Talk:Howard Hughes

They had to edit that out. It was just an embarrassing habit of his. - Jerryseinfeld 01:37, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

The Aviator movie

Does anyone know the airplane used in the Aviator, when he was teaching Katherine Hepburn to fly? It's a twin-radial-engine multipassenger amphibian.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but just based on that description alone, I would guess an early Grumman amphib, probably the Goose. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot in Wikipedia on early amphib/seaplanes, which is a shame, and I don't have a reference book handy, either. -- Chris Lawson 21:04, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Nope, much earlier than a Goose. Wing-high above the fuselage (a bit like a PBY), with the engines hanging below the wing; possibly even a biplane. Smaller than a Goose; about the same as a Widgeon, I guess. Had a "throw-over" yoke (that could be moved from left to right seat), which could make it a Grumman. Definately had wheels, as I recall them landing on a golf course. Looked a lot like a Keystone Loening "commuter" k-84 amphibian, but with twin engines. Aha, there it is. Sikorsky S-38.

Questions

He was forced to sell out of TWA in 1966 for around $500 million.

Is this supposed to mean he was forced to sell out to TWA? Who or what forced him?

Irving later spent fourteen months in jail.

Why? AxelBoldt 22:20, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I read a Playboy interview of Clifford Irving. He did time for federal charges of mail fraud. fredgr

Featured article potential?

This article has grown into a truly fine entry. With some polishing and additions it could be a good WP:FA candidate. A few more pictures, some direct quotes, a good copyeditor - what else does this need to make it a great article? Cheers, -Willmcw 00:50, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Where to put "You might be looking for X instead"

I noticed that in Willmcw's recent round of edits, he moved the BBC personality link to the bottom of the page.

I don't know if there's a specific Wikipedia style for this, but I personally think it's better to have it at the top. F'rinstance, the article on Harry Truman (the U.S. President) had its "You might be looking for Harry Truman, the victim of Mount St. Helens" link moved to the _top_ of the page, because people kept getting confused. Also, it saves someone the trouble of reading through the whole article and then finding out that what they just read really wasn't relevant at all to the person they REALLY wanted information about.

Just my 2c... -- Chris Lawson 03:40, 25 Jan 2005 (UTC)

If people REALLY want information on Howard Hughes, newsreader, then they won't find any, no matter where the disamb phrase is located. The fellow doesn't have an article written about him, and no one is going to mistake the two. The relative importance of a billionaire industrialist who set airspeed records, built the largest plane in history, wooed movie stars, who has had a couple of movies made about him, and who was among the most famous people of his time so far outshines a newsreader, well, I don't see any reason to put the newsreader first. The Truman guy at least has an article. There are plenty of other articles that place minor people or issues with the same name at the bottom. I'd just as soon delete the lesser Hughes entirely, as he doesn't seem notable. -Willmcw 04:29, 25 Jan 2005 (UTC)

That's fine by me. I take it there isn't really a "house style" for this, then? More of a case-by-case decision? --Chris Lawson 06:20, 25 Jan 2005 (UTC)

No, there is a style ruling: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disambiguation#Types_of_disambiguation

This instance counts as type #1: Newsreader is coexisting on Billionaire's page, and so the logical place is after the more important subject. I can't seem to find them now, but I've seen articles with several minor subjects appended in that fashion. (I do see that Newsreader should get a section heading, though I've never seen that done.) When Newsreader merits an article of his own, then the disambiguating link goes on the top. FYI, have you heard of the Newsreader? Does he actually call himself "Howard Hughes," not "Howard M. Hughes" or "Howie" or some other variation? Cheers, -Willmcw

PS - There's another style policy that governs the use of a rule to separate small articles, and I'll post it if I can find it. -W

Here's the part of the policy I was following, on the same page as above. [1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Disambiguation#The_disambiguation_page). In this example, horse as a slang term is much less significant than horse, the animal, and does not have an article of its own, so it would appear at the bottom of the Horse article.

One can also disambiguate at the bottom of the article like this:

----

'''Horse''' is also a [[slang]] term for the [[recreational drug]] [[heroin]].'

Disambiguation will appear below a horizontal line, when using the format shown above.

I've never heard of the guy, so I have no idea how he identifies himself on the radio, but thanks for the links to House Style and the explanation. I'll take a look at that. -- Chris Lawson 21:09, 25 Jan 2005 (UTC)

FWIW, In the Invader Zim episode "Germs", Zim becomes obsessed with (you guessed it) germs, to the point of wearing kleenex boxes for shoes.

Why is this article vandalized so much?

I don't understand it. Muya 04:06, 2 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I have wondered about the same thing. The success of The Aviator must be part of the reason. But look at how many fictional references and characters Hughes has inspired. He is, even after his death, a charismatic and enigmatic figure. Being able to vandalize the biography of an important person perhaps gives an editor a feeling of power. Maybe school teachers are assigning students to do bios of Hughes and the students, in their boredom, are "scribbling" on the page. Aw heck, I don't know. The nice thing is that it is usually benign, sometimes just tests ("wow, I really can edit the page"). Thanks for helping it along. Cheers, -Willmcw 08:13, Mar 2, 2005 (UTC)

A question

I always heard the "story" that Hughes redesigned the bra on the principles of the cantilevered bridge for Jane Russell's sue in The Outlaw. In essence, he created the underwiring and support sustems all bras today have. Is this true? If so, should it go into the article? Johnwhunt 23:39, 12 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Hughes Postwar

A couple of small changes made.

Removed phrase about Sale of RKO which referred to RKO's antitrust suit on theatre ownership. Reason: phrase made it appear Hughes or his ownership was reason for antitrust suit when, actually, the entire industry was sued and divested.

Changed sentence about Medical Institute, updated endowment to 2004 numbers.

Changed phrase in TWA sale from "around $500 million" to more than $500 million" Johnwhunt 14:10, 13 Mar 2005 (UTC)

It was actually $546 million.

Some suggestions

Firstly, fix up the lead section. It should be longer! Secondly, I just saw The Aviator. Is it true that he went out with many famous Hollywood actresses? Can we add this in there? It doesn't seem complete. I liked the ice-cream story though. - 211.30.184.38 13:35, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Re-reading the introductory sentence. I think it's a run-on, and the bipolar and obsessive part just sounds tacked-on. "Howard Robard Hughes (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was at times a pilot, a movie producer, a playboy, an eccentric and one of the wealthiest persons in the world who had bipolar disorder and perhaps obsessive-compulsive disorder." Trying to think how to reword it to save the meaning but.

I removed a statement about his behaviour being 'believed to be due to bipolar disorder' from the intro. I wouldn't object if it was placed elsewhere, but to be in the intro paragraph it should be a rock solid fact. It's actually contradicted later in the article where his behaviour is attributed to syphilis. DJ Clayworth 17:22, 6 May 2005 (UTC)