---

"Finally someone has written the authentic story of Howard R. Hughes, depicting his impact on American business and particularly Las Vegas and the state of Nevada. Geoff Schumacher clearly describes the Hughes evolution in Nevada."


One of the most famous and enigmatic Americans of the twentieth century, Howard Hughes packed theaters with his blockbuster films, thrilled the world with his aviation exploits, was linked with almost every major film beauty of the 1930s and '40s, and transformed his father's small fortune into a vast business empire, becoming one of the world's first billionaires.

But for all his celebrated achievements, Hughes' later years in Las Vegas - when drug addiction, bizarre behavior, and a casino buying spree dominated his days - continue to fascinate the public. Geoff Schumacher, a veteran journalist and author of Sun, Sin & Suburbia: An Essential History of Modern Las Vegas, delves into the Las Vegas years of Howard Hughes in this engrossing portrait of a man whose impact on the city is still being felt today.

Schumacher interviewed dozens of people who worked for Hughes or whose lives were touched in some way by the billionaire. Studying newspaper archives and court records, and talking to people who were there, Schumacher revisits the late 1960s when Hughes was the talk of the town in Las Vegas - though he never appeared in public. From his perch on the ninth floor of the Desert Inn Hotel, Hughes treated Las Vegas like a giant monopoly board, buying casinos, airports, a television station, a golf course, and thousands of acres of land. He invested $200 million in just a few years, invigorating a stagnant economy and giving the mob-infested city a new air of legitimacy.

While Hughes relished his status as Nevada's most powerful man, his drug abuse, physical deterioration, and phobias left him profoundly troubled. Hughes saw only a handful of aides who tended to his personal needs. He often stayed up all night watching old movies and collecting his urine in jars. Fearing the radiation generated by underground atomic tests, Hughes mounted a massive political campaign to halt the explosions conducted sixty miles from Las Vegas.

Hughes left Las Vegas in 1970, abandoning the city at the height of his influence. Schumacher examines the tumultuous aftermath of Hughes' four-year Las Vegas residency, including rancorous legal battles with his top executive, Bob Maheu, and newspaper publisher Hank Greenspun, the John Meier mining scam, the Clifford Irving hoax, and the epic tug of war over the Hughes estate. The intriguing saga of Melvin Dummar, who claims he picked up an injured Hughes in the Nevada desert and drove him to Las Vegas, then later fought for a piece of the Hughes fortune, is explored from every angle.

Schumacher also assesses the media's diverse representations of Hughes, from best-selling novels such as The Carpetbaggers to Oscar-winning films, including Melvin and Howard and The Aviator. Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia & Palace Intrigue expands our understanding of Howard Hughes, while cementing his prominent place in the history of America's most unlikely city.

Contents
Contents
Preface: The Hughes-Vegas connection
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Before Las Vegas: A Howard Hughes primer
Chapter 2: Early Las Vegas: Hughes' safe haven
Chapter 3: Bob Maheu, Part 1: Rise of the alter ego
Chapter 4: Outside Looking In: What Las Vegas saw
Chapter 5: The Penthouse: In the hermit's kingdom
Chapter 6: The Landmark: The hard luck hotel
Chapter 7: The Palace Coup: The manipulation of Howard Hughes
Chapter 8: The Governors: Dealing with Hughes
Chapter 9: Jack Real: Hughes' last friend
Chapter 10: Bob Maheu, Part 2: Aftermath of the palace coup
Chapter 11: Hank Greenspun: Media friend, media foe
Chapter 12: Paul Winn: Secretary to Hughes
Chapter 13: John Meier: Politics, paranoia, and the mining scam
Chapter 14: Clifford Irving: The hoax and the interview
Chapter 15: Channel 8: Hughes' movie source
Chapter 16: Melvin Dummar: Good Samaritan or teller of tales?
Chapter 17: The Estate: Will and the wills
Chapter 18: Legacies: Hughes in hindsight

Hughesiana
Chapter 19: Uncle Rupert: The renaissance man
Chapter 20: RKO Pictures: How to wreck a movie studio
Chapter 21: Jane Russell: ÔTwo good reasons to see The Outlaw'
Chapter 22: Terry Moore: Hughes' secret wife?
Chapter 23: Perspectives: Jimmy, Ralph, and Louella on Hughes
Chapter 24: Weird Tales: Obscure books about Hughes
Chapter 25: The Fictional Hughes: Movies, novels, and beyond
Chapter 26: Hughes on Display: He's everywhere in Las Vegas
Afterword: Haunted by Hughes
Bibliography
Index