeffrey |last=Meyers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SCe8JQfDQlgC&q=Gary+Cooper:+American+Hero |via=Google Books |title=Gary Cooper: American Hero |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |year=2001 |pages=204–205, 346|isbn=978-0-8154-1140-6 }}</ref> In 1981, Flynn's daughters, Rory and Deirdre, hired [[Melvin Belli]] to sue Higham and his publisher [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] for [[libel]]. The suit was dismissed on the grounds that a deceased person cannot, by definition, be libelled.<ref name="People">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20077555,00.html |title=Fighting for Errol Flynn's reputation, his daughters sue over charges he was a bi spy |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |access-date=23 May 2012}}</ref><ref name="NYT"/> In 2000, Higham repeated his claim that Flynn had been a German agent, citing corroboration from Anne Lane, secretary to [[MI5]] chief Sir [[Percy Sillitoe]] from 1946 to 1951 and the person responsible for maintaining Flynn's British intelligence service file. Higham acknowledged that he never saw the file itself and was unable to secure official confirmation of its existence.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/node/151155 |title=The missing Errol Flynn file |newspaper=New Statesman |access-date=1 August 2016}}</ref>