Frederick McEvoy: Difference between revisions
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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McEvoy was born in [[St. Kilda]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], Australia on 12 February 1907.<ref name="SR" /> |
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===Relationships=== |
===Relationships=== |
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McEvoy was described by newspapers as an "internationally known Australian playboy" and a "popular, handsome, heiress hunter".<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/26595076/1766866?zoomLevel=3 Freddy McEvoy was playboy]. ''[[The Argus (Australia)|The Argus]]''. 7 March 1954. Accessed 26 October 2011.</ref><ref name="TCM">[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/50284868?searchTerm=fred%20mcevoy&searchLimits= Woolworth Heiress May Marry Austn.]. ''[[The Courier-Mail]]''. 13 April 1946. Accessed 26 October 2011.</ref> |
McEvoy was described by newspapers as an "internationally known Australian playboy" and a "popular, handsome, heiress hunter".<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/26595076/1766866?zoomLevel=3 Freddy McEvoy was playboy]. ''[[The Argus (Australia)|The Argus]]''. 7 March 1954. Accessed 26 October 2011.</ref><ref name="TCM">[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/50284868?searchTerm=fred%20mcevoy&searchLimits= Woolworth Heiress May Marry Austn.]. ''[[The Courier-Mail]]''. 13 April 1946. Accessed 26 October 2011.</ref> |
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Revision as of 21:15, 26 October 2011
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Bobsleigh | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
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1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Four-man |
| World Championships | ||
 |
1937 Cortina d'Ampezzo | Two-man |
|
1937 St. Moritz | Four-man |
|
1938 Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Four-man |
 |
1938 St. Moritz | Two-man |
|
1939 Cortina d'Ampezzo | Four-man |
Frederick Joseph McEvoy (12 February 1907 – 7 November 1951) was an Australian/British multi-discipline sportsman and socialite. He had most success as a bobsledder in the late 1930s, winning several medals including three golds at the FIBT World Championships.
Sporting achievements
Bobsleigh
McEvoy was the British flag bearer at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.[1] He was part of the four-man bobsleigh team alongside James Cardno, Gary Dugdale, and Charles Green who won the bronze medal in the four-man event.[2] He also finished fourth in the two-man event with Cardno.[3][4]
At the FIBT World Championships in 1937 he realised greater success in the sport. Partnering Byran Black for the two-man at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy he achieved his first gold medal. He teamed up with Black, Olympic team-mate Charles Green, and David Looker in the four-man, again winning the gold medal.[5][6]
At the same event in 1938 three of the four-man riders returned to defend their title. Chris MacKintosh replaced Byran Black and the team once again won the gold medal. In the two-man race Charles Green partnered McEvoy and the pair won the silver medal. Both men partnered again the following year and, alongside two new team-mates, won silver in the four-man event at Cortina d'Ampezzo.[5][6]
Motor racing
McEvoy came fifth in the Vanderbilt Cup, racing a Maserati along the 300-mile course "considered by European road veterans to be probably the most severe test for man and car in the world".[7]
Personal life
McEvoy was born in St. Kilda, Victoria, Australia on 12 February 1907.[3]
Relationships
McEvoy was described by newspapers as an "internationally known Australian playboy" and a "popular, handsome, heiress hunter".[8][9]
McEvoy was married several times, taking his first wife in 1940. Beatrice Cartwright, a member of Pratt family and heir to a fortune from Standard Oil, was twice his age and had lived with McEvoy for several years before their marriage.[3] The union did not last, and in 1942 Cartwright accused McEvoy of being unfaithful with "three well-known society women".[10] The divorce was granted on the grounds of misconduct. McEvoy was not present for the decision as he was embroiled in a statutory rape case that had been opened against close friend Errol Flynn.[11] 17-year-old Betty Hansen had accused Flynn of committing the offence during at party at McEvoy's Bel Air home, but McEvoy continued to publicly defend Flynn.[10]
In 1942, McEvoy married the daughter of the president of the Standard Oil of Kansas. Irene Wrightsman was 18 at the time of their wedding, nearly half his age. Wrightsman was disinherited by her father after she eloped and the marriage lasted just two years.[3][9]
In 1945 he met Barbara Hutton,[3] another wealthy heiress who had just divorced third husband Cary Grant. Hutton was warned to stay away from McEvoy by friends and relatives and they assumed that the pair would marry as soon as he "legally divorces penniless Irene".[9] The couple were never wed, though Hutton bought a chalet at a ski resort in Franconia, New Hampshire and the they lived together for a time. Hutton married again in 1947 and she remained friends with McEvoy who went on to marry Claude Stephanie Filatre, a French fashion model.[3]
Errol Flynn married Patrice Wymore at a ceremony in Monte Carlo in 1950 with McEvoy as his best man and Filatre as the matron of honour.[12] At the time McEvoy as said to have been living in Cannes aboard his schooner Black Joke.[13]
Controversies
There have been claims that McEvoy covertly worked for the Third Reich, was an antisemite, and a Nazi sympathiser.[14] The FBI, who had him under surveillance along with several of his friends and associates, described him as "an international pimp who is interested in his own well-being and probably not engaged in activities detrimental to the interests of the country."[15]
Throughout 1944 McEvoy was believed to have smuggled guns, valuable jewellery, and alcohol from Mexico City to Beverly Hills.[3]
Death
McEvoy, his wife, and several others were sailing just off the coast of Morocco on his 104-ton schooner, Kangaroo, on 7 November 1951. A storm wrecked the ship and McEvoy swam to shore to look for help, leaving Claude Stephanie afloat on the mast. He was unable to find any assistance and returned to his wife. The pair tried to swim back to land but the waves were too strong. Their bodies and those of four others were discovered the following day.[3] One of the three survivors gave the name of Walter Praxmarer but was identified as Manfred Lenther, an Austrian man charged with murdering a woman in Berlin in 1945.[16]
References
- ^ Great Britain. Olympics at Sport-Reference.com Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ Olympic Games - Men: 4-Man. Sports 123. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Freddie McEvoy Biography and Olympic Results. Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ Krastev, Todor. Bobsleigh Doubles Olympic Games 1936 Garmish-Partenkirchen (GER) - 14,15.02. 17 May 2006. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ a b World Championships - Men: 4-Man. Sports 123. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ a b World Championships - Men: 2-Man. Sports 123. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ Motor Car Racing, American Contest, The Vanderbilt Cup. Western Argus. 20 October 1936. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ Freddy McEvoy was playboy. The Argus. 7 March 1954. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ a b c Woolworth Heiress May Marry Austn.. The Courier-Mail. 13 April 1946. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ a b Flynn's Host Sued For Divorce. The Advertiser. 28 October 1942. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ Oil Heiress Granted Divorce. The Morning Bulletin. 30 October 1942. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ Flynn Weds Starlet In Monte Carlo. The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 October 1950. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ Sydney Man To Be Best Man For Errol Flynn. The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 October 1950. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ Higham, Charles. The Missing Errol Flynn File. New Statesman. 17 April 2000. Accessed 26 October 2011.
- ^ McNulty, Thomas. Errol Flynn: the life and career. McFarland. 2004. p. 168.
- ^ Strange Twist To Shipwreck Tragedy. The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 November 1951. Accessed 26 October 2011.