Howard Hughes Blog

More on Margulis

2009-03-27T16:50:00.001-07:00

My main blogging venue is the Las Vegas Review-Journal. I just filed a long blog post about Gordon Margulis here.

Margulis dead at 77; services set

2009-03-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

The Las Vegas Review-Journal's John L. Smith wrote a wonderful column today about well-known Hughes aide Gordon Margulis, who died Wednesday. It's here.

Services are set for 11 a.m. Monday at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church at 2300 Sunridge Heights Parkway in Henderson, Nevada.

Report: Hughes aide Margulis near death

2009-03-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith reported on his blog this afternoon that Gordon Margulis, a longtime personal aide to Howard Hughes, is "nearing the end in a hospice" in Las Vegas.

Gordie, as he was better known, was an important and trusted source in my research for my book about Hughes. After the book was published, we continued to stay in touch. Gordie was the star of the show when he was part of a panel discussion about Hughes at my book launch party at the Nevada State Museum. In general, he was always willing to offer his informed perspective on various Hughes myths and realities.

Ironically, the last time I saw Gordie in person was at the funeral of Bob Maheu, who was Hughes' top aide in Las Vegas in the 1960s (and another key source for my book). Bob and Gordie later became very close friends. One of the highlights of my work on the book was an animated dinner conversation with Bob and Gordie at Tinoco's Bistro in downtown Las Vegas.

The news of Gordie's hospice-level health status caught me by surprise today, largely because I believed him to be such a strong, healthy man, even in his golden years. After all, it wasn't too long ago that he worked part time as a bouncer at a local nightclub.

My very best wishes to Gordie's family.

Hughes book finalist for national award

2009-03-12T15:22:00.001-07:00

I learned yesterday that my book, "Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia & Palace Intrigue," is a finalist in the biography category of the Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Awards.

"HH," as the book is known in the offices of its publisher, Stephens Press, is competing against 11 other biographies published by independent presses. Those other independent presses include Harvard and Kent State universities.

Foreword's Book of the Year competition was established to call increased attention to librarians and booksellers of the literary and graphic achievements of independent publishers and their authors. Foreword is the only review trade journal devoted exclusively to books from independent houses.

Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in each category, as well as Editor’s Choice prizes for fiction and nonfiction, will be announced May 29 at the BookExpo America convention in New York City. The winners of the two Editor’s Choice Prizes will be awarded $1,500 each.

It's a great feeling to be named a finalist. Actually winning a medal will be amazing. We'll see how it plays out soon enough.

The best $1.50 I ever spent

2009-01-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

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.

‘Medium' claims spirit of Hughes is guiding Steve Wynn. Uh, yeah

2009-01-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

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.

Hughes book sells out at signing

2008-12-26T09:27:00.000-08:00

Click here for a picture of the author of this blog signing books at the Cheesecake and Crime bookstore in Henderson, Nevada, and a nice plug for the book.

Hughes pursued Bettie Page, to no avail

2008-12-13T14:08:00.000-08:00

Bettie Page, legendary pin-up girl of the 1950s, died Thursday in Los Angeles of a heart attack. She was 85.

Reuters summarized her career: "Page was a ubiquitous sight during the 1950s, propelled to stardom when she posed for Playboy as Miss January 1955. Soon her image was gracing playing cards, record albums and bedroom posters across the country."

Some reports on her death included mention of Howard Hughes, who unsuccessfully pursued Page in the 1950s.

"I never returned any of his calls," she once said. "I guess people will say I made a mistake. But sex is part of love, and you shouldn't go around doing it unless you are in love. I certainly didn't."

After just a few years in the limelight, the "saucy brunette" turned to religion and dropped out of modeling. She never really had an acting career. Although she suffered from severe schizophrenia in the 1970s, her fame was revived in the 1980s and ’90s. Fan clubs and websites formed and she made public appearances to sign photographs. In 2006, Gretchen Mol starred in a biopic called "The Notorious Bettie Page."

