, Research Paper

The Life and Legend of Howard Hughes

Throughout the twentieth century, it has been the media & # 8217 ; s occupation to nail what events and people would turn out to be an effectual narrative. This was surely the instance for Howard R. Hughes. Son to the affluent Howard Hughes Sr. , Howard became the involvement of the American people and newspapers for most of his life. Being deemed one of the most celebrated work forces of the mid-20th century was greatly attributed to Hughes & # 8217 ; s accomplishments as an industrialist, aeronaut, and motion-picture manufacturer combined with his tremendous wealth, mind, and accomplishment. The media thrived on Howard & # 8217 ; s unusual and sometimes disgraceful life, particularly in his ulterior old ages when newspapers would often look big sums of money to acquire narratives on Hughes. Howard was besides associated with what has been called one of the greatest publication frauds in history.

Howard Hughes Sr. , normally known as Big Howard, was a alumnus of the Harvard School of Law, yet ne’er one time appeared before a tribunal of jurisprudence. Large Howard spent the first 36 old ages of his life trailing money across the Texas fields, as a wildcatter and a speculator in oil rentals, working difficult plenty and gaining merely plenty to travel on to another, hopefully more fortunate gamble. In the twelvemonth of his matrimony, Big Howard sold rentals on land that proved to hold $ 50,000 in oil beneath it. He quickly took his new married woman to Europe for a honeymoon, and returned precisely $ 50,000 poorer. In 1908, Big Howard turned his inventiveness and his avocation to putter into good luck. Current boring engineering was unable to perforate the thick stone of sou’-west Texas and oilmen could merely pull out the surface beds of oil, unable to tap the huge resources that lay far below. Large Howard came up with the thought for a rolled spot, with 166 cutting borders and invented a method to maintain the spot lubricated as it tore off at the stone. Later that twelvemonth, Big Howard produced a theoretical account and went into concern with his leasing spouse, Walter B. Sharp, organizing the Sharp-Hughes Tool Company. Rather than sell the spots to oil drillers, Hughes and Sharp decided to rent the spots out on a occupation footing, for the tidy amount of $ 30,000 per good. With no rival able to double this new engineering, Sharp- Hughes Tool possessed a profitable monopoly over oil extraction. So rapidly was the innovation successful that in late 1908, the spouses built a mill on a seventy-acre site E of Houston. On 1915, Sharp passed off and Big Howard purchased his portions in the corporation, therefore going the exclusive proprietor. Cash flowed freely into and endorse out of Sharp-Hughes Tool. Big Howard became a first category socialite, and began to pass increasing sums of clip and money on parties, car racing and travel. One of his amusements was to rent a railway auto, make full it with friends, and carry on a turn overing party between Texas and California. In the spring of 1921, Mrs. Hughes past off and Big Howard died every bit suddenly as his married woman, willing his three- fourths of his estate to his lone boy, Howard Robard Hughes. Big Howard left an estate appraised for revenue enhancement purposed at $ 871,518. As a less attractive portion of his bequest, he left behind $ 258,000 in unpaid measures, including $ 2,758 to Brook Brothers Clothiers, $ 5,502 to Cartier & # 8217 ; s in New York, and $ 3,500 for a expansive piano.

Howard Hughes Jr. was born on Christmas Eve, 1906 in Houston, Texas. He was normally known as Sonny, or Little Howard, despite the fact that he was 6 & # 8217 ; 3 & # 8221 ; by the age of 16. Hughes was the pupil of 7 different schools, of which he graduated from none, stand outing merely in mathematics. As a immature adult male, Hughes had a preference for all things mechanical and was known to pass hours puttering on assorted different devices. Small Howard had merely one friend, the boy his male parent & # 8217 ; s concern spouse, Dudley Sharp. At the age of 6, Howard Hughes Sr. presented his boy with the gift of a workshop, where his boy could ever be found playing with assorted spots of wires and pieces of metal. At the age of 11, Little Howard built his ain jambon wireless, and at the age of 13, when he refused the gift of a bike, Hughes built one for himself, taking parts from his male parent & # 8217 ; s steam auto. As a alumnus of Harvard, Big Howard sought his boy to hold the same instruction, and sent his boy to get oning school in Massachusetts in autumn of 1919. After one twelvemonth had passed it became evident that Sonny was non traveling to win in preparing school. Big Howard traveled across the state to roll up his boy, and they attended a boat race on the manner place. After losing a stake to his boy on the result of the race, Big Howard was forced to allow him one want. That summer, Sonny took winging lessons with assorted harvest dust storms against the wants of both of his parents. It was here that Hughes would develop his love of air power. In 1921, oil boring and prospecting took off in California, and Hughes Sr. relocated to Hollywood, and took his boy with him. After a generous contribution to the California Institute of Technology, Sonny was able to go to mathematics and technology classs. In the autumn of 1923, Mrs. Hughes passed off, and a small over a twelvemonth subsequently in January of 1924, Big Howard passed every bit good. At the age of 17, it would look that Hughes was non prepared to come in the universe of maturity, but he would rapidly turn out otherwise. Sonny was the heir of 75 % of Hughes Tool, of which he would be granted control at the age of 21. Eager to take duty of his ain personal businesss, Hughes appeared before a Texas justice to appeal the legal guidelines set Forth in his male parent & # 8217 ; s will. Against the advice of Little Howard & # 8217 ; s staying household, the justice granted Hughes his want and a great trade of wealth and power was put into a immature adult male & # 8217 ; s custodies.

