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40-480: The urban drama Dead End became both a successful play and a hit movie, featuring six young actors playing streetwise guttersnipes: Billy Halop , Leo Gorcey , Huntz Hall , Gabriel Dell , Bobby Jordan , and Bernard Punsly . The troupe became known as The Dead End Kids and starred in a series of features for Warner Brothers . In 1938, Universal borrowed the Dead End Kids (except Gorcey and Jordan) for

80-544: A battle with pirates, but the noise drowns out his blubbering, and he recovers enough to command a storming party of sailors (placing himself right in the middle of the party, to avoid stray bullets). After the Charge of the Light Brigade, he flees in panic from the fighting in the battery—but mistakenly charges into an entire Russian regiment, adding to his heroic image. In spite of his numerous character flaws, Flashman

120-400: A championship). The character subsequently marries Flashman's mother Lady Alicia Paget, a fictional relation of the real Marquess of Anglesey . Buckley, it is related, also served as a Member of Parliament (MP) but was "sent to the knacker's yard at Reform ". Beside politics, the older Flashman character has interests including drinking, fox hunting (riding to hounds), and women. Flashman

160-476: A coward and losing his respected status in society, or being shot for desertion. When he can act like a coward with impunity, he invariably does. Flashman surrenders to fear in front of witnesses only a few times, and is never caught out again. During the siege of Piper's Fort, in the first novel, Flashman cowers weeping in his bed at the start of the final assault; the only witness to this dies before relief comes. He breaks down while accompanying Rajah Brooke during

200-465: A juvenile-delinquency drama called Little Tough Guy . Universal adopted this as a brand name, and turned the film into a series of 'Little Tough Guys' features. The studio filled out the cast with David Gorcey (Leo's younger brother) and Hally Chester . The next three films did not include any of the original Dead End Kids. Little Tough Guys in Society (1939) was more of a lightweight comedy, while

240-563: A registered nurse at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California . His fourth marriage, to a nurse coworker, whose name has not been publicized, was quickly annulled after she allegedly attacked him. He later moved back in with his second wife Barbara, but they chose not to remarry. Following two heart attacks , Halop underwent open-heart surgery in the fall of 1971. He died of a heart attack on November 9, 1976, in Hollywood at

280-527: A series of 12 of Fraser's books, collectively known as The Flashman Papers , with covers illustrated by Arthur Barbosa and Gino D’Achille. Flashman was played by Malcolm McDowell in the Richard Lester 1975 film Royal Flash . In Tom Brown's School Days (1857), Flashman is portrayed as a notorious Rugby School bully who persecutes Tom Brown and is finally expelled for drunkenness, at which point he simply disappears. Fraser decided to write

320-578: A wealthy textile manufacturer, whom he has to marry in a " shotgun wedding " under threat of a horsewhipping by her uncle. But marriage to the daughter of a mere businessman forces his transferral from the snobbish 11th Hussars. He is sent to India to make a career in the army of the East India Company . Unfortunately, his language talent and his habit of flattery bring him to the attention of the Governor-General . The Governor does him

360-485: A winning personality when he wants to, and is very skilled at flattering those more important than himself without appearing servile. As he admits in the Papers, Flashman is a coward, who will flee from danger if there is any way to do so, and has on some occasions collapsed in funk. He has one great advantage in concealing this weakness: when he is frightened, his face turns red, rather than white, so that observers think he

400-504: Is Scottish." And for all his raking, it was always Elspeth to whom he returned and who remained ultimately top of the list. His lechery was so strong that it broke out even in the midst of rather hectic circumstances. While accompanying Thomas Henry Kavanagh on his daring escape from Lucknow, he paused for a quick rattle with a local prostitute, and during the battle of Patusan , he found himself galloping one of Sharif Sahib's concubines without even realizing it but nonetheless continued to