Incidentally, there is a store in the Planet Hollywood hotel-casino in Las Vegas dedicated to Bettie Page fashions called the Bettie Page Boutique. A local TV station reported that mourners were leaving "momentoes and condolences" at the store.

Book signing for Hughes book scheduled

2008-12-09T11:15:00.001-08:00

I haven't done a lot of signings lately, but I have one set for 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21, at the Cheesecake & Crime Mystery Book Shop, 10545 S. Eastern Ave., in Henderson. This might a solution for anyone seeking a last-minute Christmas gift for a parent, grandparent, uncle or anyone interested in Hughes and Las Vegas history. And while you're there, you can buy a piece of very, very good cheesecake and browse the store's excellent selection of mystery and crime novels.

Jane Russell to perform tomorrow night

2008-11-22T00:09:00.001-08:00

Here is an excerpt from an article in the Ventura (Calif.) County Star. A couple of the lines of background material sound a little familiar, as if they were lifted out of my book. I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

“Legendary film star Jane Russell will be heading south on the 101 from her Santa Maria home to make a rare local appearance Saturday night. She will be your singer at My Florist Cafe & Bar, a new venue in Ventura. Piano player Peter Clark will showcase his digit dexterity beforehand and later will accompany Russell.

"A voluptuous Valley Girl, easily able to fill a sweater, Russell was discovered by millionaire Howard Hughes in the early 1940s and cast in his controversial (at the time) Western, "The Outlaw.'' Hughes directed the 1943 picture himself and declared, "There are two good reasons why men will come to see her.'' He was right. Russell became one of the most popular World War II pinups.

"Russell's cleavage in "The Outlaw" caused a huge stir at the time, which the lady herself now dismisses as "insane'' and "ridiculous.'' The movie itself would probably be rated PG-13 these days. Russell signed an exclusive contract with Hughes and went on to make several films over a lengthy career. Her most popular starring role was in 1953's "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," which co-starred a young starlet named Marilyn Monroe.

"While most people remember Russell's movies, many forget she sang in several of her pictures and has performed in nightclubs for decades. In Ventura, the 87-year-old Russell will sing a few songs, tell a few stories from her six decades in show biz and screen clips of her films. It's a chance to kick it with a legend who is still in the spotlight. . . ."

To read the rest of the article, which includes an interview with Russell, go here.

Florida aviation museum features Hughes

2008-11-09T00:16:00.000-08:00

The Toronto Star recently carried a travel piece about the Florida Aviation Museum and mentioned that it contains a big collection of Hughesiana:

"A completely different kind of art form can be found just outside Lakeland, in Polk County. It's a bit of heaven for those who like to soar: the Florida Air Museum.

"For museum curator Kathryn McManus, flying is a passion and an avocation.

"‘I feel like pinching myself every day that I get to work here,' she says. ‘They actually pay me to do this.'

Among the aircraft and flying memorabilia, there's a real jewel — the Howard Hughes personal aviation collection. The museum got a lucky break in 1996 when the Hughes Corp. wanted to empty its warehouse, says McManus. The Smithsonian turned down the collection and the Florida Air Museum stepped in.

So here, in a plain one-story building in the heart of Polk County, is the brilliant eccentric's extraordinary collection, including a scale model of the famous Spruce Goose, Hughes' flight suit and the flight suit of his one-time-lover Katharine Hepburn. There are also photos of the couple. Hughes' 1938 round-the-world fight ‘was like us going to the moon,' comments McManus, who plans to digitize the daily radio broadcasts Hughes made during that journey."

So, the Spruce Goose is in Oregon while Hughes' personal aviation collection is in Florida: I'll say that's a good 3,0o0 miles. Good thinking.

