“I have never seen anything quite so unacceptable”: Ibid.
“sweater shots”: Joseph Breen, letter to Will Hays, March 29, 1941.
exactly which breast shots needed to be cut: Joseph Breen to Howard Hughes, April 6, 1941.
Hughes filed an appeal: “MPPDA to Review Outlaw on Appeal.”
“greatest display of mammary glands”: Birdwell notes.
forty feet of film: Letter from Joseph Breen to Howard Hughes, May 16, 1941.
seal of approval: The Outlaw, certificate No. 7440, May 23, 1941.
“an exceptionally good friend of mine”: Howard Hughes letter to Annette Gano Lummis.
“the first woman I ever saw in trousers”: Annette Gano Lummis deposition, August 12, 1977.
CHAPTER 13: THE NEW GENERATION
“Where Clark Gable works, baby!”: Server, Ava Gardner: “Love Is Nothing,” 43.
signed to Warner Bros.: “Artist Agreement—Faith Domergue.”
“Jack Warner was too stupid”: Weaver, “Faith Domergue,” 31.
“that line was used on everybody”: Ibid., 30.
“pretty, undisciplined, a little wild”: Domergue manuscript.
“I looked more sophisticated”: Ibid.
De Cicco optioned: Outline of Pat De Cicco Trial Testimony, Estate of Howard R. Hughes Jr.—Probate Court, Harris County Texas, January 12, 1978.
“‘The Boss’ had spoken”: Domergue manuscript.
“Howard never forced himself”: Ibid.
“fodder for gossip columns”: Kilgallen, “Gossip in Gotham” and “Broadway”; Winchell, “Along Broadway.”
“wasn’t much in the brain department”: Vanderbilt, It Seemed Important at the Time: A Romance Memoir, 14.
“lolled around in the sun”: Ibid., 15.
“Howard’s magic wand”: Ibid., 18.
“recording of the ‘Moonlight Sonata’”: Ibid., 22.
“I said ‘No’”: Ibid., 23.
“there were rumors”: Ibid., 24.
“Hadn’t Howard been in love with her?”: Ibid., 25.
“close approach to a complete physical breakdown”: Noah Dietrich to Jack Burlington, August 7, 1941.
“practically a complete collapse”: Noah Dietrich to Sherman Fairchild, July 22, 1941.
“contract players had to put out”: Evans, Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations, 108.
Hughes Tool: Neil S. McCarthy to Roy Obringer, October 27, 1941.
“frightened me to death”: Domergue manuscript.
“we became more secluded”: Ibid.
CHAPTER 14: “THE GODDAMNEDEST, UNHAPPIEST, MOST MISERABLE TIME”
“most miserable time I’d ever had”: Evans, Ava Gardner, 11.
gave her a massive diamond: Ibid., 159.
“He should just boff her”: Ibid., 123.
“sexual symphony”: Server, Love Is Nothing, 74.
“Mick was so famous”: Evans, Ava Gardner, 120.
“Well, we were screwing a lot”: Ibid., 158.
“a new piece of pussy”: Ibid., 114.
“just about the highest compliment”: Ibid., 124.
“I slipped into it real easy”: Ibid., 158.
“I could barely make my car payments”: Russell, My Path, 59.
“I’ll pay you $3000”: Birdwell notes.
“I hope you’ll believe me”: Ibid.
the right place at the right time: Fleming, “He Can Make Anybody Famous for the Right Fee.”
“I took a big blowup”: Birdwell notes.
Birdwell’s accounts: Russell Birdwell, “Howard Hughes Notes for Robert Coughlan.”
“film only fair”: Myer Beck, telegram to Russell Birdwell, February 14, 1942.
“beef” over the publicity: “20th Begs Off on Releasing ‘Outlaw.’”
“changed the shape of the girl’s breast”: Russell Birdwell memo to Myer P. Beck, May 11, 1942.
going from city to city: Russell Birdwell telegram to Emanuel Silverstein, October 6, 1942.
“like a pair of hookers”: Russell, My Path, 62.
“I was terrified”: Ibid., 62–63.
“was hell”: Ibid., 63.
“incomplete” abortions: Grimes, “The Bad Old Days: Abortion in America Before Roe v. Wade.”
“under doctor’s orders”: Dale Anderson, interoffice memo to Russell Birdwell, June 26, 1942.
“not getting proper rest”: Dale Anderson, interoffice memo to Russell Birdwell, July 23, 1942.
Meyer had testified at Flynn’s 1934 statutory rape trial: Frederick Othman, “Back on His Hollywood Beat,” Hollywood Citizen-News, July 29. 1947. All other details about Meyer from Howard Hughes FBI files, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.
