Were there photos of Howard Hughes in his last years??

[Sonicflood]

I've become intrigued by his story and have read several articles on-line about his life and dealings. I was curious as to his appearance in his latter years. Being a recluse, there are no photos that I have been able to find of his appearance. I was wondering if anyone had taken a photo of Hughes once he died, in his final state. He was obviously suffering from a mental disorder and kept anyone from coming in contact (literally & figuratively) with him.

I've seen a few sketches of his assumed appearance. It's tough to believe that a man of his status and the public curiousity & intrigue, have produced no photos. I read that the FBI/CIA took fingerprints of the man assumed to be Hughes & later confimed that it was him that had died.

If anyone has any links or info that would provide photos of Hughes and his actual living conditions I would appreciate viewing them.

Thanks,

Sonic

[PopcornTreeCt]

You just spoiled the Aviator. I will go to my room and cry now.

[Brain Stew]

Do you remember the episode of the Simpsons where Mr. Burns built a casino and went mad thinking Smithers was covered with germs? Well take a good look at Mr. Burns in the episode and you essentially have Hughes in his old age, since that's what happened to him.

[Numanoid]

[foofighters7]

Smithers- I've designed a new plane. I call it the "Spruce
Moose", and it will carry two hundred passengers from New
York's Idyllwild Airport to the Belgian Congo in seventeen
minutes!
Smithers: That's quite a nice model, sir.
Burns: Model?

Smithers: Certainly, sir. And, uh, the jars of urine?
Burns: Oh, we'll hang onto those. Now, to the plant! We'll take the
Spruce Moose. [picks up the model] Hop in!
Smithers: But, sir --
Burnspointing a gun] I said, hop in.




HAHAHHA I love the story of Hughes, I cant wait til the Aviator

[Sonicflood]

Originally Posted by PopcornTreeCt

You just spoiled the Aviator. I will go to my room and cry now.

uh, negative. Here's a quote from imdb.com:

The Aviator: A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career, from the late 1920's to the mid-1940's

Hughes died in the 1970's.

Sonic

[Sonicflood]

Originally Posted by Brain Stew

Do you remember the episode of the Simpsons where Mr. Burns built a casino and went mad thinking Smithers was covered with germs? Well take a good look at Mr. Burns in the episode and you essentially have Hughes in his old age, since that's what happened to him.

Thank you, although I am searching for actual photos, not TV and/or cartoon depictions of Hughes.

Sonic

[Thor Simpson]

[sjrab16]

Here you go!

http://www.georgettesworld.com/main/howardhughes.jpg

[Numanoid]

Considering that he wouldn't even let the housekeeper into his room to clean, it's highly unlikely that he would have let photographers in to take his picture.

[Wooderson]

So whats the whole story behind his later years?

[rennervision]

I remember reading in his final years he kept watching the movie "Ice Station Zebra" over and over. Although I've never seen this movie, I may have to if it holds up that well for repeat viewings.

[obscurelabel]

Originally Posted by Wooderson

So whats the whole story behind his later years?

The TV movie/miniseries with Tommy Lee Jones covers Hughes's life up until his death and I believe it sticks pretty closely to the facts. From what I remember, his withdrawal from society and his fear of germs started when he was badly injured in a plane crash in the 40s. I believe he lost some or all of the hearing in one of his ears, possibly due to an infection, and became phobic about germs. Since he had lots of money, he was able to indulge his desires to avoid human contact and became more and more "eccentric" as time went by, living in the top floors of Las Vegas hotels that he owned, attended by an all-male staff of single Mormon men if I remember correctly. This is nothing definitive but it's what I remember off the top of my head. There's got to be much more on line of course.

Of course, the movie "Melvin and Howard", which mostly focuses on the story of Melvin Dummar, has a great opening sequence with Jason Robards playing Hughes.

[obscurelabel]

Originally Posted by rennervision

I remember reading in his final years he kept watching the movie "Ice Station Zebra" over and over. Although I've never seen this movie, I may have to if it holds up that well for repeat viewings.

He must have liked repetition and routine. He was also reported to eat the same food every day for weeks at a time, usually something utterly mundane like cans of Cambell's tomato soup.

Re films: at one point Hughes sold off all of the RKO film catalogue for some figure (I believe $7 million) in the fifties. A few years later, for some reason, he paid almost that same amount to buy back just two of the movies he had sold, Jet Pilot and The Conquereor, the latter the notorious production that was filmed at an atomic bomb test site. Almost all of the cast and crew eventually died of cancer (John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Agnes Moorehead, director Dick Powell).

[DaveNinja]

A couple years back I got a tour of factory they built to build the Spruce Goose in. It was freaking huge.

[Numanoid]

I caught Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio discussing The Aviator on television the other day. Apparently they have worked in little clues about Hughes' obsessive-compulsive disorder into his early life. Facial ticks, nervous twitching, etc. They mentioned that toward the end of his life that he wouldn't allowing any cleaning in his room so it was buried in dust, he kept his urine and feces in the room with him, his fingernails and toenails were uncut and so long they curled over themselves, etc. You see, it wasn't his own germs that he afraid of, it was everyone else's. It's really a case of OCD gone totally unchecked, because he was rich enough to get away with it.