440-658: Is a large man, six feet two inches (1.88 m) tall and close to 13 stone (about 180 pounds or 82 kg). In Flashman and the Tiger , he mentions that one of his grandchildren has black hair and eyes, resembling him in his younger years. His dark colouring frequently enabled him to pass (in disguise) for a Pashtun . He claims only three natural talents: horsemanship, facility with foreign languages, and fornication. He becomes an expert cricket-bowler, but only through hard effort (he needed sporting credit at Rugby School, and feared to play rugby football ). He can also display

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480-428: Is an antihero who often runs away from danger. Nevertheless, through a combination of luck and cunning, he usually ends each volume acclaimed as a hero. Fraser gave Flashman a lifespan from 1822 to 1915 and a birth-date of 5 May. He also provided Flashman's first and middle names, as Hughes's novel had given Flashman only one, using the names to make an ironic allusion to Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey . Paget

520-522: Is excited, enraged, or exuberant—as a hero ought to be. After his expulsion from Rugby School for drunkenness, the young Flashman looks for an easy life. He has his wealthy father buy him an officer's commission in the fashionable 11th Regiment of Light Dragoons . The 11th, commanded by Lord Cardigan , later involved in the Charge of the Light Brigade , has just returned from India and are not likely to be posted abroad soon. Flashman throws himself into

560-606: Is represented as being a perceptive observer of his times ("I saw further than most in some ways" ). In its obituary of George MacDonald Fraser, The Economist commented that realistic sharp-sightedness ("if not much else") was an attribute Flashman shared with his creator. Flashman, an insatiable lecher, has sex with many different women over the course of his fictional adventures. His size, good looks, winning manner, and especially his splendid cavalry-style whiskers win over women from low to high, and his dalliances include famous ladies along with numerous prostitutes. In Flashman and

600-644: Is watching, after the Piper's Fort incident, he usually controls his fear and often performs bravely. Almost every book contains one or more incidents where Flashman has to fight or perform some other daring action, and he holds up long enough to complete it. For instance, he is ordered to accompany the Light Brigade on its famous charge and rides all the way to the Russian guns. However, most of these acts of 'bravery' are performed only when he has absolutely no choice and to do anything else would result in his being exposed as

640-667: The Siege of Cawnpore , the Battle of the Little Bighorn , and the Battle of Isandlwana ), always coming out with more heroic laurels. The date of his last adventure seems to have been around 1900, being involved in the Boxer Rebellion alongside US Marines . He dies in 1915. Despite his admitted cowardice, Flashman is a dab hand at fighting when he has to. Though he dodges danger as much as he can, and runs away when no one

680-468: The (very much unwanted) favour of assigning him as aide to General Elphinstone in Afghanistan . Flashman survives the ensuing retreat from Kabul (the worst British military debacle of Victoria's reign) by a mixture of sheer luck and unstinting cowardice. He becomes an unwitting hero: the defender of Piper's Fort, where he is the only surviving white man, and is found by the relieving troops clutching

720-680: The Dragon , Flashman and the Redskins , and Flashman and the Angel of the Lord suggest that Flashman was well endowed. He was a vigorous and exciting (if sometimes selfish and rapacious) lover, and some of his partners became quite fond of him—though by his own admission, others tried to kill him afterwards. The most memorable of these was Cleonie, a prostitute Flashman sold into slavery in Flashman and

760-709: The Flashmans "were never the thing"; Flashman quotes the diarist Henry Greville's comment that "the coarse streak showed through, generation after generation, like dung beneath a rosebush". Harry Flashman's equally fictional father, Henry Buckley Flashman, appears in Black Ajax (1997). Buckley, a bold young officer in the British cavalry, is said to have been wounded in action at Talavera in 1809, and then to have gained access to "society" by sponsoring bare-knuckle boxer Tom Molineaux (the first black man to contend for

800-586: The Great Game , about halfway through his life, he counted up his sexual conquests while languishing in a dungeon at Gwalior , "not counting return engagements", reaching a total of 478 up to that date (similar—albeit not equal—to the tally made by Mozart 's Don Giovanni in the famous aria of Giovanni's henchman, Leporello). Passages in Royal Flash , Flashman and the Mountain of Light , Flashman and

