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| He bought into Transcontinental & West Airline (later ]) in 1937 and acquired ] in 1948. He was forced to sell out of TWA in 1966 for around $500m. Hughes Space and Communications was founded in 1961. | He bought into Transcontinental & West Airline (later ]) in 1937 and acquired ] in 1948. He was forced to sell out of TWA in 1966 for around $500m. Hughes Space and Communications was founded in 1961. | ||
| As time passed, Hughes descended into a reclusive, drug-addled life locked in darkened rooms and terrified of germs. He moved from hotel to hotel, from the Bevely Hills Hotel to Boston to ], where he bought the Desert Inn (because they threatened to evict him) and several other hotel/casinos (Castaways, New Frontier, Landmark, Sands and Silver Slipper) - he was known for modernizing Las Vegas by buying it from the Mafia. He bought ] so that there would be something to watch when he was up all night with ]. He became addicted to ] and other painkillers, was extremely frail, had an obsession with ] boxes, and stored his urine in jars. As he deteriorated, he ended up moving to ], ], ], and several other places, always in the top floor penthouse with the windows blacked out - and every time he moved out the hotel seemed to need to remodel to clean up after him. | As time passed, Hughes descended into a reclusive, drug-addled life locked in darkened rooms and terrified of germs. He moved from hotel to hotel, from the Bevely Hills Hotel to Boston to ], where he bought the Desert Inn (because they threatened to evict him) and several other hotel/casinos (Castaways, New Frontier, Landmark, Sands and Silver Slipper) - he was known for modernizing Las Vegas by buying it from the Mafia. He bought ] such as KLAS-TV in Las Vegas so that there would be something to watch when he was up all night with ]. He became addicted to ] and other painkillers, was extremely frail, had an obsession with ] boxes, and stored his urine in jars. As he deteriorated, he ended up moving to ], ], ], and several other places, always in the top floor penthouse with the windows blacked out - and every time he moved out the hotel seemed to need to remodel to clean up after him. | ||
| (The Simpsons character ] appears to have been patterned after Hughes). | (The Simpsons character ] appears to have been patterned after Hughes). | ||
Revision as of 04:26, 20 September 2002
Howard Robard Hughes (September 24, 1905 - April 5, 1976) was at times a pilot, a movie producer, a playboy, an eccentric, and a recluse.
Born in Houston, Texas. As a teenager, he declared that his goals in life were to become the world's best golfer, the world's best pilot, and the world's best movie producer. In 1923 he inherited the highly profitable Hughes Tool Company from his inventor father.
In aviation, Hughes set many world records, and designed and built aircraft for as well as heading Hughes Aviation (merged with Raytheon in 1998). One of his best-known planes was the Spruce Goose, a massive flying boat completed just after the end of World War II which only flew once (with Hughes at the controls) in 1947; the plane was the showpiece of a museum in Long Beach, California for many years before being moved to McMinnville, Oregon.
His best-known film may be The Outlaw starring Jane Russell, which caused some controversy at the time. He also managed to woo many of Hollywood's most famous actresses, including Katherine Hepburn, Ava Gardner, and Jane Russell. As a producer his films The Racket in 1928, and The Front Page in 1931 were nominated for Oscars.
He bought into Transcontinental & West Airline (later TWA) in 1937 and acquired RKO in 1948. He was forced to sell out of TWA in 1966 for around $500m. Hughes Space and Communications was founded in 1961.
As time passed, Hughes descended into a reclusive, drug-addled life locked in darkened rooms and terrified of germs. He moved from hotel to hotel, from the Bevely Hills Hotel to Boston to Las Vegas, where he bought the Desert Inn (because they threatened to evict him) and several other hotel/casinos (Castaways, New Frontier, Landmark, Sands and Silver Slipper) - he was known for modernizing Las Vegas by buying it from the Mafia. He bought television stations such as KLAS-TV in Las Vegas so that there would be something to watch when he was up all night with insomnia. He became addicted to codeine and other painkillers, was extremely frail, had an obsession with Kleenex boxes, and stored his urine in jars. As he deteriorated, he ended up moving to the Bahamas, Vancouver, London, and several other places, always in the top floor penthouse with the windows blacked out - and every time he moved out the hotel seemed to need to remodel to clean up after him.
(The Simpsons character Montgomery Burns appears to have been patterned after Hughes).