Howard took the helm of Hughes Tool at the age of 18. Fully cognizant that he was unable of pull offing a multi-million dollar house, he set out to happen solid direction. Hughes found it two months subsequently in Noah Dietrich, an out of work comptroller. Before engaging Dietrich, Hughes insisted that they go on a weeklong train drive. Hughes ne’er mentioned one item about the concern over the weeklong period, and announced to Dietrich upon their return that he was hired. Dietrich managed Hughes & # 8217 ; concern personal businesss and Hughes Tool for the following 30 old ages. In 1925, an old friend of Big Howard approached Hughes Jr. to assist him finance a movie undertaking that he was working on. Hughes agreed on the status that he be allowed on the set of the movie, and be given entree to everyone working on the movie, so that he might larn about the procedure himself. An understanding was made and Howard Hughes moved back to Hollywood. Hughes spent all of his clip on the set of Swell Hogan, invariably oppugning the camera operators, take a firm standing that he must look through the lens before each shooting was taken. Due largely to his deficiency of movie cognition, every scene was changeable twice, and production costs rapidly doubled to $ 80,000. On one juncture, Hughes was discovered by the dark watcher surrounded by orderly groups of spots and pieces of a movie projector. When asked what he was making, Hughes replied that if he were traveling to be in the film concern, he would necessitate to cognize how everything worked, down to the projectors themselves. By morning the following twenty-four hours the projector was back in order, and Hughes was back on the set of Swell Hogan. Dollars were non of concern to Hughes as the hard currency flowed freely out of Hughes Tool. In early 1926, Hughes bought commanding portions in a concatenation of 125 theatres, and 70 per centum involvement in Multi-Color, a corporation developing colour gesture image movie. Swell Hogan was finished by mid-1926, and failed miserably in its first showing. Hughes hired the best manufacturers and editors in Hollywood, but the movie could non be salvaged. Hughes placed the movie on a shelf and bought his friend a new auto. All of Hughes & # 8217 ; ventures were financed by Hughes Tool, of which Hughes & # 8217 ; staying household was 25 % proprietors. Distraught with his losingss on Swell Hogan, Hughes & # 8217 ; household phoned and warned him of the dangers of show concern. Enraged at himself and his failures, Hughes bought the staying portions of Hughes Tool at twice their value and turned to successful manager Lewis Milestone to work on future film undertakings. Hughes and Milestone churned out three films in two old ages, including Everybody & # 8217 ; s Acting, The Racket, and Two Arabian Knights, the last of which won an Academy Award for best comedy in 1927.