“some of us called it pimping”: Rossi, “Terry Moore: The Ermine Sex Bomb Grows Up.”
“Hughes didn’t like just one woman”: Walter Kane interviewed by Raymond Fowler, June 19, 1978.
“One could die from boredom”: Russell, My Path, 65.
“Hughes was introduced to Rita Hayworth”: Parsons, “Film Planned on Life of Souza.”
Hughes and Lana Turner were spotted: Parsons, “Nelson Eddy to Get New Singing Partner”; Parsons, “Rosalind Russell Cast in Amelia Earhart Role.”
“pursuit of Lana Turner”: Kilgallen, “The Voice of Broadway” June 5, 1942.
“we hate to hurt Miss Dorn”: Parsons, “Irene, Famed Hollywood Stylist, Quits Private Business to Design for MGM.”
“is a closed chapter now”: Parsons, “Ann Sheridan Gets Nora Bayes Role.”
CHAPTER 15: DIVORCE, MARRIAGE, AND RAPE FANTASY
“Nothing was ever an accident with Howard”: Evans, Ava Gardner, 187.
“The little runt couldn’t satisfy her”: Server, Ava Gardner, 85.
“checking out girls”: Evans, Ava Gardner, 189.
“where all the bodies are buried”: Ibid., 251.
“Best advice about Howard”: Ibid., 189.
“I couldn’t get rid of him”: Grobel, Conversations with Ava Gardner, Kindle locs. 1255–1257.
“hated dancing with him”: Ibid., locs. 1586–87.
“as beautiful and perfect”: Ibid., locs. 1546–47.
“Wait the year”: Evans, Ava Gardner, 194.
“some idiot”: Russell, My Path, 69.
Jane “was getting impatient”: Memo from “Mr. McCall” to “Mr. Birdwell,” November 11, 1942.
“Production is inadequate”: Memo from “Mr. McCall” to “Mr. Birdwell,” December 7, 1942.
Birdwell’s inaccurate insinuations: May Mann, “Going Hollywood,” February 15, 1943; Louella Parsons’s syndicated column, February 8, 1943.
“the papers crucified us”: Russell, My Path, 71.
“cinematic trash”: Fidler, “News and Views of Hollywood,” February 13, 1951.
“rolling in good faith”: Fidler, “Jane Russell Is Just a Victim of Hard Luck.”
“many a bad picture”: “Cinema: Hughes’ Western.”
“like Shirley Temple”: Russell, My Path, 72.
placate the Legion of Decency: Production Code Memo, March 4, 1943.
“bosomy western”: Albert Gerber interviewed by Louis Lomax, November 26, 1967.
“Hughes is exploiting you”: Russell, My Path, 73.
“I was his obsession”: Ibid., 50.
“dying of unhappiness”: Russell, “I Was Sold.”
“I didn’t feel like admitting”: Russell, “I Have Faith in People.”
“the more I felt trapped”: Domergue manuscript.
“My quarrel was with him”: Ibid.
“I don’t want to be with you”: Ibid.
“the very first amphibian”: Petrali, “O.K., Howard, Part I.”
“Faith, I’m all right”: Domergue manuscript.
“I just killed a couple of my guys,”: Evans, Ava Gardner, 191.
“Mental injuries”: Petrali, “O.K., Howard, Part I.”
“proposing to me” Evans, Ava Gardner, 247.
&
nbsp; CHAPTER 16: DISAPPEARING ACT
“in the powder room”: Evans, Ava Gardner, 249.
“I don’t drink, kid”: Ibid., 249–50.
“I went out with Mickey”: Grobel, Conversations with Ava Gardner, loc. 1276.
“I looked for some weapon”: Ibid., locs. 1277–81.
“real blood in the bloody Marys”: Evans, Ava Gardner, 252.
“If she could have sold me”: Grobel, Conversations with Ava Gardner, loc. 1557.
“Slaves”: Curtis, Between Flops: A Biography of Preston Sturges, Kindle loc. 4748.
“one man in whom I have complete confidence”: Ibid., loc. 4425.
“Howard couldn’t wrestle her down”: Petrali, “O.K., Howard, Part I.”
“I blame myself”: Rupert Hughes to Frances McLain Smith, quoted in Finstad.
Mocambo: Carroll, “Behind the Scenes in Hollywood,” June 11, 1945.
Jack March: Kilgallen, “The Voice of Broadway.”
Kurt Kreuger: Scott, “Candidly Hollywood.”
“new Mexican beau”: Carroll, “Behind the Scenes in Hollywood,” July 16, 1945.
“lanky, underfed”: De Carlo, Yvonne, 104.
“terrific boyfriend”: DeCarlo, interview with Larry King, January 20, 2002.
