Howard Hughes Power, Politics & Palace Intrigue

In his February 3, 2013 column in the  Las Vegas Review-Journal, journalist and author Jack Sheehan thinks Howard Hughes deserves a special place in Nevada history …

Who would be carved into Las Vegas’ Mount Rushmore?

Awhile back I was having a beer with my friend, longtime journalist George Knapp, and we fell on the topic of whether there were any truly iconic figures in the history of Las Vegas.

We started throwing around the names of folks whose profiles would be carved onto our own Mount Rushmore in the desert, assuming we could use a big old (Red) rock wall somewhere on the edge of town and had a Gutzon Borglum to spend a lifetime sculpting them.

We eventually came up with four individual names that qualified, and one generic symbol.

If you look up “icon” in the dictionary, you’ll see that one of the definitions is a representation of something sacred, particularly in the tradition of Eastern churches. But the meaning that applied to our discussion is of a person who is held up to esteem or wonderment and is the object of great attention and devotion.

Neither Heidi Fleiss nor Glen Lerner made it into our conversation.

Certainly there are present-day figures who might be considered icons down the road, say 50 years from now, when the discussion still rages on about whether a large stadium should be built on the UNLV campus, or whether it makes sense to build a bullet train between here and Los Angeles.

In athletics, guys like Greg Maddux and Andre Agassi might earn some votes. And die-hard Runnin’ Rebel fans, the sort who wear scarlet and gray jammies to bed at night and have worn out their eight-track of Dick Calvert’s Greatest Calls, probably would toss “Tark the Shark” into the mix. And in the gaming world, Kirk Kerkorian and Steve Wynn are names that would merit consideration.

I’ll spare you any further suspense and tell you that the certified icon list George and I came up with included only these names: Bugsy Siegel, Howard Hughes, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and The Showgirl. Of course, all four of these men have passed on, and The Showgirl is nearing extinction, which enhances their iconic status because legends only grow with the passage of time. Death eradicates the opportunity for them to exhibit the kinds of behaviors that would topple them from their pedestals (case in point: Lance Armstrong).

The least iconic of these five is Bugsy, who was here for only a short time in the mid-1940s before he got a bad case of lead poisoning sitting in Virginia Hill’s Beverly Hills mansion. Even though a Hollywood publisher and nightclub owner named Billy Wilkerson deserves credit for developing the whole idea of the Flamingo Hotel, by some twisted historical logic Siegel has been accorded the mantle as the founding father of modern Las Vegas. And that is not entirely a bad thing, because his presence brought to the still-tiny city an aura of Hollywood glamour and mob influence, and the suggestion that by developing his adult playground in the middle of a remote desert visitors could indulge in the licentious activity and bacchanalian delights that we so proudly promote today with the “what happens here” campaign and its offshoots.

Howard Hughes qualifies as iconic in several different worlds: business, aviation and filmmaking among them, but he certainly makes our list in Las Vegas for taking several prominent Strip properties out of the hands of mobsters and demonstrating to corporate America that legalized gambling could someday occupy a rung of respectability in the business world. Adding to his allure was that he was ridiculously rich, a world-class womanizer in his day, and a risk-taker and adrenaline-junkie.

Although some might argue otherwise, Hughes is a slam-dunk choice as a Las Vegas icon, regardless of how long his toenails were or how many Kleenex he wrapped around his fingers before turning a doorknob in his cloistered quarters on the ninth floor of the Desert Inn.

photo courtesy of neighborhoods.org

While I saw Sinatra perform only twice in Las Vegas showrooms, and both times when his voice was failing him, he remains the essence of what Las Vegas Strip entertainment is all about. He brought the biggest gamblers to town, he was idolized by men and women equally, and his stature as lead rat in the Rat Pack assures him iconic status in our city.

Sinatra was something of a cross between Elvis and Bugsy, if you think about it. Forever linked with the mob and always in the company of a beautiful woman and a posse that genuflected before him, he was a huge talent with charisma to match. He and Howard Hughes even had something in common, namely Ava Gardner.