Invigorated with his movie success, Hughes set out to do a movie on his ain based on a topic that was near to his bosom: air power. The book for Hell & # 8217 ; s Angels came from coaction between Hughes and two film writers, and was based on two immature British pilots viing for the fondness of an English society miss. Written, directed and produced by Hughes, Hell & # 8217 ; s Angels was to be the greatest gesture image of all time made. Hughes set out to make merely that, passing $ 553,000 to purchase and re-condition 87 WWI combatants and bombers, and another $ 400,000 to lease or construct landing fields in the Los Angeles country. Hughes needed a Zeppelin to fire and bought one. Necessitating an ground forces to contend a land conflict, he hired 1,700 supernumeraries at $ 200 a hebdomad each. His attending to item was speckless. If the scene called for a showery dark, Hughes would necessitate the histrions to be on call until it rained at dark, and coerce them to remain awake all dark in the rain. The manager, Hughes, would demand re-take after re-take of scenes, frequently because of his ain defects. Hughes & # 8217 ; attending to detail on the land was nil compared to that of the air. The movie called for aeroplane conflicts in cloudy skies, and for one time, Hughes rapidly learned that one can & # 8217 ; t purchase clouds. He began to lift early, or remain up all dark to watch for an opportune morning. If the Sun rose over Southern California, 40 or more aeroplanes would take off and seek out cloudy skies. When the conditions predicted clouds stat mis off, Hughes, the pilots, and the fleet of planes would go in hopes of the proper background. Some yearss, everyone would acquire paid merely to stand around. Many months in production, Hell & # 8217 ; s Angels seemed to be pulling to a stopping point, when Al Jolson & # 8217 ; s The Jazz Singer brought an hearable revolution to Hollywood. Sound became the criterion by which images were judged and Hughes & # 8217 ; movie lacked merely one thing: sound. The movie, at length, edited, cut and fitted with rubrics, was given an unheralded prevue in a little L.A. theatre. The response from the audience was clear ; the 2 million-dollar soundless image was non good plenty. Refusing to discontinue, Hughes set to work on Hell & # 8217 ; s Angels afresh. The flight scenes were easy plenty to repair, the sound could be dubbed in, but the scenes in which the histrions were to talk would hold to be shot all over once more. The first undertaking was to compose a new screenplay. Hughes insisted that in a soundless image histrions could acquire away with talking their words, but in a speaking image they would hold to do sense. He besides demanded that the dramatis personae be wholly overhauled out of fright that one person might non sound good reading his lines. Production continued through the great depression, and in May of 1930 the movie was completed. Hughes had shot 3,000,000 pess of movie, of which merely 1 % was used in the concluding production, and spent about 4 million dollars. The movie opened to pandemonium in Los Angeles. Despite awful reappraisals, the public went wild for Hell & # 8217 ; s Angels. The movie set box office records in every theatre that it played, and went

on to look on screens for over 20 old ages throughout the universe. In the terminal, it brought in merely over eight million dollars, approximately twice Hughes’s investing.

Bored with the films and holding proven himself, it was clip for Hughes to travel on to something more exciting. In the summer of 1932, Howard Hughes took a occupation with American Airlines under the name Charles Howard. His wage was $ 250 a hebdomad, an first-class pay during the great depression ( unless you & # 8217 ; re already a millionaire. ) Hughes masqueraded in this place for two months, transporting luggage, speaking to riders and working as a copilot for the commercial air hose. In the late summer of 1932, Hughes left American Airlines and bought himself a hydroplane. He hired Glen Odekirk to custom-make the plane to Hughes & # 8217 ; acute specifications. One twenty-four hours the two argued for three hours about the proper arrangement of three prison guards in a strip of metal. Hughes wanted to wing cross-country in his hydroplane, and finally hired Odekirk as his copilot. For the following 18 months the two would wing around the state, halting at Hughes & # 8217 ; caprices and Howard would frequently vanish unheralded for yearss, hebdomads or months, merely to return to Odekirk and his hydroplane. On one such disappearing, Hughes ventured to Europe, returning with a 320 pes yacht and a Boeing P-12 Army Air Corps chase plane. Hughes decided to race his plane in Miami, and set Odekirk to work, puttering with the plane in a vain effort to do the plane faster. Hughes was so demanding that he would coerce Odekirk to do accommodations the mechanic knew would non work. In aggravation, Odekirk suggested that Hughes construct his ain plane from abrasion, and after Hughes won the race, the billionaire spent the following two old ages constructing a plane that could win any race. Hughes and Odekirk returned to Los Angeles, where Howard hired Dick Palmer, a immature Cal. Tech. Engineer known for his extremist thoughts. They set up store merely outside L. A. in a secret airdock where the three would work yearss and darks on terminal. The undertaking was called H-1 ( Hughes-1 ) and was the most progressive aeroplane in the universe. The plane introduced the retractable landing cogwheel, and pioneered other aeronautic progresss such as countersunk prison guards and level studs to cut down air current opposition. The H-1 made its first visual aspect in September 1935 as Hughes announced that he would interrupt the universe record for airspeed in his new plane. Hughes insisted that he be the first to wing the plane, no affair how unsafe, and that the first flight be the one for which the record would be tested, even though no one knew how the plane would execute or if it would wing at all. The record to be broken was 314.32 stat mis per hr, held by Raymond Delmotte of France. The trial called for an norm of consecutive tests, non less than four. After five base on ballss, Hughes averaged a velocity of 352.39 stat mi per hr, easy go throughing Delmottes & # 8217 ; record. The following forenoon Howard Hughes moved from the amusement pages of the state & # 8217 ; s newspapers to the forepart pages. He had flown faster than any other adult male, in an aeroplane of his ain design, and won the record for the United States. America did non cognize what to make with Howard Hughes, the millionaire man-about-town who was known to aeronautical applied scientists as co-worker, amongst pilots, a farinaceous fable and to Hollywood, a movie mastermind.