The TWA saga and Hughes

2008-11-09T00:07:00.000-08:00

A website called 24/7 Wall Street, in a story about airline bankruptcies, offers this historical synopsis:

"TWA was Pan Am’s most formidable competitor for several decades. It was started in 1930. By 1938, TWA was running commercial flights around the US using DC-3 aircraft. Flying enthusiast Howard Hughes bought stock in the airline. A pilot’s strike in 1946 allowed Hughes the opportunity to put up the capital to take control of the troubled company. Hughes pushed the carrier into the Asian and European markets, putting TWA head-to-head with Pan Am. TWA began buying into the jet market, beginning service in 1956. It was aggressive in adding to its fleet, and in 1969 it moved ahead of Pan Am in total trans-Atlantic traffic and by 1988 it controlled over 50 percent of that entire market. Its dominance did not last long. Most of the European flag carriers and emerging U.S. airlines led by American and United wanted to cash in on the lucrative routes. Raider Carl Icahn took over the company in 1985. He had hoped to make money selling off the firm’s assets. The plan did not work and TWA filed for Chapter 11 in 1992. It operated under court protection and made a run at the domestic market that failed in 2001 when American bought its remaining assets."

Hughes wasn't involved with TWA after the mid-1960s, but this paragraph seems interesting in its entirety anyway.

Hughes and actor George Hamilton's mom

2008-11-08T23:52:00.000-08:00

The actor George Hamilton has a new memoir out, and of course there's a Howard Hughes connection. In a recent feature about the book, the Toronto Globe and Mail reports:

"His love of women began with his mother, Anne Potter Hamilton Hunt Spalding, a multi-married Southern belle and beauty, nicknamed Teeny, whose motto should have been, ‘There's nothing incredible about miracles,' he writes. His father, husband No. 2, was a band leader, and after his parents' divorce, Teeny took her three boys across the country in a Buick Roadmaster to find a rich husband and a new life in Hollywood.

"‘Our road trip was all hopes and great expectations,' he explains. As the beautiful new face in Hollywood, she went out with a variety of men, including Howard Hughes and Ronald Reagan. The tale of his childhood adventures has been made into a film, My One and Only, a comedy starring Renée Zellweger as his mother, to be released next year."

I can't confirm it through an Internet search, but one has to wonder whether Hughes will be depicted in the movie. Considering she dated Hughes and Ronald Reagan, two of the biggest names of the 20th century, I know I'd want to put them in the movie.

Hughes connection to the late Mr. Blackwell

2008-11-08T23:28:00.000-08:00

There's almost always a Hughes connection. I'm a little tardy in posting this one, but it's worth noting anyway.

The famous Mr. Blackwell, critic of celebrity fashion, died last month in Los Angeles at age 86. Blackwell became famous in the 1960s for his annual "worst dressed" lists that skewered some of the world's great stars, including, in the early days, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor, and more recently, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.

Mr. Blackwell was born Richard Selzer in 1922 in Brooklyn, N.Y. He started out as an actor on Broadway, then moved to Los Angeles to break into the movies. In 1949, he was cast by Howard Hughes for a role in the movie "Vendetta." According to the Los Angeles Times, referencing Blackwell's autobiography:

"He credited aviation entrepreneur and movie producer Howard Hughes with changing his name to Richard Blackwell. Hughes cast him in ‘Vendetta' and chose the new name to sound ‘theatrical, polished, memorable,' Blackwell wrote."

Ironically, Blackwell's scenes didn't make it into the movie. But while the movie was being made, Blackwell met Robert Spencer, a hairdresser, and they became business partners. They formed a talent agency and Blackwell designed dresses for the female singers they handled. The dress designs were so well received that Spencer and Blackwell, who also had a personal relationship, closed the talent agency and opened a fashion firm called Mr. Blackwell that operated until the mid-1970s. Blackwell also designed costumes for Las Vegas entertainers.

The name change prompted by Hughes played a significant role in the future career of Mr. Blackwell. It's another case of Hughes doing something, inadvertent or otherwise, that had unintended consequences, in this case positive.

‘Iron Man' inspired by Howard Hughes

2008-09-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

The "Iron Man" film, starring Robert Downey Jr., was a huge box-office and critical success earlier this year, yet a lot of moviegoers probably didn't realize that the Marvel comic book series on which the movie was based was inspired by none other than Howard Hughes.

