When I wrote my book on Howard Hughes, I accumulated a large collection of research materials about the man and his various interests. One book I was aware of but did not obtain is called "Just About Everybody Vs. Howard Hughes: The Inside Story of the TWA-Howard Hughes Trial." It was written by David B. Tinnin and published in 1973.
The other day, I received an e-mail from a guy in Southern California who had read my book and said he enjoyed it. He clearly is a big Hughes aficionado, having read, he said, more than 40 books about Hughes and inviting the actress Terry Moore, who dated Hughes and claims to have secretly married him, to his birthday party. (She attended.) The guy mentioned that his most recent Hughes reading was the aforementioned book about the TWA case.
I decided it was time to get a copy of this book. Searching online, I quickly found that it's not hard to find. Scanning the available used copies, they ranged in price from $1 to about $35. I was most interested in the cheaper ones. Browsing through my options, I came across one for $1.50. The information about the book noted that newspaper clippings tucked into the book would be included in the purchase.
Well, this sealed the deal for me. The book arrived today, and, as promised, a bunch of yellowed news clippings were included. They are all about Hughes, of course, and include the famous Time magazine cover story from 1976 that features a sketch of aide Gordy Margulis carrying a bearded and sickly Hughes.
A clipping from 1990 reports on the death of longtime Hughes aide and executive Nadine Henley. A San Francisco Chronicle article from 1986 updates the life of Melvin Dummar, who at the time was flipping burgers in a cafe in Gabbs, Nevada. Other articles report on the release of books about Hughes by Michael Drosnan ("Citizen Hughes") and Terry Moore ("The Beauty and the Billionaire").
Whoever owned this book lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and was very interested in Howard Hughes, clipping articles and saving them roughly from 1976 to 1990.
Needless to say, I'm pleased about the clippings. Having the actual newspaper and magazine articles in hand beats the heck out of reading them online. Also, I'm glad to have the book. I trust it will give me a greater understanding of the TWA case, which was such a big part of the final chapters of Hughes' life.
Once I read the book, I will report on it here.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
‘Medium' claims spirit of Hughes is guiding Steve Wynn. Uh, yeah
Most people can agree that Howard Hughes was an unusual man, especially late in his life when he became a germaphobic recluse and drug addict. But here's something weirder.
Something called Contactmusic.com has posted an item claiming that:
"Hotel entrepreneur Steve Wynn is destined to succeed at whatever he does — because he has been guided by the spirit of billionaire Howard Hughes for years, according to top Hollywood medium Kenny Kingston."
Kingston claims that Hughes was one of his secret clients before the billionaire's death. Supposedly, Hughes has come back from the dead and is supporting Wynn's new Las Vegas resort, Encore, which opened last month.
According to the Contactmusic.com article, "Kingston tells WENN, ‘Many people question whether it's a wise move to make, given the economy and a downturn in Las Vegas business, but Steve Wynn shouldn't worry — he's been guided by Howard Hughes for years.'"
Kingston supposedly has been tracing the mystery of Hughes, who died in 1976, for three decades. "I contacted the spirit of Hughes' mother, Alene, in 1978 and 1979 to see whether she'd seen Howard on the other side. She said no, which is very unusual, since a family member such as a mother would certainly have seen her son when he passed away. Then, in 1979, I was contacted by Hughes himself in the flesh and I gave him a psychic reading. Hughes told me he was secretly moving about between Los Angeles, Las Vegas and the Bahamas."
Kingston contends that Hughes actually died in the 1980s, and that one of his closest friends in the afterlife is Steve Wynn's mother. "Wynn's mother and Howard Hughes are working hard to guide Steve with his projects," Kingston says. "Hughes admires his courage and business sense. These strong allies on the other side will make sure that Steve Wynn won't fail."
Okay, there are so many problems with these claims that's it's not worth exploring each one of them. But let's focus on the underlying claim that Wynn is in good hands because he has Hughes guiding him from the spirit world or whatever. This presumes that Wynn needs Hughes' help. Clearly, he does not.
Wynn is arguably the greatest Las Vegas hotel-casino operator in history, right up there with Benny Binion, Kirk Kerkorian and a few others. Wynn transformed the Golden Nugget into a luxury resort in downtown Las Vegas. He built the Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Wynn and Encore — five of the finest resorts on the Strip. He knows what he's doing.
Hughes, meanwhile, wasn't much of a hotel-casino operator. He bought a bunch of casinos in the 1960s and played an important role in Las Vegas history as a result. But there's little evidence that he was a savvy hotel-casino operator. In fact, anecdotally, many people who were there say he was kind of bad at it.
If Wynn needs advice from beyond the grave, he ought to talk to Binion or William Bennett or Moe Dalitz or somebody like that. Hughes wouldn't be much help.
Something called Contactmusic.com has posted an item claiming that:
"Hotel entrepreneur Steve Wynn is destined to succeed at whatever he does — because he has been guided by the spirit of billionaire Howard Hughes for years, according to top Hollywood medium Kenny Kingston."
Kingston claims that Hughes was one of his secret clients before the billionaire's death. Supposedly, Hughes has come back from the dead and is supporting Wynn's new Las Vegas resort, Encore, which opened last month.
According to the Contactmusic.com article, "Kingston tells WENN, ‘Many people question whether it's a wise move to make, given the economy and a downturn in Las Vegas business, but Steve Wynn shouldn't worry — he's been guided by Howard Hughes for years.'"
Kingston supposedly has been tracing the mystery of Hughes, who died in 1976, for three decades. "I contacted the spirit of Hughes' mother, Alene, in 1978 and 1979 to see whether she'd seen Howard on the other side. She said no, which is very unusual, since a family member such as a mother would certainly have seen her son when he passed away. Then, in 1979, I was contacted by Hughes himself in the flesh and I gave him a psychic reading. Hughes told me he was secretly moving about between Los Angeles, Las Vegas and the Bahamas."
Kingston contends that Hughes actually died in the 1980s, and that one of his closest friends in the afterlife is Steve Wynn's mother. "Wynn's mother and Howard Hughes are working hard to guide Steve with his projects," Kingston says. "Hughes admires his courage and business sense. These strong allies on the other side will make sure that Steve Wynn won't fail."
Okay, there are so many problems with these claims that's it's not worth exploring each one of them. But let's focus on the underlying claim that Wynn is in good hands because he has Hughes guiding him from the spirit world or whatever. This presumes that Wynn needs Hughes' help. Clearly, he does not.
Wynn is arguably the greatest Las Vegas hotel-casino operator in history, right up there with Benny Binion, Kirk Kerkorian and a few others. Wynn transformed the Golden Nugget into a luxury resort in downtown Las Vegas. He built the Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Wynn and Encore — five of the finest resorts on the Strip. He knows what he's doing.
Hughes, meanwhile, wasn't much of a hotel-casino operator. He bought a bunch of casinos in the 1960s and played an important role in Las Vegas history as a result. But there's little evidence that he was a savvy hotel-casino operator. In fact, anecdotally, many people who were there say he was kind of bad at it.
If Wynn needs advice from beyond the grave, he ought to talk to Binion or William Bennett or Moe Dalitz or somebody like that. Hughes wouldn't be much help.
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