Howard Hughes

Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was at times a pilot, a movie producer, a playboy, an eccentric and one of the wealthiest people in the world. He is famous for building the Hercules airplane, commonly known as the Spruce Goose, and for his debilitatingly eccentric behavior later in life.

Youth and Hollywood

Hughes was born in Humble, Texas. His parents were Allene (Gano) Hughes and Howard R. Hughes, Sr., who invented the dual cone roller bit, which allowed rotary drilling of oil wells in previously inaccessible places. His father founded Hughes Tool Company to commercialize this invention.

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Humble - Texas - Howard R. Hughes, Sr. - Hughes Tool Company

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As a teenager, Hughes declared that his goals in life were to become the world's best golfer, the world's best pilot, and the world's best movie producer. Despite attending many good schools, he never earned a diploma. He attended the Fessenden School in West Newton, Massachusetts (near Boston), and the Thacher School in Ojai, California. His father subsequently arranged for him to audit math and engineering classes at the California Institute of Technology. He then enrolled at the Rice Institute (later known as Rice University).

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Golfer - Pilot - Movie - Fessenden School - West Newton - Massachusetts - Thacher School - Ojai - California - California Institute of Technology - Rice University

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His parents died when he was a teenager—his mother in 1922 due to complications from a minor surgery, and his father two years later from a heart attack. As a result, Hughes inherited the highly profitable Hughes Tool Company. After inheriting $17 million, Hughes dropped out of Rice to become CEO of Hughes Tool in 1924 at the age of 19.

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1922 - 1924

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Shortly after his father died, Hughes moved to Hollywood, California where he had an uncle, Rupert Hughes, a novelist. Ella Rice, a girlfriend whom he had met in Houston, joined him in California. They married in 1925 (and would divorce in 1929).

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Hollywood, California - 1925 - 1929

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Hughes used his fortune to become a movie producer. He was at first dismissed by Hollywood insiders as a rich man's son. However, his first two films released in 1927, Everybody's Acting and Two Arabian Knights were financial successes. His films The Racket in 1928 and The Front Page in 1931 were nominated for Academy Awards. Other movies included one of the world's first multi-million dollar productions Hell's Angels (1930) which was written and directed by Hughes and showcased his love for aviation, and Scarface (1932). His best-known film may be The Outlaw (1943) starring Jane Russell. Both Scarface and The Outlaw received attention from industry censors, who targeted the films for their disregard of certain moral standards set forth within the industry.

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Movie producer - 1927 - Everybody's Acting - Two Arabian Knights - The Racket - 1928 - The Front Page - 1931 - Academy Award - Hell's Angels - 1930 - Scarface - 1932 - The Outlaw - 1943 - Jane Russell

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During this time, Hughes was a notorious ladies' man, and allegedly had affairs with many famous women including: Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Gene Tierney, Jean Harlow, Jane Russell and Ava Gardner. Less significant affairs are rumored to have occurred between Hughes and a long list of celebrities, usually female and sometimes male http://divorcesupport.about.com/cs/adultery/a/donjuans_3.htm.

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Katharine Hepburn - Bette Davis - Gene Tierney - Jean Harlow - Jane Russell - Ava Gardner

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