Patrice Wymore Flynn has two great loves: her late husband, the actor Errol Flynn, and her adopted home, Portland.

This evening, the American actress who shunned the limelight for over four decades, dons her dancing shoes for both.

The former leading lady from Miltonvale, Kansas, is patron of a centennial ball in her husband's honour, to be held at the Ken Wright Pier, located at the Errol Flynn Marina in Port Antonio.

Minister of Tourism Ed Bartlett and the Jamaica Tourist Board are putting on the event to point to Errol Flynn's contribution to tourism.

"I'll open the dance floor with a waltz," said the 83-year-old Flynn.

Proceeds of the charity event will go to the Port Antonio Marching Band.

Wymore Flynn moved to Jamaica in the 1950s after marrying Flynn, whom she met while filming the movie Rocky Mountain in 1950. This was his third marriage.

She believes today's occasion is long overdue and hopes it will be annual.

"The inspiration came a little bit late as Errol's birthday is actually the 20th of June," she said. "And, it takes a lot of time to put one of these things together."

high praise for band

Wymore Flynn, whose silver-screen debut was a singing role opposite Doris Day in 1950's Tea for Two, had high praise for the marching band.

"I saw them by accident ... They're a bunch of talented kids. They're about 60 members but 12 instruments," she said.

"With their kind of enthusiasm, they ought to be encouraged."

She also hopes a complex will be built for students to visit after school to develop themselves.

"It will keep them off the streets," she said.

Folklore has it that Errol Flynn discovered Port Antonio by chance after being washed ashore in his yacht, Zaca, in 1946.

The rustic parish eventually became a sanctuary for the couple seeking escape from the tentacles of stardom.

"It's the one place in the world where we could go, where you could walk down streets, or into a bar to drink or have a meal and not have people tearing your clothes off to have an autograph," Wymore Flynn said.

little change

She said not much has changed since she first settled on the 2,000-acre farm she inherited after his death, from a heart attack, in 1959.

"Apart from more population, essentially not that many great changes. The marina is a welcome addition," she said.

She laments the closure of Dragon Bay and Frenchman's Cove hotels as she sees tourism as the ideal development for the parish.

To some, Wymore Flynn had a bright future as an actress. In 1947, she won the Theatre World Award for promising actress; she appeared in the 1960 version of Ocean's Eleven alongside the 'Rat Pack', which included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr and Peter Lawford.

Prior to marriage, she said she only saw half of one of her husband's movies.

"And this was because it was on a double-bill with something I wanted to see with Fred Astaire. I had to have a crash course," she chuckled.

favourite Flynn flicks

She lists The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Private Life of Elizabeth and Essex and The Sea Hawk as her favourite Flynn flicks.

She revealed that her husband was far from the swashbuckling Hollywood portrayals of him.

"He wasn't the party boy he was made to be. He loved his fireside and slippers ... He was a homebody. It was hell to get him to go out," she said.

"He loved to have people in for drinks and dinner but not a vast number," she continued.

Hollywood royalty, such as actors Bette Davis, David Niven and Alexis Smith, as well as Robin Moore, author of the French Connection, made the Flynn guest list.

Wymore Flynn, who has lived in England, Italy and Spain, said she would love to visit India and Scandinavia, but would never trade them for Portland's tranquility.

For her, the love affair continues.

Patrice Wymore Flynn and her late husband, Errol, in April 1952.