Peter O’Toole was nominated for eight Oscars – among them his portrayal of Alan Swann in My Favorite Year. The 1982 film is based on Mel Brooks’ recollection of Errol Flynn’s appearance on Sid Caeser’s Your Show of Shows in the early 1950s. As a young writer, Brooks was tasked with reigning in the fallen star so he’d be kept sober long enough to learn his lines and deliver the live rendition. Of course it can be asked, how much did O’Toole really have to act to bring drunken debonair to life. Either way, the problematics both legends exhibited were often no laughing matter and can’t help but weigh on our consciences as we enjoy.
But before we decide, a little background. There isn’t complete certainty that Errol Flynn actually appeared on Your Show of Shows. Before video tape, Brooks’ words must suffice - even though Flynn’s decline did relegate him to early Television.
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