“the go bye”: Ibid.
“Lana Turner didn’t last”: Evans, Ava Gardner, 252.
“marriage vs. career”: Walker, “Amos and Andy Now Reach Top Rating.”
“hell of a time”: Letter from Darryl F. Zanuck to Joseph Breen, April 2, 1946.
terminating his membership: MPA letter to Howard Hughes, April 9, 1946.
“Hays office has no right”: Questionnaire answered by Hughes for Editor & Publisher magazine.
“additional publicity”: “Highlights from Judge Bright’s Opinion Re: The Outlaw,” MPA press release, no date.
“violating a city ordinance”: “Theater Manager, ‘Outlaw’ Film Held.”
“hissed indignantly”: “Women Hiss as Outlaw Declared Clean.”
“censors may not like it”: Outlaw print ad.
“The world must be repopulated”: press release from Russell Birdwell and Associates, exclusive to United Press, May 2, 1946.
“Had The Outlaw dealt with a great social wrong”: Sammis, “The Case Against The Outlaw.”
CHAPTER 17: AN AMERICAN HERO
“fell in love for the first time”: “The Jean Peters Mystery.”
“Sunday he came back”: Elizabeth Jean Hough (Jean Peters) deposition, January 23, 1984.
“slightly deaf, handsome bachelor”: “Howard Hughes Critical: Millionaire Flyer Given 50-50 Chance, Plane Hits 4 Houses in Beverly Hills.”
“near death”: “Howard Hughes Near Death as Latest Plane Creation Wipes Out Three Houses in Maiden Flight.”
“fighting chance”: “Howard Hughes Given Fighting Chance to Live as Plane He Is Flying Crashes.”
he called his secretary in: “Hughes Still Critical, but Holds Parleys.”
“amazing revelation”: “Hughes’ Lung Fails, Condition Worse.”
“greatly upset and weeping”: “Pneumonia Hughes Peril; Lana Turner Keeps Night Vigil.”
“a kind of personal G-2”: Wickware, “Howard Hughes.”
“loneliest guy in the world”: Ibid.
“best matrimonial catch”: Shearer, “Howard Hughes: Hollywood Outlaw.”
low-cut purple skirt suit: “Hughes Faces Operation.”
Darnell’s move to end her marriage: “Linda Darnell to Seek Divorce.”
Hedda Hopper took the bait: “Looking at Hollywood.”
“sex on a piece of film”: Steinem, Marilyn: Norma Jeane, Kindle locs. 396–97.
pairing Marilyn with her grandmother’s maiden name: “For Norma Jeane a New Name.”
“won’t be more than five minutes”: “The Jean Peters Mystery.”
he demanded that someone track down Jean: Ibid.
“Mr. Big took an extra puff”: “Stop Train! Films Calling Jean Peters.”
“turned me off”: Davis, Hollywood Beauty: Linda Darnell and the American Dream, 94.
“straight to hell”: Ibid.
“dinner with him practically every night”: Jean Peters Hough deposition, January 10, 1979.
“He felt he was trapped”: Ibid.
“I have got to make sure that you are protected”: Ibid.
“I am very tired”: “Howard Hughes Flies East for Film Battle.”
“Ronald Colmanesque”: Ibid.
$607,000: Daily Variety, December 20, 1946.
“most popular picture of all time”: full-page ad in Variety, November 6, 1947.
nearly $200 million in government subsidies: Fadiman Jr., “Can the Real Howard Hughes . . .”
“favors they may have bestowed on Hughes’ male guests”: Wilson, “Says Krug at Hughes’ Shindig.”
“an unstable person”: Howard Hughes FBI files, obtained via Freedom of Information Act.
“resting somewhere out of town”: “Gay Hughes Parties Told by Actress.”
“went missing”: Ibid.
“Don’t build that up”: Wilson, “Says Krug at Hughes’ Shindig.”
“no falsies”: Wilson, “Judy Cook Shows Sketchings.”
“pretty mean of the government”: Wilson, “Says Krug at Hughes’ Shindig.”
entertainment expenses on his tax returns: Ibid.
Hughes held a press conference: “Hughes Tells ’Em Off.”
“shelved the beautiful party girl angles”: Rogers, “Kaiser Angrily Charges ‘Brush-off’ at Plane Quiz.”
“Hollywood playboy and planemaker”: “The Congress: Duel under the Klieg Lights.”
a list of dozens of things that he demanded Senator Brewster answer: Ibid.
“capricious, a playboy, eccentric”: Ibid.
