On July 7, 1946, Howard Hughes crashed his experimental military reconnaissance plane, the XF-11, into a Beverly Hills neighborhood. A Marine sergeant, William L. Durkin, was visiting a home nearby when the crash occurred. He rushed to the scene and helped Hughes, who was badly injured, to escape from the wreckage.
Hughes credited the Marine with saving his life. The billionaire offered Durkin employment assistance and sent him a $200 monthly check for the rest of his life.
Durkin died in 2006, leaving behind several original documents related to his connection with Hughes, as well as the XF-11’s “yoke,” or steering wheel, which Hughes gave him.
The Durkin heirs are putting the yoke and seven other items up for auction. Swann Galleries of New York City is handling the auction, which is set for Sept. 17. The items have an estimated value of $40,000 to $60,000. They include:
• Durkin’s typed account of the crash, prepared for authorities investigating the crash.
• A letter from Hughes to Durkin expressing his gratitude and offering employment assistance and a monthly payment.
• A letter from Hughes’ business manager dated a week later enclosing Durkin’s first payment.
• A letter from film director Preston Sturges to Durkin’s commanding officer, commending his bravery. Sturges was Hughes’ business partner at the time.
• A pass to the Players, a West Hollywood nightclub, signed by Sturges.
For what it’s worth, I hope a few of these items, such as Hughes’ letter of gratitude and Durkin’s written account of the crash, will end up in a library or museum, where they will be available for viewing by researchers and the public for years to come.
For more information on the Swann auction, contact Rick Stattler at 212-254-4710, ext. 27, or rstattler@swanngalleries.com.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
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11 comments:
So the worm turns, After all the protestations of "all the Hughes Money is gone, it turns out that there's some 1 billion dollars of undistruibuied money in land that hasn't been collected (Summerlin).
Motive aplenty for a bought lawyer to try to discredit all those with other proof.
Also motive aplenty for the heirs (or a convienent cut out) to arrange the asssination attempts on someone else who may have a claim on the money.
Suffice to say, only one senerio would credit financing so many assisnation attempts. Now does the DNA search make sense???
For the FBI agents who are reading this: Search reporter Walter Whinchals (spelled wrong, I know) old posts on Hughes for the motive. The premier hollywood gossip that Hughes used, also made a report on it before she was paid off!
I you need more, give me an agent in a New Mexico or Colorado office to contact.
MICHAEL JACKSON AND HOWARD HUGHES!
enough said..!
sumitnigam007@yahoo.com
I'm breathing the nice cool mountain air at 10,000 feet and watching the elk, deer and bears play. I feel so sorry for you
But as the line in the Aviator goes, "The desert is hot, but the desert is clean", lol. Did Hughes REALLY say that or is that all just hollywood???
Eight drowning is horrific! Primary reason I didn't let my kid have a pool!
But thousands of gang murders hardly cause a blimp anymore. Just paint some gang signs around and use a knife and the police file it in the round file! In my opinion the gangs are the new hit squads, their hits get written off as gang violence and just desserts. No one seems to care that innocent people are being lumped right in with that mess!
Earthtolaura:
I just went through quitting coffee, having been an addict to caffeine for many, many years (3 pot a day addict). I'm here to tell you it IS and ADDICTIVE drug! I had BLAZING headaches and was prostrate for at least 2 weeks. Many thanks to my sweet wife for putting up with my tantrums! God it was awful. Now to get off tea (coffee's equivalent to methadone).
Bought and read Citizen Hughes, in the last 24 hours. I had read it when it came out, and was amazed at just how much Mike Drosnin got from the Pro. Now the reread has been very productive. Several issues need addressing. The photostats of Hughes's own handwriting are pretty proof positive.
1. What ever happened to the 3rd trunk?? The account from Romaine and the Pro both tell of THREE trunks taken from Romaine and only 2 were returned. Considering that the FBI and the CIA dropped the chase, I propose the got first look before Mikey and took out what they wanted. (Of course for the appropriate sum to the pro).
2. The inside man got the will. Remember the guard heard just after the large safe was burned open, "Here it is, I've found it, this is it."
3. The paper bag man who rode in the van was obviously a chicken liver because he got scared. I propose he was simply canon fodder for those trying to take control of the Hughes empire (I would surmise a Mormon true believer).
4. The inside man (the one who never showed his face) was 2 things, corrupt and a a newby at burglary (why would you bring in a pro if you had any guts?). Again I would surmise true believer and a Morman. I don't think much digging will be needed to find out exactly who he was. If a newspaper reporter can find out, one of my PI's can.
5. Also, unless I miss my guess, the Pro keep a copy of the single juciest article of all (the will) and has still got it in hiding.
Just more gris for the mill as they say!
No "Rosebud" was uttered by Hughes in his dying moments, but......... the mysterious "insurance" he kept ranting about is just as mysterious. Considering that he referred to his "mission" for his wife "Jean Peters" as something he had "goofed out on before" as the reason for his train journey. Is it just possible that both those references referred to their common child????. Surely, an heir would be the ultimate "insurance" for a man in his position, (he had no need of any other kind). And his "mission" carried him quite close to the target Geoff has already been given of a small town of great importance to very powerful political figures. Maybe Jean wanted her child back????
Yep, Bubba is very intelligent (Rhodes scholars usually are) and seems to know how to score in any environment. But like most people, our greatest talent is often our greatest downfall, Bubba could probably score (multiple times) even in a nunnery!! (Just couldn't resist the Johnny Carson urge!) If he'd controlled that talent (and the stain on Monica's dress), he would probably be head of the UN right now and well on his way to being emperor of the world.
Hey Goeff!
Have you ever taken a list of the Hughes Heirs and checked where they live? Man: I was amazed that so many are stacked up right out there in LV and CA. Made sense after some thought, that's where their checks have been coming from for the last 30 years!
Anybody know if that rumored 1955 vasectomy on Howard Hughes is fact or fiction?
Of course Paul would never "talk out of school", but I've been getting some reports of heavy drinking by some people in the so called "clean empire"???????
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