In add-on to his many accomplishments, Hughes was known to his friends and his familiarities as a individual of eccentric wonts and personal tics. There were legion causes for Hughes & # 8217 ; s progressively unusual behaviour. From an early age he was rather deaf and could non hear conversations around him, yet he told few people of his disablement. He conducted much of his concern on the telephone because he could hear better utilizing it. As a immature adult male, Hughes obviously contracted pox, and in his ulterior old ages he was plagued with neurosyphilis, which is marked by a devolution of encephalon cells that can take to paranoia and other symptoms. He surrounded himself with Plutos that he trusted, a group of seven Church of jesus christ of latter-day saintss which ne’er left Hughes & # 8217 ; side ( Howard believed Church of jesus christ of latter-day saintss were more trusty ) and insisted that nay point handed to Hughes be covered by a Kleenex. In add-on, as a trial pilot Hughes was involved in legion plane clangs that some research workers presume resulted in encephalon hurt. The most serious accident occurred in 1946 when an XF-11 reconnaissance plane he was proving for the Air Force crashed, go forthing him with monolithic hurts that caused him hurting for the remainder of his life. Hughes, who eschewed intoxicant and baccy, was forced to take medicines to relieve his hurting. An dependence to codeine, a prescribed analgesic made from opium, began at this clip and continued for the balance of his life. Finally, but possibly most of import in understanding Hughes & # 8217 ; s inability to populate a normal life, he became progressively trapped by what medical professionals today understand was obsessive-compulsive upset. Many of Hughes & # 8217 ; s biographers believe that his female parent suffered from the same disease. This mental upset can do ritualistic behaviour and unusual wonts. For illustration, Hughes became haunted with sources and cleanliness. In fact, the imperativeness reported that Hughes was so fearful of sources that he walked around in Kleenex boxes alternatively of places and insisted that any point be handed to him covered by a Kleenex. The disease went undiagnosed in his life-time.

In the early 1960 & # 8217 ; s Hughes hired an ex-FBI agent, Robert Maheu, as his right manus adult male. Hughes knew that Maheu had been involved in many cloak and sticker activities with the FBI and CIA, including an blackwash effort on Cuba & # 8217 ; s Fidel Castro. At the clip there were several twelve subpoenas for Hughes, including Federal, province and local revenue enhancement equivocation charges. In fact, subsequently Hughes boasted that he ne’er paid a dollar of income revenue enhancement in his life-time. Hughes brought Maheu on board to conceal him from the public oculus and to protect against those who wished to convey Hughes into tribunal. In 1966, Maheu moved Hughes to the Desert Inn, located in Las Vegas, by train in the first hours of the forenoon. No 1 was allowed in the hotel anteroom upon Hughes & # 8217 ; reaching. He moved into the penthouse on the 15th floor. Six months had passed and hotel direction wanted Hughes out. He was busying the floor of the hotel that had the most epicurean suites, and casino net incomes don & # 8217 ; t come signifier room rent, but from high rollers and high rollers demand the best adjustments. Hughes instructed Maheu to ask about the monetary value of the hotel, and ownership humorously suggested $ 14 million, about twice what the casino was deserving. Hughes paid the following twenty-four hours and went into the gaming concern. Howard subsequently acquired the Sands, the Frontier, the Castaway, and the bantam Silver Slipper. Hughes told Maheu to purchase the Ag Slipper because its well-lit rotating pavilion was an irritation to Hughes when it shined through his window. After passing several old ages in Las Vegas, the force per unit area form legal actions became excessively great. Hughes re-located to the Bahamas on Maheu & # 8217 ; s suggestion. Eighteen months subsequently, the imperativeness reported that Hughes had died on an aeroplane en-route to Texas from bosom failure. Hughes had non been publically seen or photographed for twenty old ages.

