New 8-(het)aryltetrahydroisoquinolines (10-14), 8-aryltetrahydroisoquinolin-4-ols (15,16), and 8-phenylisoquinolin-4-ol (17), flexible analogues of aporphine, were synthesized in good yields using palladium-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling reactions from 8-bromotetrahydroisoquinotin-4-one (6) as a common intermediate. We also describe the synthesis of this novel intermediate through an easy and efficient method, which involved intramolecular Friedel-Crafts cyclization. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.