Frederick McEvoy
Encyclopedia
Frederick Joseph McEvoy (12 February 1907 – 7 November 1951) was an Australia
n/British
multi-discipline sportsman and socialite
. He had most sporting success as a bobsledder
in the late 1930s, winning several medals including three golds at the FIBT World Championships
. He married several wealthy heiresses and was a close friend of Errol Flynn
. He usually shortened his name to Freddie McEvoy and was nicknamed "Suicide Freddie".
in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
, Germany
. 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. He also finished fourth in the two-man event with Cardno.
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.
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.
, 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". That same year he entered eight European races, usually driving a Maserati 6CM
, with his best result of fourth place at both the XII Picardie on 21 June and the XII Coppa Acerbo on 15 August.
a scene starring good friend Errol Flynn
in his only musical number. McEvoy's only other appearance was in The Desert Song
, directed by Robert Florey
.
McEvoy is said to have been a cunning and intelligent businessman, once selling the shirt off his back for $2000 to an Argentine millionaire, "launch[ing] the fashion of flowered shirts for men".
, Victoria
, Australia on 12 February 1907. The family moved to England early in his life. McEvoy was given the nickname of "Suicide Freddie" because of his love of danger both in life and in sport. He was a rival of fellow racing driver and playboy
Porfirio Rubirosa
.
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. The union did not last, and in 1942 Cartwright accused McEvoy of being unfaithful with "three well-known society women". 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. 17-year-old Betty Hansen had accused Flynn of committing the offence during a party at McEvoy's Bel Air home, but McEvoy continued to publicly defend Flynn.
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.
In 1945 he met Barbara Hutton
, 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". 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, in 1949.
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. At the time McEvoy was said to have been living in Cannes
aboard his schooner
Black Joke.
Throughout 1944 McEvoy was believed to have smuggled guns, valuable jewellery, and alcohol from Mexico City
to Beverly Hills.
to the Bahamas on his 104-ton schooner, Kangaroo, on 7 November 1951. Just off the coast of Morocco
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. 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.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n/British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
multi-discipline sportsman and socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
. He had most sporting success as a bobsledder
Bobsleigh
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled that are combined to calculate the final score....
in the late 1930s, winning several medals including three golds at the FIBT World Championships
FIBT World Championships
The FIBT World Championships, part of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing , have taken place on an annual basis in non-Winter Olympic years since 1930. A two-man event was included in 1931 with a combined championship occurring in 1947...
. He married several wealthy heiresses and was a close friend of Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
. He usually shortened his name to Freddie McEvoy and was nicknamed "Suicide Freddie".
Bobsleigh
McEvoy was the British flag bearer at the 1936 Winter Olympics1936 Winter Olympics
The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. Germany also hosted the Summer Olympics the same year in Berlin...
in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, and the district is on the border with Austria...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He was part of the four-man bobsleigh team alongside James Cardno
James Cardno
James Farquhar Cardno was a Scottish bobsledder who competed in the late 1930s. He won the bronze medal in the four-man event at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany and finished fourth in the two-man event at the same games.-References:*****...
, Gary Dugdale, and Charles Green
Charles Green (bobsleigh)
Charles Patrick Green was a British bobsledder who competed in the late 1930s. He won the bronze medal in the four-man event at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany....
who won the bronze medal in the four-man event. He also finished fourth in the two-man event with Cardno.
At the FIBT World Championships in 1937
FIBT World Championships 1937
The FIBT World Championships 1937 took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy and in St. Moritz, Switzerland . St. Moritz hosted the four-man event previously in 1931 and 1935.-Two man bobsleigh:-Four man bobsleigh:...
he realised greater success in the sport. Partnering Byran Black
Byran Black
Byran Black was a British bobsledder who competed in the late 1930s. At the 1937 FIBT World Championships, he won gold medals in both the two-man and four-man events.-References:**...
for the two-man at Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
he achieved his first gold medal. He teamed up with Black, Olympic team-mate Charles Green, and David Looker
David Looker
David Looker was a British bobsledder who competed in the late 1930s. He won two gold medals in the four-man event at the FIBT World Championships, earning them in 1937 and 1938.-Biography:...
in the four-man, again winning the gold medal.
At the same event in 1938
FIBT World Championships 1938
The FIBT World Championships 1938 took place in St. Moritz, Switzerland and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany . St. Moritz hosted the two-man event for the first time after hosting the four-man event previously in 1931, 1935, and 1937 while Garmisch-Partenkirchen hosted the four-man event previously...
three of the four-man riders returned to defend their title. Chris MacKintosh
Chris MacKintosh
Charles "Christopher" MacKintosh was a Scottish rugby union internationalist, athlete, skier and bobsledder who competed in the 1920s and 30s. He won a gold medal in the four-man event at the 1938 FIBT World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.MacKintosh competed in skiing from 1923 to 1933...