Then there’s the Big E. I had two or three different invitations to watch him perform at the Las Vegas Hilton, where he sold out the room every night he was on the marquee for eight consecutive years. Each time I took a rain check, assuming I could catch his show at a later date. But Elvis up and died on us in August of ‘77, and I had forever lost my chance.

Imagine a figure so iconic – or perhaps exploited might be a better term – that no fewer than 200 men have earned paychecks over the past two decades either impersonating Elvis or performing what are loosely called tributes to him. I’ve even met two women through the years who proudly told me they gave up their virginity to the King during one-night stands. My only response to their sharing such a confidence was: “Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Last but by no means least on our list of iconic Las Vegans is the Showgirl. Think of her as 6 feet tall, with Legs Benedict, posed with one foot slightly angled in front of the other in impossibly high heels, while balancing a 30-pound pyramid on her head and all the while smiling like she’s having the time of her life as she infers to the businessman in Row Three that he might even have a shot at her if he behaves himself.

There should be no debate about whether the Showgirl deserves mention on our all-star team.

Despite the dreadful movie Showgirls that defiled her image, and ignoring the fact that many girls hoping to end up in the chorus line at Jubilee settle for snapping up twenties doing lap dances at Spearmint Rhino, it can’t be denied that for half a century the French-revue inspired women who danced on the stages of Strip hotels have provided the defining image of what Las Vegas is all about.

So we’ll put the Showgirl smack in the middle of our apocryphal Rushmore, with Howard and Bugsy on one side, and Elvis and Ol’ Blue Eyes on the other. We’ll let the ghosts of those guys fight it out for her affection.

And with that important business settled, George and I ordered another beer.

Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia & Palace Intrigue will soon be available in audio!

The story will go live first on Audible.com and soon after will appear on Amazon and iTunes… so stay tuned!

Today (January 19th) in 1937: Howard Hughes broke the transcontinental U.S. speed record in this aircraft, the Hughes H-1 Racer, flying nonstop from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, in 7 hours, 28 minutes, and 25 seconds.

In recognition of his genius, the Hughes H-1 Racer is on display in the “Golden Age of Flight” exhibit at The National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. Though built over 70 years ago, Howard Hughes’ legacy is timeless.

From Keith Rogers’ November 2, 2012 article for the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Historian marks 65th anniversary of ‘Spruce Goose’ flight

Bob McCaffery, Howard Hughes historian and 1980 chairman of The Committee to Save the Howard Hughes Flying Boat, talks about his efforts to save the “Spruce Goose.” In the background is a 3,000-horsepower spare engine for the giant aircraft displayed in Las Vegas one day before the 65th anniversary of the historic flight.

The “Spruce Goose,” as Howard Hughes’ critics called it, was the largest airplane ever built, and they doubted it would ever fly.

But the billionaire aviator proved them wrong 65 years ago on Friday, when he manned the controls of the massive flying boat and let its eight engines lift it off the Long Beach, Calif., harbor channel for its first and only flight: a mile-long jaunt that ended safely just before the breakwater.

“If you put it on a football field, the wing tips would touch the goal posts,” Hughes aviation historian Bob McCaffery said.

McCaffery, who was an engineering consultant for Hughes Helicopter in Culver City, Calif., marked the 65th anniversary of the Spruce Goose flight while standing in front of one of the behemoth’s spare engines that a Las Vegas friend keeps in an aerospace collection .

While Hughes preferred to call his experimental, World War II-era transport plane the H-4 Hercules, Republican Sen. Owen Brewster of Maine dubbed it the Spruce Goose during the 1947 hearings into Hughes’ alleged misuse of millions of dollars from a War Department contract to build it.

According to McCaffery, Brewster said, “The Spruce Goose is a flying lumberyard and will never fly.”

Hughes countered with, “I have my money and my reputation wrapped up in this airplane, and if it doesn’t fly, I’ll leave the country and I won’t come back.”

