Howard Hughes makes preparations for the historic flight of the Spruce Goose. Getty
The eccentric millionaire, Howard Hughes, combined the most fantastical elements of Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark, and the Great Gatsby. Behind the playboy image though, Hughes suffered numerous forms of psychosis. He inherited roughly $16 million in today’s money at the precocious age of 18. Rather than follow in his father’s oil footsteps, Hughes set out to conquer every arena that held his interest. From Hollywood, aeronautics, and beautiful starlets the obsessive magnate wielded his wealth to an incomparable degree.
He once famously said, “Money can’t buy happiness” but he set out to prove it could buy everything else. Here are the highlights of perhaps the most outlandish life ever lived.
the gigantic airplane became one of his most public failures.
A Smart But Troubled Trust Fund Baby
Many who inherit an enormous amount of wealth usually never develop skills beyond spending obscene amounts of money. Hughes bucked that trend at an early age. In the early 1920s, he built a motorized bicycle and a wireless radio transmitter before he hit puberty.
His mother’s fear of the polio epidemic forced a cloistered life upon young Howard, leading to such brainy but solitary pursuits. A lonely childhood, a bout with paralysis, and the tragic passing of both parents laid the groundwork for his infamous psychological issues.
Howard Hughes with Katharine Hepburn. Pinterest
Branching Out
Eschewing life as an oil tycoon, Hughes took his wealth to Hollywood. After winning an Academy Award for producing “Two Arabian Knights,” he went on to direct and produce the iconic “Hell’s Angels.”
One of the most expensive films of its era, Hughes bought or leased an extraordinary 40 different planes to create the WWI picture. He also gathered an incredible amount of flying talent, pushing 70 pilots into literal death-inducing stunts.
Reportedly, Hughes would sleep with many of his "conquests" just once.
Pushing Boundaries
The cost of the filming spiraled out of control due to, of all things, a lack of clouds. The fluffy water molecules crucially provided depth and contrast to shooting. On the set, hijinks ensued with posted signs reading, “War Postponed—No Clouds Today!”
As bored pilots are wont to do, they also played a prank on Hughes. Using an airplane propeller, they toppled an outhouse occupied by the multi-millionaire. In classic Hughes fashion, he fired literally everyone but was forced to bring back the pilots due to their special set of skills.
Howard Hughes (center) congratulated after his record flight around the world in New York. July 1938. Getty
Costs Of Hughes’ Dreams Of Grandeur
On a much more somber note, three of those ace fliers died during the filming. Hughes himself fractured his skull after crashing a plane, attempting a stunt that even the most daring pilots wouldn’t attempt. “Hell’s Angels” did become a hit and set the standard with awe-inspiring aerial scenes. The film also helped build the foundation for Hughes Aircraft Company, which became a multi-billion dollar powerhouse.
His aviation achievements create enormous publicity which he masterfully used in his favor.
National Recognition
With his passion for flying in high gear, Hughes set out to conquer the skies. In the 1930s he set the record for fastest speed over land, the quickest U.S transcontinental flight, and the fastest circumnavigation of the globe.
The latter, completed in 19 hours 17 minutes, earned him a ticker-tape parade in New York City. Of course, his grandiose accomplishments weren’t without catastrophic failures.
The wreckage of Howard Hughes' XF-11 plane which struck and set afire three houses and a garage before it exploded in a vacant lot. Hughes was lucky to survive. Getty
Failed Pursuits
His obsession with flying nearly killed him multiple times and led to grievous injuries that resulted in a codeine addiction. The first came while working on the failed amphibian aircraft, the Sikorsky S-43. The S-43 took a swan dive in Lake Mead after he dropped his high-profile girlfriend, Ava Gardner, in Las Vegas. Two other people died in the crash.
Hughes himself nearly died while testing the Hughes XF-11, a reconnaissance plane. The crash near Beverly Hills really would have been his end if not for a Sgt. Durkin. The Marine dragged him from the burning wreckage. Supposedly, he sent Durkin a check every month for the rest of his life.
His lofty ambitions led to four separate near fatal crashes.
The Failed “Spruce Goose”
However, his most famous failure came at the hands of the H-4 Hercules, designed to carry an ungodly amount of men and equipment across the Atlantic during WWII. But the undertaking took so long, the war ended before the plane was finished. For his failure, the Senate called on Hughes to answer for $40 million of taxpayer money.
He famously answered, “I put the sweat of my life into this thing. I have my reputation rolled up in it and I have stated several times that if it’s a failure I’ll probably leave this country and never come back. And I mean it.” In classic rich guy fashion, the “Spruce Goose” hardly slowed him down.
Howard Hughes and Jean Harlow after making Hells Angels together. Getty
Because He Could
When it came to women, Hughes loved the chase. Just about every high-profile scarlet fell to his overwhelming influence. Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Olivia de Havilland, Ginger Rogers, Janet Leigh, Gene Tierney, Hedy Lamarr, Rita Hayworth, and Mamie Van Doren took to his domineering ways.
On a 1966 Thanksgiving trip to Vegas, he found himself enamored with the top two floors of Desert Inn Hotel. Eventually, since he wasn’t a gambler, they asked him to leave. In reply, Hughes bought the hotel. Then he bought the Sands Hotel next door in order to remove their annoying bright neon sign. When the Vegas TV station failed to play his favorites, he bought them before demanding the “Ice Station Zebra” play on an endless loop.
Hughes added color to the film singularly to show off Harlow's beauty.
Stranger Times
As Hughes aged, his mental health followed an inevitable physical deterioration. For years he refused to cut his toenails. He’d also locked himself in various hotels for months, peeing in jars and wearing Kleenex boxes for shoes. Naked or a napkin became his preferred attire, thanks to allodynia, a condition that triggers pain from normal sensations.
Incredibly, we’ve only skimmed the surface of Hughes’ ridiculous behavior. He ended the career of a Senator, likely got away with manslaughter, lavishly imprisoned one of his wives, bribed Presidents, and torpedoed careers out of spite. It’s fair to say there won’t ever be another Howard Hughes and probably for the better.