Stan Lee, creator of "Iron Man," said he was thinking of Hughes when he invented the character Tony Stark in the early 1960s. "I kind of had Howard Hughes in mind when I was thinking of Tony Stark," Lee says in the DVD extras to the film. "Without being crazy, he was kind of Howard Hughes and he became very popular."

Director Jon Favreau, reportedly a Hughes fan, added another connection: Portions of the movie were filmed in the Southern California hangar where Hughes built Hercules, aka the Spruce Goose.

Two columnists cover Dummar case

2008-09-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

I wrote about the Melvin Dummar case in my column today in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. To see the column, click here.

Lee Benson also tackled the subject in the Deseret News of Salt Lake City. See his column here.

One problem with Benson's column: He makes a huge leap of logic that I certainly could not support. Considering the new evidence on which Dummar has based his new court case, Benson writes: "It seems irrefutable now that Dummar indeed picked up Hughes in 1967 and likely saved his life."

Oh really? I speculate in my book that Dummar may have picked up somebody in the desert in 1967, and that person might have identified himself as Howard Hughes. But there is nothing "irrefutable" about the claim that it actually was Hughes. The new evidence is highly circumstantial and full of holes. Benson's statement reminds me of the famous "X-Files" mantra, "I want to believe."

Appeals court rejects Dummar suit

2008-09-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has rejected Melvin Dummar's latest attempt to claim a piece of Howard Hughes' fortune. The court ruled Friday that Dummar's case was sufficiently litigated during a 1978 jury trial.

Dummar claims to have saved Hughes' life in the Nevada desert in 1967 and then to have been named in Hughes' will as a one-sixteenth beneficiary of his empire, or $156 million. But the 1978 trial determined that the handwritten will was a fake.

In 2006, Dummar took another shot at the case after pilot Robert Deiro came forward with a story of repeatedly flying Hughes from Las Vegas to a rural brothel around the same time as Dummar allegedly picked up the billionaire near the brothel south of Goldfield. Deiro said that during his last flight with Hughes, the pilot fell asleep at the brothel while waiting for Hughes and when he woke up, Hughes was gone. The theory is that Hughes left the brothel for some reason during the night and was left for dead in the desert a few miles away, where Dummar picked him up and drove him back to Las Vegas.

Many people who worked closely with Hughes at the time insist that he never left the penthouse floor of the Desert Inn Hotel between 1966 and 1970, and they dismiss Dummar's and Deiro's stories as impossible.

In my Hughes book, I have a long chapter dissecting the Dummar story. I interviewed Dummar for several hours in a motel room in Tonopah, during which he recited the story he has told so many times over the years. After the book came out in February, I spent several hours with Deiro as well, during which he told me his story. I plan to post a summary of that latter conversation on this blog soon. I think I'll also call Deiro again and get his reaction to the appeals court ruling.

Maheu and Maine

2008-08-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

Of all the obituaries, columns and articles about Bob Maheu following his death earlier this month, the best one I've seen was published Monday in the Kennebec Journal, a newspaper in Maine.

Maheu was born and raised in Waterville, Maine, and the article explains that "although he went on to world renown, Maheu never lost his love of central Maine, and he frequently returned to be with friends and family."

"It was always his home, despite all his travels and all his adventures," Peter Maheu, one of Bob's sons, told the paper. "That was his cement. That was his rock."

The paper tracked down Wilfred Chamberlain in Beaumont, Texas. Chamberlain grew up with Maheu, and remembers him as "not a snob, but he was on a higher education level. Bob was very friendly, but still he was a very different person. He was very, very smart. I remember that he was on a debating team [in high school] and he won honors for the state of Maine."

Maheu's ashes will rest at St. Francis Catholic Cemetery in Waterville.

To read more about Maheu's Waterville youth, check out the article here.

Hughes inspired Becker to help build Las Vegas

2008-08-18T21:35:00.000-07:00

An article in the Aug. 16 issue of the Las Vegas Review-Journal about the death of Barry Becker Jr. included an interesting Hughes tidbit that I was not aware of.

