Some years back, Hollywood turned out a movie about Howard Hughes. Based on a true life incident, the film was called 'Howard and Melvin.'
The plot concerned Hughes riding his motorcycle near Las Vegas one morning and having an accident that banged up him and his motorcycle. Melvin was a mechanic who happened along the road, saw the billionaire lying in the dust, and gave him a lift to town.
Howard was dressed like and looked like a bum.
He needed to call his corporate offices and had to borrow some change from Melvin to make the call. A good-natured person, Melvin gave him the money. He was astounded when the strange motorcycle rider turned out to be Howard Hughes, who promised him a substantial return for his friendliness and generosity.
Howard Hughes was born Christmas Eve, 1905, and died at the age of 71 on April 5, 1975, the year of the Centennial. He was a strange American entrepreneur, a brilliant airplane designer and pilot who choses to remain anonymous while he pulled the strings to shape his world.
Hughes was famous for failing to take baths and for going sockless. Aquenette, an actress I met in Phoenix, AZ., where she did a late night horror show over one of the television channels, regaled me with stories about the reclusive billionaire.
Howard grew up in Houston, TX., the descendant of a church minister who had baptized George Washington. As a child he was interested in inventing things and in how machinery worked. He inherited his father's drill manufacturing company and his early life was spent designing airplanes and engines and expanding the family business.
"Despite all his money, Howard found it difficult to get a date in Hollywood," she said. "He asked me out one time. I was playing the Leopard Woman in a movie called 'Tarzan and the Leopard Woman.' I turned him down because he smelled."
Hughes eventually overcame the body odor syndrome and married an actress. Although his fortune came from renting drills through a company his father started, he invested money in making movies, his first love, and in buying casinos and hotels.
While running the drill company, he remained a mystery to his employees, preferring to remain behind the scene. As his fortune grew, he acquitted TransWorld Airlines and Air West.
He was an above average golfer who usually managed to shoot or break par on a golf course. His heart was in making movies and he invested $3.8 million to produce 'Hell's Angels' in 1930, a movie that grossed more than $8 million.
Howard met Jane Russell, the buxom amazon beauty, and convinced her to star in 'The Outlaw,' a controversial western film that became a smash at the box office.
A friend said, "Howard Hughes was a born gambler. He loved to gamble his money on movie projects, casinos and hotels, and his instincts were pretty good. His business deals always seemed to make a profit."
He kept doubling down on defense projects and earned a lot of money on his defense projects. As a wheeler and dealer in Las Vegas, he ended up with several casino properties that he held until the time of his death.
Toward the end of his life, Hughes turned to prescription drugs and other mood-altering substances that basically turned him into an eccentric totally out of touch with the world.
He hired Mormons, many of them active in the LDS Church, to manage his casinos because he believed in their work ethic and basic honesty. He was basically a loner who preferred riding his motorcycle on solo missions to attending chic cocktail parties.
There is no record on whether Howard Hughes gambled in any of his casinos. Knowing his penchant for staying out of the public eye, he probably didn't unless he was wearing a disguise.
Hughes did grab the public's attention when he built a bomber out of wood, named it 'The Spruce Goose' -- and couldn't get it off the ground.
As long as there is a Las Vegas, there will be a Howard Hughes. If you don't believe me, just ask Melvin.