840-531: The Little Tough Guys principals wound up at Monogram Pictures as The East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys . Billy Halop William Halop (February 11, 1920 – November 9, 1976) was an American actor. Halop was born to Benjamin Cohen Halop and Lucille Elizabeth Halop on February 11, 1920. Halop came from a theatrical family; his mother was a dancer, and his sister, Florence Halop ,

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880-464: The Redskins . He was not above forcing himself on a partner by blackmail (e.g., Phoebe Carpenter in Flashman and the Dragon ), and at least twice raped women ( Narreeman , an Afghan dancing girl in Flashman , and an unnamed harem girl in Flashman's Lady ). Flashman's stories are dominated by his numerous amorous encounters. Several of them are with prominent historical personages. These women are sometimes window dressing, sometimes pivotal characters in

920-497: The US Army Signal Corps, he found that he had grown too old to be effective in the roles that had brought him fame. At one point, he was reduced to starring in a cheap East Side Kids imitation at PRC studios, Gas House Kids (1946), at age 26. Diminishing film work, marital difficulties, and a drinking problem eventually ate away at his show business career. In the 1970s, Halop enjoyed a career resurgence playing

960-474: The age of 56. He is interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California . Harry Flashman Sir Harry Paget Flashman VC , KCB , KCIE is a fictional character created by Thomas Hughes (1822–1896) in the semi-autobiographical Tom Brown's School Days (1857) and later developed by George MacDonald Fraser (1925–2008). Harry Flashman appears in

1000-587: The armed forces and was replaced by Jordan for the final film in the series, Keep 'Em Slugging , released in 1943. Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges appeared in Give Us Wings , Hit the Road and Keep 'Em Slugging . Huntz Hall cited Howard as a major influence when his later "Bowery Boys" series shifted to all-out slapstick comedy. There was still a market for these tough-teen films, and most of

1040-801: The character Bert Munson, cab driver and close friend to Archie Bunker on the television series All in the Family . He appeared in 10 episodes from 1971 to 1975, including the famed "Sammy's Visit" episode from the second season in 1972 starring Sammy Davis Jr. Halop was married at least four times, according to interviews given near the end of his life. Helen Tupper was his first wife from 1946 until their divorce in 1947. On Valentine's Day, 1948, he married Barbara Hoon. Their marriage lasted ten years until their divorce in 1958. His third marriage in 1960 to Suzanne Roe, who had multiple sclerosis, lasted until their divorce in 1967. The nursing skills he learned while taking care of his third wife led him to steady work as

1080-504: The climax of the battle and the tryst. Flashman's relations with the highest-ranking woman of his era, Queen Victoria , are warm but platonic. He first meets her in 1842 when he receives a medal for his gallantry in Afghanistan and reflects on what a honeymoon she and Prince Albert must have enjoyed. Subsequently, he and his wife received invitations to Balmoral Castle , to the delight of the snobbish Elspeth. For his services during

1120-412: The flag and surrounded by enemy dead. Of course, Flashman had arrived at the fort by accident, collapsed in terror rather than fighting, been forced to stand and show fight by his subordinate, and is 'rumbled' for a complete coward. He had been trying to surrender the colours, not defend them. Happily for him, all inconvenient witnesses had been killed. This incident sets the tone for Flashman's life. Over

1160-477: The following 60 years or so, he is involved in many of the major military conflicts of the 19th century—always in spite of his best efforts to evade his duty. He is often selected for especially dangerous jobs because of his heroic reputation. He meets many famous people, and survives some of the worst military disasters of the period (the First Anglo-Afghan War , the Charge of the Light Brigade ,

1200-410: The memoirs, though that does not stop him pursuing others. Nor does it prevent marrying them when his safety seems to require it; he marries Duchess Irma in Royal Flash and in Flashman and the Redskins he marries Susie Willnick as they escape New Orleans, and Sonsee-Array a few months later. He was also once reminded of a woman that Elspeth claimed he flirted with named Kitty Stevens, though Flashman

