Forgotten Heroes

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 I have always wanted to set up my own web page as a tribute to Errol Flynn and his thirst for adventure. He inspired me to leave Everett, Mass. and come out here to Hollywood in order to try my luck at being an actor and eventually a filmmaker. In 1980 I met Tony Thomas, and we became very close friends and remained so until his untimely passing in 1997. He was truly a dear friend, and I miss him terribly. It was due to Tony's generosity that I was able to meet and get to know many of Errol's friends, family, co-workers, and others who knew him at Warner Brothers.

Between 1980 and 1987 I was constantly going up to Mulholland farm, taking pictures and bringing friends from Everett, Mass to see the place where Errol Flynn lived. When the estate went on the market I was able to take my wife into Mulholland House in April-May of 1987. We went up there anytime, night or day, almost as if we were the new owners. I took everyone I knew up there. At the time my wife Louise was eight months pregnant and my plan was to sneak up there at sunset and spend a romantic night in Errol's bedroom, alone with my bride. What a special night that would have been, but Errol seemed to say, "bad timing sport."

Sometime later, I got to know the new owner, who by April of 1988 had decided to demolish the house and sell off the land. I was there to see it happen on a sad day in May of '88. During the previous year, I had taken pictures of the house being renovated, and later as it was being torn down. It was when I was with Tony Thomas, and my boyhood friend Steve Florentine of Everett Mass., that I met Nora and Deirdre Flynn up at the house - or what was left of it. Meeting Nora, Deirdre and eventually Rory has been for me a great experience. They have treated me like family from day one, and that is something I will treasure always.

- Jack Marino / Filmmaker

REVIEW - GOOGIES Coffeeshop to the Stars:

Excellent! A refreshing and touching book!, September 13, 2008

By Thomas P McNulty (Illinois USA)

Steve Hayes serves up a deluxe memoir in two volumes with "Googies: Coffeeshop to the Stars" (Bear Manor Media, $24.95). Arriving in Hollywood in 1949 with dreams of becoming a movie star, young Ivan Hayes embarked upon an odyssey of self discovery and adventure that no screenwriter could have dreamed up.

This remarkable memoir is loaded with anecdotes, none of which I'll repeat here because I hope you'll support this author and purchase both volumes. Suffice it to say, in these pages you'll encounter Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Alan Ladd, Lana Turner, Ernest Hemingway and even Aldous Huxley among many others.

For a decade Steve supported himself as an actor, manager of the Googies coffeeshop adjacent to Schwab's Pharmacy, and by taking jobs as they were offered. Along the way he met and often befriended many of Hollywood's popular stars. His insight into these personalities goes against the grain of what you'll normally encounter in books where the allure relates directly to the geek fan base salivating for more celebrity gossip. What Steve Hayes has accomplished is the creation of a memoir lacking in egotism and animosity. What I appreciate is this man's honesty when talking about his successes and failures, and his unabashed look back at an era he knew was ending even as he experienced it. There is an underlying tone of sadness, but without being maudlin. I was particularly taken by his sensitivity when talking about his marriages, girlfriends and friendship with the stars he encountered. For example, his view on Clark Gable is right on, and ultimately heartbreaking. Ditto with Flynn, Ladd and others.

He devotes ample space to Errol Flynn, a man that Hayes admits remains his idol, but he avoids the idolatry as well as the gossip. No truer portrait of Flynn has hitherto been published. Here is Flynn the writer, the caring father, the raging alcoholic, the talented actor, the man's man who took care of his friends while sometimes also letting them down. First hand accurate accounts have always been scarce and that's what makes "Googies: Coffeeshop to the Stars" such a valuable resource for fans and scholars alike. Steve Hayes wrote it down the way it happened and the result is a smorgasbord of insight, layered with a generous portion of compassion. That's a rare and delectable combination.

Steve Hayes has a big heart that complements his talent - he's a successful novelist and screenwriter - and forgive the cliché, but I couldn't put his book down. He was there at the tail end of a Golden Era, sparkling with talent, sex appeal, hard work, humorous escapades, tragic loss and epic voyages, but it's no mistake that section three of volume two is titled "The Decline of Camelot."

The book is prefaced by a short but fascinating piece titled "I Remember Googies" by John Saxon. "Googies: Coffeeshop to the Stars" offers an authentic look back at a bygone era and we can be thankful the author is such a splendid raconteur.

Kudos to Steve Hayes for taking the time to pen such a heartfelt and fascinating memoir.