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Aviator, movie
producer, billionaire and hypochondriac, Howard Hughes was born Dec. 24,
1905, in Houston, Texas. His father who owned the Hughes Tool Company died
in 1924 leaving his share of the business to Howard, when he turned age
21. Howard was 19 at the time and had a Houston Judge, a friend of his
fathers, declare him an adult so he could immediately inherit his fathers
wealth. Hughes and his Houston socialite wife, Ella Rice (married June
1, 1925, divorced in 1929) moved to Hollywood to make movies. At first
he failed, then in 1928 he won an academy award for Two Arabian Nights
followed by another in 1930. |
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Hughes - on location
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for Hell's Angels, written
and directed by Hughes and starring Jean Harlow, it was the most expensive
movie of its time costing $3.8 million US dollars. |
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Jean Harlow
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In 1932, Hughes formed the Hughes
Aircraft Company primarily to finance the expensive conversion of a military
plane into a racing plane. On September 13, 1935, he set a new speed record,
taking the H1 plane to 352 mph. |
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The Hughes H1
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Hughes won a military contract to
build three "flying boats" for $18 million in three months. The terms proved
impossible for Hughes. |
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He produced only one of the planes
after WWII ended, way behind schedule, with huge cost over runs. This brought
the project and Hughes under the scrutiny of the |
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Howard at the controls
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post-war Congress, he was called
to Washington, to defend the plane and himself. On Nov 2, 1947, Hughes
flew the aircraft at Long Beach, California, during a break in the hearings,
and as legions of non-believers, who had dubbed the aircraft "The Spruce
Goose," (even though it was made from birch) had to change
their opinions regarding its ability to fly, Hughes was vindicated. The
Spruce Goose never flew again. Hughes took responsibility for the aircraft
and locked it in a special hangar with an extensive air-conditioned controlled
environment. For years, the Goose was maintained almost as an active aircraft,
its engines run up each month. After Hughes death in 1976 the aircraft
was obtained by the California Aero Club and in 1982 it joined the graceful
old ship Queen Mary at Long Beach, California. |
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The Queen Mary and the Spruce
Goose dome at Long Beach
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