HOWARD HUGHES HIS LIFE & MADNESS Also By Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele Forevermore: Nuclear Waste in America America: What Went Wrong? America: Who Really Pays the Taxes? America: Who Stole the Dream? The Great American Tax Dodge Howard Hughes His Life & Madness By Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele Copyright © 1979 by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele Originally published under the title Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes All rights reserved Norton paperback reissue 2004 For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110 Citations from “I Remember Howard Hughes” by Dore Schary, © 1976 by the New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission. Citations from “Howard Hughes—Record Breaker” by Rupert Hughes © 1937 by Macfadden Publications, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Liberty Library Corp. Citations from “CIA Reportedly Contracted With Hughes in Effort to Raise Sunken Soviet A-Sub” by William Farr and Jerry Cohen, Copyright 1975 by the Los Angeles Times. Reprinted by permission. Citations from “Hughes Buys More than 500 Silver, Gold Claims in Nevada” by Arelo Sederberg, Copyright 1969 by the Los Angeles Times. Reprinted by permission. Citations from “Spry Miner, 96, Waited 60 Years for Silver Boom” by Charles Hillinger, Copyright 1969 by the Los Angeles Times. Reprinted by permission. Manufacturing by The Haddon Craftsmen, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Barlett, Donald L. [Empire] Howard Hughes: his life and madness / Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele. p. cm. Originally published as: Empire. 1 st ed. c1979. Includes bibliographical references ISBN 9780393326024 1. Hughes, Howard, 1905-1976. 2. Celebrities—United States—Biography. 3. Businesspeople—United States—Biography. 4. Millionaires—United States —Biography. 1. Steele, James B. II. Title. CT275.H6678B37 2004 338.7’67’092—dc22 338.7’67’092—dc22 [B] 2004050138 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110 www.wwnorton.com W. W. Norton & Company Ltd. Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London WIT 3QT For Nancy, Eileen, Matthew, and Allison CONTENTS Preface Acknowledgments PROLOGUE: DEATH IN MEXICO 1 THE EARLY YEARS The Family The Rock Eater Mother Tragedy Power Play 2 HOLLYWOOD The Legend Begins Celebrities and Censors 3 HERO Young Man in a Hurry Record Breaker Race Around the World 4 THE WAR YEARS The “Hate Hughes Club” Strange Bedfellows The Flying Boat “An Awful Smell” 5 THE SENATE INVESTIGATION The XF-II Crash Circus on the Potomac Surprise Flight 6 MOVIES, MISSILES, AND COMMUNISTS The RKO Takeover Turnabout The Red Menace 7 REVOLT AT CULVER CITY “A Hell of a Mess” Another Bosom Brouhaha The Counterfeit Charity Political Insurance 8 SEEDS OF DISASTER The Rise of the Mormons