McCaffery said “Spruce Goose,” was a misnomer because there was no spruce in it. Instead it was built from laminated, hardwood birch hauled by trains from Wisconsin and Minnesota to Southern California.

Under his contract, Hughes was tasked with building an airplane that could carry either 750 combat-ready soldiers or one Sherman tank to overseas war zones. But construction carried on well after the war had ended in 1945.

When challenged by the Senate committee, Hughes put up $9 million of his own money to finish building the flying boat on top of $27 million he had received from the War Department contract.

“It’s still the biggest plane ever built,” McCaffery noted. “He liked to do things in a big way. He liked to make a name for himself in aviation.”

On Nov. 2, 1947, Hughes announced to newspaper and radio reporters that he would conduct three high-speed taxi tests in the choppy water of the Long Beach harbor. When asked by his associate, Glenn Odekirk, “‘If it feels good, are you going to hop it?’ Hughes just smiled,” McCaffery said, adding that on the last taxi run, Hughes couldn’t resist the urge to take it airborne.

The plane flew for more than a minute, and he spent the next minute trying to land it, “and that vindicated him.”

After being kept for years in a climate-controlled hangar, the Hercules was acquired in 1980 by the California Aero Club for display in a dome at Long Beach. When the club lost it s exhibit lease in 1990, McCaffery and Odekirk organized a committee to save the flying boat with plans to move it to Las Vegas as a convention centerpiece.

Much to McCaffery’s dismay, it was instead disassembled and shipped up the Columbia River to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in Oregon.

“I thought it was like moving the Washington Monument to Searchlight. You’ll never see it,” he said.

Geoff Schumacher’s love affair with Las Vegas continues. His newest work – post Howard Hughes - Sun, Sin & Suburbia: An Essential History of Modern Las Vegas, brings an in-depth view of the current state of affairs in the entertainment capital of the world.

Please join Geoff at his book launch as he discusses the recent history and possible future of Las Vegas:

Saturday, October 13^th ~ 1 PM to 3 PM

NEVADA STATE MUSEUM
309 S. Valley View Blvd.
Adjacent to Springs Preserve

And ~

Sunday, October 14^th

Barnes & Noble Booksellers

10:00 am ~ 12:00 pm
567 N. Stephanie – Henderson
For more information: 702-434-1533

1:00 pm ~ 3:00 pm
2191 N Rainbow – Northwest
For more information: 702-631-1775

From the Nevada Historical Quarterly

We were recently delighted to read this comprehensive review of HOWARD HUGHES: Power, Paranoia, and Palace Intrigue by Geoff Schumacher. Fascination with Hughes never ends because, well, he was a pretty fascinating guy. His impact on Las Vegas lives on today.
—Stephens Press

“The buildings and institutions of Las Vegas don’t attract nearly as much attention as the personalities who have called that city home, even briefly.  Thus far, there has been no great Vegas visionary born in Las Vegas; those who have changed the city have, for the most part, come to town from elsewhere. Most of the stories, then, have the same trajectory: The genius moves to Las Vegas, does something never before seen, then reaps the fruits of his fortune, for better or worse.

Perhaps the most exhaustively written-about Las Vegan, Howard Hughes has attracted numerous biographers of all stripes. More than four-dozen books about him have been published since the 1960s. It would seem that there’s little more we can learn about his life. But a recent book places Hughes into what may be his definitive Las Vegas context. In Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia, and Palace Intrigue, Geoff Schumacher has written a hybrid. In some regards, it’s a synthesis of the plethora of previous Hughes works. Schumacher combined through what must have been an endless array of news clippings and tomes of Hughesiana. But he also availed himself of rare and unique primary sources at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Special Collections; the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society; and the treasure troves of private collectors. His thoroughness definitely shows. I doubt there’s much about Hughes particularly his four Las Vegas years—that Schumacher doesn’t touch on.

