Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (1905-1976) was arguably the most secretive and self-destructive man ever to win fame in Southern Californiaâ??s two glamour industries --- movies and aviation. Hughes was certainly an original, and to many he represented the ultimate unconventional man.
The peaks and valleys of his life were startling. As an aviator, he once held every speed record of consequence and was hailed as the worldâ??s greatest flyer, "a second Lindbergh." At various points in his life 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 worldâ??s largest airplane; he had produced and directed "Hell's Angels," a Hollywood film classic.
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