It turns out Ernie Becker, grandfather of the deceased, came to Las Vegas in 1952 based on reports that Hughes was planning to move Hughes Aircraft Company from L.A. to Las Vegas. At the time, Hughes was in the process of acquiring 25,000 acres on the west end of the Las Vegas Valley with this goal in mind. Hughes acquired the land but never moved his aircraft company here. Instead, after Hughes died, his heirs built the Summerlin master-planned community on the property.

Becker, however, made the most of his move. He bought 250 acres in the vicinity of Decatur and Charleston boulevards and built subdivisions totaling 1,400 houses. Ernie Becker and other Beckers continued to build houses, apartment complexes and shopping centers, primarily on the valley's west side, into the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.

The first house my wife and I owned in Las Vegas was a Becker-built house near Cheyenne Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard.

Thanks to Paul Winn for spotting this Hughes tidbit toward the bottom of the obituary. I had missed it.

Was this Hughes' ring?

2008-08-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

In the late 1960s, Vicki Cooper's parents, who lived in Palo Alto, California, took a trip to Las Vegas. During the trip, they drove out to Pahrump, about 60 miles west of Las Vegas, to see what was out there. There wasn't much then, maybe a few hundred people, compared with almost 40,000 today.

"Dad, who liked to browse, went into a junk/pawn shop to look around," said Vicki, recalling the story her mother told her. "He saw this ring with the HRH initials and immediately thought of Howard Hughes, who was big at the time in Las Vegas, and he had to have it. Mom said she thought it was stupid but he bought it and it couldn't have been more than a couple of bucks."

When her parents returned home, the ring was tossed in a jewelry box and forgotten about. A couple of years ago, Vicki and her mother were going through some stuff and came across the ring. Vicki asked about it and her mother told her the story.

Vicki can only speculate as to whether the ring belonged to Howard Robard Hughes (HRH) and, if so, how it ended up in a junk store in Pahrump.

"My guess would be, if it is Hughes' ring, that he gave it to someone who perhaps gave him a lift, bought him some food or did something for him and this was the only way to repay that person," Vicki said.

It is true that Hughes did not like to carry cash around with him, so if he did find himself in such a situation, he may have had to come up another means of payment.

That said, all the scenarios seem unlikely. Did Hughes even wear jewelry? Is so, would he have had a ring like this one? And if he did, how likely would it be for the ring to end up in a junk store in tiny Pahrump?

The question for today is whether anyone out there has any information or informed speculation about the origins or history of this ring. Does "HRH" logically stand for something completely different? If you believe you can shed any light at all, please comment on this item and we'll see where things go.

Spruce Goose hangar for sale

2008-08-07T09:38:00.001-07:00

The Los Angeles Times reported today that the hangar where Hughes built the Spruce Goose is for sale. See the story here. In recent years, the huge hangar has been used for movie and television filming. Experts estimate the value of the hangar at $60 million.

Incidentally, I am quoted in the story, though not extensively.

Bob Maheu has died

2008-08-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

The Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting this morning that Bob Maheu, key aide to Howard Hughes in the 1960s, died last night. He was 90 years old.

Bob was a key source for my book on Hughes. I spent many hours with him at his Las Vegas home talking about Hughes and Las Vegas and the intersection of the two.

When I knew him, which was very late in his life, Bob was a great guy, very smart, cordial, funny, open. He knew a lot of important people in town and had no shortage of stories to tell about the interesting life he led. He had health problems — who doesn't at age 90? — but his mind was still sharp.

Services are set for noon Saturday at St. Viator Catholic Church in Las Vegas.

Join the conversation

2008-07-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

My name is Geoff Schumacher and I am the author of "Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia & Palace Intrigue," published by Stephens Press in February 2008. This blog is intended to continue the discussion about the many facets of Howard Hughes. New information, theories and ideas are coming across my desk all the time, and I hope to share at least some of this material on this blog.