The book starts with a quick summary of Hughes B.V. (Before Vegas), then discusses his less-known earlier stays in Las Vegas, including his 1943 Lake Mead crash and his 1953 purchase of the Green House, which is still intact on the land of KLAS-TV. Then he brings in the story of Hughes’s right hand, Bob Maheu. Maheu’s story has been well documented, but seems to gain something by being placed more clearly in the critical context of Hughes’s time in Las Vegas, as presented by Schumacher.

As the Hughes roller coaster inches higher up the initial slope, Schumacher stops to describe “what Vegas saw” with a quick chronological survey of contemporary media coverage of the Hughes Las Vegas years (1966-1970). Then he dives into detailed chapters on Hughes in Vegas. These run the gamut from profiles of significant figures such as Hank Greenspun, Paul Winn, and John Meier, to discussions of key topics: the Clifford Irving hoax biography, the palace coup that brought Maheu down, and the sometimes outlandish fight over the estate in the face of competing Hughes wills, none of which was proved authentic. Melvin Dummar’s tragicomic tale—more tragedy than comedy, it now seems—gets ample space, and probably its best analysis yet.

Schumacher then jumps tracks, switching from biographer to critic with a section called “Hughesiana” that features a mix of non-Vegas profiles (Jane Russell, Rupert Hughes, and the RKO fiasco) and extended takes on “Weird Tales” (obscure Hughes texts) and “the Fictional Hughes,” which is an up-to-date consideration of the reams of paper and reels of celluloid fantasy that Hughes has inspired.

The book’s key strength is Schumacher’s attention to detail and thoughtful use of his sources. Without an axe to grind, he is able to write a dispassionate book about the eccentric billionaire, a decided rarity. Since Hughes was far from balanced, he invites wild speculation and still, more than thirty years after his death, an almost messianic fervor. Schumacher immersed himself in his sources without becoming captured by them—a hard task, indeed, where Hughes is concerned.”

—David G. Schwartz, Nevada Historical Society Quarterly

The Nevada Historical Society is a perfect way to embrace your fascination with Nevada’s rich history. Membership fees are very modest (just $35 for an individual) and garner all sorts of advantages including a subscription to the Nevada Historical Society Quarterly, free admission to seven museums, discounts, and other benefits. For more information, go to the Nevada Culture website.

Book review reproduced with permission.

photo courtesy of Donal F. Holway/The New York Times

… doesn’t mean you’re not being followed.

This thought comes to mind with the upcoming re-release of the Pentagon Papers Monday, June 13. First leaked by Daniel Ellsberg to the New York Times in 1971, the full unedited version will be available online courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.

While Howard Hughes was not directly involved in the Vietnam war, or the U.S. government’s doomed involvement in the relentess war in the jungles and rice paddies of Southeast Asia, of which the Pentagon Papers documents, Hughes engineering genius, the flying boat, was the model and inspiration for the C-5 Galaxy cargo plane that did serve American troops in both the Cold War and Vietnam.

And while Hughes was engulfed in his own paranoia by the time the Vietnam conflict ended in 1975, his life of intrigue and mystery paralleled the years revealed in the Pentagon Papers. Geoff Schumacher’s Howard Hughes: Power, Politics & Paranoia explores this volatile time, as well as iconic figure; a history back in the headlines.

Writing a biography – whether of a famous person or not – can offer insights to the author as well as the reader. In the Desert Companion, Geoff Schumacher reveals several lessons that he learned while researching and writing about the bigger-than-life Howard Hughes.

Veteran local journalist and Howard Hughes author Geoff Schumacher will address the Las Vegas Writers Group this March regarding ‘The Future of the Newspaper.’

The news about newspapers sounds grim. A few prominent papers have ceased publishing. A few others have filed for bankruptcy protection. Still others survive only on the Internet. Have evolving reading habits doomed the great American newspaper to the recycling bin of history, or are recent developments only a temporary setback? What about the thousands of reporters, columnists and editors who draw their paychecks and feed their souls by chasing the news? What will become of them if the industry continues to crumble? Schumacher will tackle these issues and others, suggesting a brighter perspective than the doom and gloom that pervades the industry.

More information about the event here.