1240-546: The next two, Newsboys' Home and Code of the Streets (1939), were more dramatic. Jackie Cooper starred in Newsboys' Home , but was not a member of the team. Only David Gorcey and Hally Chester remained from the first film, Little Tough Guy . This was the beginning of the members of the team changing on almost a film-to-film basis. Eleven actors drifted in and out of the series, including Frankie Thomas , Charles Duncan (who

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1280-508: The social life that the 11th offered and becomes a leading light of Canterbury society. In 1840 the regiment is converted to Hussars with an elegant blue and crimson uniform, which assists Flashman in attracting female attention for the remainder of his military career. A duel with another officer over a French courtesan leads to his being temporarily stationed in Paisley, Scotland . There he meets and deflowers Elspeth Morrison, daughter of

1320-696: The story of Flashman's later life, in which the school bully would be identified as an "illustrious Victorian soldier", experiencing many of the 19th-century wars and adventures of the British Empire and rising to high rank in the British Army , to be acclaimed as a great warrior, while still remaining "a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat, a thief, a coward—and, oh yes, a toady." In the papers – which are purported to have been written by Flashman and discovered only after his death – he describes his own dishonourable conduct with complete candour. Fraser's Flashman

1360-439: The unpredictable twists and turns of the books. Historical women Flashman bedded included: He also lusted after (but never bedded): His fictional amours included: As well as bedding more or less any lass available, he married whenever it was politic to do so. During a posting to Scotland, he was forced to marry Elspeth to avoid "pistols for two with her fire-breathing uncle". He is still married to her decades later when writing

1400-574: Was an actress who worked on radio and in television. Additionally, he had a much younger brother, Joel Tucker Halop (1934-2006). In 1933, he was given the lead as Bobby Benson in the popular new radio show The H-Bar-O Rangers . From 1934 to 1937, he starred in one of his first radio series, playing Dick Kent, the son of Fred and Lucy Kent, in "Home Sweet Home". While studying at the Professional Children's School in New York, he

1440-566: Was cast as Tommy Gordon in the 1935 Broadway production of Sidney Kingsley 's Dead End and traveled to Hollywood with the rest of the Dead End Kids when Samuel Goldwyn produced a film version of the play in 1937. Usually called Tommy in the films, he had the recurring role of a gang leader in a series of films that featured the Dead End Kids , later billed the Little Tough Guys . In his later years, he claimed that he

1480-540: Was one of the heroes of Waterloo , who cuckolded the Duke of Wellington 's brother Henry Wellesley and later—in one of the period's more celebrated scandals—married Lady Anglesey , after Wellesley had divorced her for adultery. In Flashman , Flashman says that his great-grandfather, Jack Flashman, made the family fortune in America, trading in rum, slaves and " piracy too, I shouldn't wonder". Despite their wealth,

1520-463: Was originally hired to play Leo Gorcey's role in the play Dead End ), and Billy Benedict . When Warners released Bobby Jordan from his contract, Universal quickly signed him to join the rest of gang. Now, with five of the original six Dead End Kids on the payroll, Universal revised the billing to read The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys . In total, the Little Tough Guys made 12 feature films, and three 12-chapter serials. Leading player Halop joined

1560-536: Was paid more than the other Dead End actors, which had contributed to bad feelings in the group, and that he was tired of the name "Dead End Kids". He played with James Cagney in Angels with Dirty Faces (1938). He played the bully Harry Flashman , speaking with an English accent, in the 1940 film Tom Brown's School Days opposite Cedric Hardwicke and Freddie Bartholomew . After serving in World War II in

1600-431: Was unable to remember her. He had a special penchant for royal ladies, and noted that his favourite amours (apart from his wife) were Lakshmibai, Ci Xi and Lola Montez: "a Queen, an Empress, and the foremost courtesan of her time: I dare say I'm just a snob." He also noted that, while civilized women were more than ordinarily partial to him, his most ardent admirers were among the savage of the species: "Elspeth, of course,

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