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
FIBT World Championships 1939
The FIBT World Championships 1939 took place in St. Moritz, Switzerland and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy . St. Moritz hosted the two-man event for the second time after hosting it previously in 1938, along with hosting the four-man event in 1931, 1935, and 1937. Cortina d'Ampezzo hosted the two-man...
and, alongside two new team-mates, won silver in the four-man event at Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Motor racing
McEvoy came sixth in the 1936 Vanderbilt CupVanderbilt Cup
The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing.-History:An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held at a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, New York. The announcement that the race was to be held caused...
, racing a Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
along the 300-mile course "considered by European road veterans to be probably the most severe test for man and car in the world". That same year he entered eight European races, usually driving a Maserati 6CM
Maserati 6CM
Maserati 6CM were 29 Italian single-seater racing cars made by Maserati of Modena.It was built on the Maserati 4CM frame, and front suspension as on Maserati V8RI.The first version had*1493.2 cc inline-6*two OHV mounted 90 degree...
, with his best result of fourth place at both the XII Picardie on 21 June and the XII Coppa Acerbo on 15 August.
Other activities
In 1943, McEvoy lived in Hollywood and was able to make uncredited appearances in two films. The first was in Thank Your Lucky StarsThank Your Lucky Stars (1943 film)
Thank Your Lucky Stars is a film made by Warner Brothers as a World War II fundraiser. It was directed by David Butler and starred Eddie Cantor, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, Edward Everett Horton and S. Z...
a scene starring good friend Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
in his only musical number. McEvoy's only other appearance was in The Desert Song
The Desert Song (1943 film)
The Desert Song is a 1943 epic musical film. It was directed by Robert Florey and starred Dennis Morgan, Irene Manning and Bruce Cabot. It is based on the 1926 operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg...
, directed by Robert Florey
Robert Florey
Robert Florey was a French screenwriter, director of short films, and actor who moved to Hollywood in 1921. In 1950, Florey was made a knight in the French Légion d'honneur....
.
McEvoy is said to have been a cunning and intelligent businessman, once selling the shirt off his back for $2000 to an Argentine millionaire, "launch[ing] the fashion of flowered shirts for men".
Personal life
McEvoy was born in St KildaSt Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia on 12 February 1907. The family moved to England early in his life. McEvoy was given the nickname of "Suicide Freddie" because of his love of danger both in life and in sport. He was a rival of fellow racing driver and playboy
Playboy (lifestyle)
A playboy is a modern version of a public Casanova — a man of means with ample time for leisure, who demonstratively appreciates the pleasures of the world.The term has also been applied to a flashy womanizer, such as a player, pappagallo, or Don Juan....
Porfirio Rubirosa
Porfirio Rubirosa
Porfirio Rubirosa Ariza was a Dominican diplomat and adherent of Rafael Trujillo. He made his mark as an international playboy, for his jet setting lifestyle, and his legendary prowess with women...
.
Relationships
McEvoy was described by newspapers as an "internationally known Australian playboy" and a "popular, handsome, heiress hunter".McEvoy was married several times, taking his first wife in 1940. Beatrice Cartwright, a member of Pratt family
Charles Pratt
Charles Pratt was a United States capitalist, businessman and philanthropist.Pratt was a pioneer of the U.S. petroleum industry, and established his kerosene refinery Astral Oil Works in Brooklyn, New York. An advertising slogan was "The holy lamps of Tibet are primed with Astral Oil." He...
and heir to a fortune from Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
, was twice his age and had lived with McEvoy for several years before their marriage. The union did not last, and in 1942 Cartwright accused McEvoy of being unfaithful with "three well-known society women". The divorce was granted on the grounds of misconduct. McEvoy was not present for the decision as he was embroiled in a statutory rape
Statutory rape
The phrase statutory rape is a term used in some legal jurisdictions to describe sexual activities where one participant is below the age required to legally consent to the behavior...
case that had been opened against close friend Errol Flynn. 17-year-old Betty Hansen had accused Flynn of committing the offence during a party at McEvoy's Bel Air home, but McEvoy continued to publicly defend Flynn.
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.
In 1945 he met Barbara Hutton
Barbara Hutton
Barbara Woolworth Hutton was an American socialite dubbed by the media as the "Poor Little Rich Girl" because of her troubled life...
, another wealthy heiress who had just divorced third husband Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
. 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". The couple were never wed, though Hutton bought a chalet at a ski resort in Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
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, in 1949.
Errol Flynn married Patrice Wymore
Patrice Wymore
Patrice Wymore is an American television, film, and stage actress of the 1950s and 1960s.-Early life and stage career:...
at a ceremony in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
in 1950 with McEvoy as his best man and Filatre as the matron of honour. At the time McEvoy was said to have been living in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
aboard his schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Black Joke.
Controversies
There have been claims that McEvoy covertly worked for the Third Reich, was an antisemite, and was a Nazi sympathiser. 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."Throughout 1944 McEvoy was believed to have smuggled guns, valuable jewellery, and alcohol from Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
to Beverly Hills.
Death
McEvoy, his wife, and several others were sailing from TangierTangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
to the Bahamas on his 104-ton schooner, Kangaroo, on 7 November 1951. Just off the coast of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
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. 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.