In the last portion of Hughes & # 8217 ; s life the media went loony over his whereabouts and wellbeing. Rumors were go arounding that in privacy, Hughes had wasted off to 90 lbs and he had grown eight-inch fingernails and toenails. When a California tribunal levied a opinion of $ 137 million for his refusal to look to support against a shareholders & # 8217 ; case, Hughes abandoned his industrial imperium, fled from the USA, and went into concealing on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. At this clip, the McGraw-Hill Book Co. claimed Hughes had struck a trade with author Clifford Irving, an expatriate novelist life on the Mediterranean Island of Ibiza. The hitherto recluse billionaire had met clandestinely with Irving in Mexico and the Bahamas, in order to state the 40-year-old writer the true narrative of his life. It was a no-hold-barred autobiography, & # 8220 ; warts and all, & # 8221 ; from a populating fable who was deceasing and wanted to put the record heterosexual. First studies hinted that it told of Hughes & # 8217 ; use of the stock market, his graft of American presidents, his secret wartime combat mission under the auspices of President Roosevelt, his friendly relationships with Cary Grant and Ernest Hemingway, his behind-locked-doors life in Las Vegas- and it revealed inside informations of personal businesss with film stars from Katharine Hepburn to Ava Gardner.

McGraw-Hill & # 8217 ; s proclamation of the at hand publication ignited a firestorm of contention. Executives of Hughes & # 8217 ; corporations insisted the book was unauthorised. Finally on national wireless hookup, an unseeable Howard Hughes spoke from his darkened hotel suite on Paradise Island. & # 8220 ; This must travel down in history, & # 8221 ; he said. & # 8220 ; I merely wish I were still in the film concern, because I don & # 8217 ; t retrieve any book as wild or as stretching the imaginativeness as this narration has turned out to be. I don & # 8217 ; t cognize what & # 8217 ; s in the autobiography. I don & # 8217 ; t know Clifford Irving. & # 8221 ;

McGraw-Hill, Irving, and Life, which had bought serialisation rights, were non fazed by the denials. For months the argument was front-page intelligence, frequently overshadowing the Vietnam War. The manuscript was read by many newsmans that had covered Hughes and came to the decision that there was & # 8220 ; no uncertainty in [ their ] head [ s ] & # 8221 ; that it could merely hold come from Hughes himself. As a concluding trial to find genuineness, taking handwriting experts in the United States scrutinized the certification and matched it against samples provided by Hughes & # 8217 ; attorneies. Their decision: the signatures were those of Howard Hughes and & # 8220 ; the opportunities are one in ten million that this many handwritten pages from Hughes to Irving and McGraw-Hill are non echt. It would be beyond human capableness to hammer this mass of material. & # 8221 ;

By the terminal of January 1972, Clifford Irving did an about turn, stupefying his ground forces of protagonists with a confession that the autobiography was a fraud. & # 8220 ; I ne’er met Howard Hughes, & # 8221 ; Irving now said. & # 8220 ; It was a inexpensive caper, nil more. & # 8221 ; The book had resulted from a combination of careful research and make bolding imaginativeness. Amid monolithic worldwide promotion, Irving was sentenced to 2? old ages in federal prison merely two months after he appeared on the screen of Time.

It was money that etched Howard Hughes into the public head. The sound of his name was associated with untold wealth, wealth purportedly accumulated through his gift for turning all he touched to gold. left the universe with a dramatic bequest that will be remembered for old ages to come. His parts to the movie concern, such as attending to detail and high budget disbursement, are still being used to this twenty-four hours. Howard & # 8217 ; s cutting border engineering used to construct his many planes has let to development of many aircrafts soon in usage. In truth, we are left with two Howard Hugheses- the populace and the private: the rational camouflage and the universe of shadows, of inherent aptitude to continue and protect at any cost the image he had created. That it has taken so many old ages for the head covering to portion is tribute both to his mastermind and to his calamity.

Bartlett, Donald L. and Steele, James B. EMPIRE. New York, W. W. Norton & A ;

Company. 1979.

Drosnin, Michael. Citizen Hughes: In His Own Words. New York, Holt, Tinch and

Winston. 1985.