Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia, and Palace Intrigue, Revised and Expanded

by Geoff Schumacher

Overview

This newly revised and expanded edition of Howard Hughes chronicles the life and legacies of one of the most intriguing and accomplished Americans of the twentieth century. Hughes, born into wealth thanks to his father’s innovative drill bit that transformed the oil industry, put his inheritance to work in multiple ways, from producing big-budget Hollywood movies to building the world’s fastest and largest airplanes. Hughes set air speed records and traveled around the world in record time, earning ticker-tape parades in three cities in 1938. Later, he moved to Las Vegas and invested heavily in casinos. He bought seven resorts, in each case helping to loosen organized crime’s grip on Nevada’s lifeblood industry.

Although the public viewed Hughes as a heroic and independent-minded trailblazer, behind closed doors he suffered from germophobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and an addiction to painkillers. He became paranoid and reclusive, surrounding himself with a small cadre of loyal caretakers. As executives battled each other over his empire, Hughes’ physical and mental health deteriorated to the point where he lost control of his business affairs.

This second edition includes more insider details on Hughes’ personal interactions with actresses, journalists, and employees. New chapters provide insights into Hughes’s involvement with the mob, his ownership and struggles as the majority shareholder of TWA and the wide-ranging activities of Hughes Aircraft Company, Hughes’s critical role in the Glomar Explorer CIA project (a deep-sea drillship platform built to recover the Soviet submarine K-129), and more. Based on in-depth interviews with individuals who knew and worked with Hughes, this fascinating biography provides a colorful and comprehensive look at Hughes—from his life and career to his final years and lasting influence.  This penetrating depiction of the man behind the curtain demonstrates Hughes’s legacy, and enduring impact on popular culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781948908603
Publisher:	University of Nevada Press
Publication date:	03/11/2020
Edition description:	Revised edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Geoff Schumacher is the vice president of exhibits and programs for the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. He is the author of Sun, Sin & Suburbia: A History of Modern Las Vegas. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.

 

Table of Contents

Preface: The Hughes-Las Vegas Connection xi

Part 1 Before Las Vegas

1 Young Maverick: Becoming Hughes 1

Part 2 Las Vegas

2 Early Las Vegas: Hughes' Safe Haven 21

3 Bob Maheu, Part 1: Rise of the Alter Ego 35

4 Outside Looking In: What Las Vegas Saw 43

5 The Penthouse: In the Hermit's Kingdom 57

6 The Landmark: The Hard Luck Hotel 63

7 The Palace Coup: The Manipulation of Hughes 72

8 The Governors: Dealing with Hughes 79

9 Bob Maheu, Part 2: Aftermath of the Palace Coup 84

10 In His Own Words: The Hughes-Maheu Memos 93

11 Hughes and the Mob: Arms-Length Associations 97

12 Hank Greenspun: Media Friend, Media Foe 109

13 John Meier: Politics, Paranoia, and the Mining Scam 118

14 Channel 8: Hughes' Movie Source 127

Part 3 After Death

15 Melvin Dummar: Good Samaritan or Teller of Tales? 134

16 The Estate: Will and the Wills 157

17 Legacies: Hughes in Hindsight 166

Part 4 Industry

18 TWA: The Airline That Got Away 179

19 Hughes Aircraft: Hands-Off Success 186

20 The Glomar Explorer: Partnering with the CIA 193

21 RKO Pictures: How to Wreck a Movie Studio 198

Part 5 People

22 Uncle Rupert: The Renaissance Man 206

23 Jack Real: Hughes' Last Friend 212

24 Paul Winn: Secretary to Hughes 220

25 Clifford Irving: The Hoax and the Interview 231

26 Jane Russell: 'Two Good Reasons to See The Outlaw' 240

27 Terry Moore: Hughes' Secret Wife? 248

28 Close Encounters: Memories of Howard Hughes 256

Part 6 Hughes in Pop Culture

29 The Fictional Hughes: Movies, Novels, and Beyond 275

30 Weird Tales: Obscure Books about Hughes 287

31 Hughes on Display: He's Everywhere and Nowhere in Las Vegas 302

32 Pilgrimage: Visiting the Flying Boat 304

Acknowledgments 315

Bibliography 317

Index 321

About the Author 329

Editorial Reviews

"Schumacher’s research is impressive as he seemingly has read every book ever written about Hughes, as well as hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles. In addition, Schumacher interviewed some of the people who appear in his book. For those curious about the accomplished, but truly odd, Howard Hughes, a man who has such a profound impact upon Las Vegas, Schumacher’s revised and expanded edition of his 2008 book published by Stephens Press will be a fascinating read.”
—Nevada Historical Society Quarterly

Praise for Howard Hughes, First Edition:

“Schumacher draws upon research from other books, interviews, and a lifetime of covering his native city to produce an entertaining volume about a relentlessly fascinating character.”
—Publishers Weekly
 
“Anyone who wants a better idea of the man behind the myth should read this book. There are many, many books on Hughes out there, but few are as lucid as this one.”
—David Schwartz, Ph.D., director, Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and author of Roll the Bones
 

From the Publisher