“too cowardly”: “Senators Suddenly Drop Hughes Probe; Other Business Held Reason,” August 11, 1947.
an allegation from Major General Bennett E. Meyers: Rogers, “Gen. Meyers $1 Million Idea to Get ‘Security for Rest of Life’ Told.”
“put a hex”: Francis, “General Asks $200,000 Loan, Hughes Testifies.”
three bottles of 1918 bourbon: handwritten note to “Benny” Meyers in Howard Hughes files, TSA.
Congress issued a statement: “Text of Minority Report on Howard Hughes Investigation,” May 17, 1948.
“It was spectacular”: Hill, “No-Man in the Land of Yes-Men.”
“a no-man in the land of yes-men”: Ibid.
“You’d Think He Was a Movie Star”: “Jubilant Hughes Hops Off for Home; Ready to Resume Fight in November.”
“we’ll get it in the neck”: Wickware.
CHAPTER 18: A MOGUL AND HIS CROWS
“We all thought Howard was going to die”: Parla and Mitchell, “Faith Domergue,” 62.
“Howard demanded that I get rid of him”: Preston Sturges and Sandy Sturges, Preston Sturges by Preston Sturges: His Life in Words, 305.
“It doesn’t really matter”: Curtis, Between Flops, Kindle locs. 4831–32.
“he was sore at Hughes”: Mate and McGilligan, “W. R. Burnett: The Outsider,” 62.
“This went on”: Weaver, “Faith Domergue,” 31.
“totally lost the enthusiasm”: Parla and Mitchell, “Faith Domergue,” 33.
net profit of $5,085,848: Jewell, Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures, 77.
“I advised Odlum that I would quit”: Schary, “I Remember Hughes.”
“I’m not a picture man”: Dore Schary Oral History, 1958.
“nothing means more to me”: “To the Men and Women of Hughes Aircraft Company,” letter signed by Howard Hughes, no date.
124 movie theaters: Fadiman Jr., “Can the Real Howard Hughes . . .”
grossed $300,000 in its first weekend: “Outlaw gets 300G in 21 Spots,” January 3, 1950.
“your experience as an executive”: Howard Hughes deposition, October 14, 1953.
“Hughes simply to
uched my hand”: Schary, “I Remember Hughes.”
“get yourself a messenger boy”: Dore Schary Oral History, 1958.
“I was quitting”: Schary, “I Remember Hughes.”
“Managing Director-Production”: Jewell, Slow Fade to Black, 100.
gossip queens Louella or Hedda were trying to reach him: Barlett and Steele, Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness, loc. 4516.
“six-month option girls”: Turner, Lana: The Lady, the Legend, the Truth, 29.
Hughes was very specific about the kinds of images: Collis, “The Hughes Legacy: Scramble for the Billions.”
“stand by from 2:30 PM on Sun”: Christy-Sheppard call log.
a girl who had won a fishing contest: Mathison, “Howard Hughes: Cradle-Robbing Baron.”
most beautiful girl he had seen since Billie Dove: Ibid.
“fingers fat and fleshy”: Jack Shalitt, “Reminders” memo, April 21, 1954.
dinner out, usually at Perino’s: Fadiman Jr., “Can the Real Howard Hughes . . .”
“I’m not one to kick fate in the teeth”: Parsons, “In Hollywood with Louella O. Parsons.”
“a man doesn’t get to be my age”: “The Jean Peters Mystery.”
“I was sure it would never happen”: Graham, “Chasing Howard Hughes.”
better known as Carole Landis: “Casualty in Hollywood.”
“studio hooker”: Mosley, Zanuck: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood’s Last Tycoon, 176.
“a splendid affair”: “Casualty in Hollywood.”
“He’ll die at the hands of a woman with a .38”: “The Mechanical Man.”
“part of Meyer’s job to see that the green light is up”: Ibid.
CHAPTER 19: MARRIAGE, HOWARD HUGHES–STYLE
Lynn Baggett had the right look: Laurents, Original Story By, 140–45.
“Geddes had no drawing value”: Howard Hughes deposition, October 14, 1953.
Hughes didn’t think Geddes was sexy enough: Numerous obituaries, including: Halley, “‘Dallas’ Actress Barbara Bel Geddes Dies”; Nelson, “Barbara Bel Geddes, 82; Star of Stage, Screen and ‘Dallas.’”
“felt Barbara was totally unforgivable for doing that role”: “Broadway Role as Lover of Black Soldier Got TV’s Miss Ellie in Trouble.”
scarlet fever: Vieira, Into the Dark: The Hidden World of Film Noir, 1941–1950, Kindle loc. 3451.
“untouched”: Thomson, Showman, 317.
“the first ‘natural’ actress”: Ingrid Bergman and Alan Burgess, Ingrid Bergman, My Story, 91.
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