HOWARD HUGHES

DESCRIPTION: Legendary film producer, aviator, philanthropist.

WRECK VALUE:

"Hughes spent almost all his time sitting naked in [his white leather chair] in the center of the living room – an area he called the ‘germ free zone’ – his long legs stretched out on the matching ottoman facing a movie screen, watching one motion picture after another. The same pattern was repeated in Las Vegas, made worse by a drug habit that included both codeine and Valium...X-rays taken during the Hughes autopsy show fragments of hypodermic needles broken off in his arms."(from www.socialhistory.org)

"His eccentricities included setting up an army of private detectives to shadow all his girlfriends and many of his business associates as well." (from detnews.com)

"One memorable story had Hughes locked in a screening room for 3 months eating only candy bars while watching the same film over and over. He refused to move from his chair and eventually he ended up being naked and horribly dirty since he never left the chair to take a shower.

"Hughes had numerous flunkies who catered to his every whim. One cook was required to serve green peas that were a certain size. Hughes had a fork specially designed that would only hold a certain size pea - anything smaller would fall through. If a pea fell through the fork, Hughes would throw a tantrum, accusing the chef of being a traitor.

"To the world he was merely a recluse because the people employed by Hughes did not talk to the press about their boss' condition. This led some people to believe that the staff Hughes employed were actually using Hughes' ailment to gain control of his financial empire. He eventually became so dependent on drugs that he couldn't leave his bed or eat, and died in April 1976 weighing less than 100 pounds." (from suite101.com)

"When TWA sued Hughes, as the major shareholder, Hughes financed a lawsuit against himself.

"As years passed Hughes became increasingly decrepit and irrationally paranoid. He surrounded himself with aides that he trusted, a group of seven Mormons which never left Hughes' side, (Howard believed Mormons were more trustworthy) and insisted that any item handed to Hughes be covered by a Kleenex." (from users.erols.com/dbarrese/)

"His fear of germs was ever-present. To avoid them, he wrote out memoranda several pages long that set forth protocols for such matters as opening a can of fruit or taking an item from a cabinet. He spent hours cleaning his telephone. For a time he consumed only milk, Hershey bars, pecans, and bottled water, which an aide delivered each day in a brown paper bag and presented in a formal ritual.

"He wore the same white shirt and brown slacks for weeks until one day he set them aside and went about naked. In 1958 he suffered an outright breakdown, throwing tantrums and babbling incoherently.

"His hair rolled down his back, his beard trailed onto his chest, and his toenails were so long that they curled up. On many days the most he could do was travel between his bed and the bathroom. He seldom washed, and his surroundings grew exceedingly foul." (from www.americanheritage.com)

DEVIL'S ADVOCACY:

"He owned an international airline, two regional airlines, an aircraft company, a major motion picture studio, mining properties, a tool company, gambling casinos and hotels in Las Vegas, a medical research institute, and a vast amount of real estate; he had built and flown the world’s largest airplane; he had produced and directed "Hell's Angels," a Hollywood film classic." (from www.socialhistory.org)

"Hughes designed a better garment to show off Russell's cleavage in 1943's "The Outlaw." Hughes built aircraft and interested some of his best engineers in designing the first cantilevered bra for Russell." (from CNN.com)

SUPPORTING QUOTES:

"Never make a decision. Let someone else make it and then if it turns out to be the wrong one, you can disclaim it, and if it is the right one you can abide by it."

"Wash four distinct and separate times, using lots of lather each time from individual bars of soap."

"Play off everyone against each other so that you have more avenues of action open to you."