Editing Howard Hughes (section)

==Last years==
===Physical and mental decline===
[[File:1954 Chrysler New Yorker Howard Hughes rear.JPG|thumb|Hughes had this 1954 [[Chrysler New Yorker]] equipped with an aircraft-grade air filtration system that took up most of the trunk.]]

Hughes was widely considered eccentric<ref>{{cite web |first=Alex III|last=Taylor |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1997/10/13/232490/index.htm |title=Wacko, junkie – and a great businessman despite all his eccentricities, Howard Hughes left behind a $1 billion empire. A new book details the bitter battle over his estate |work=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |location=New York City|date=October 13, 1997 |access-date=May 15, 2016 }}</ref> and suffered from severe [[obsessive-compulsive disorder]] (OCD).<ref>{{cite AV media |people=David Garonzik (Director), Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeffrey M. Schwartz, Donald L. Barlett (Actors) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xNxpkjTnXQ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020234055/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xNxpkjTnXQ| archive-date=October 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |title=The Affliction of Howard Hughes: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder |publisher=[[Miramax]] |location=Los Angeles, California |date=May 24, 2005 |access-date=August 13, 2018 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Nicholas |last=Barber |url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20161205-was-howard-hughes-really-insane |title=Was this billionaire recluse truly mad? |work= BBC Culture |publisher= BBC |location= London |date=December 6, 2016 |access-date=March 13, 2018}}</ref>

Dietrich wrote that Hughes ate the same dinner daily: a [[New York strip steak]] cooked medium rare, dinner salad, and peas; but only the smaller peas, pushing the larger ones aside. For breakfast, his eggs had to be cooked the way Lily, his family cook, made them. Hughes had a "[[Mysophobia|phobia about germs]]", and "his passion for secrecy became a mania."<ref name=Noah/>{{rp|58–62, 182–183}}

While directing ''[[The Outlaw]]'', Hughes became fixated on a small flaw in one of [[Jane Russell]]'s blouses, claiming that the fabric bunched up along a seam and gave the appearance of two nipples on each breast. He wrote a detailed memorandum to the crew on how to fix the problem. [[Richard Fleischer]], who directed ''[[His Kind of Woman]]'' with Hughes as executive producer, wrote at length in his autobiography about the difficulty of dealing with the tycoon. In his book ''Just Tell Me When to Cry'', Fleischer explained that Hughes was fixated on trivial details and was alternately indecisive and obstinate. He also revealed that Hughes' unpredictable [[mood swing]]s made him wonder if the film would ever be completed.

In 1957, Hughes told his aides that he wanted to screen some movies at a film studio near his home. He stayed in the studio's darkened screening room for more than four months, never leaving. He ate only chocolate bars and chicken and drank only milk and was surrounded by dozens of boxes of [[Kleenex]] that he continuously stacked and re-arranged.<ref>{{cite web|first=Karen|last=Harris|url=https://historydaily.org/howard-hughes-facts-stories-trivia-weird-stuff|title=Howard Hughes: Facts And Stories You Didn't Know (All The Weird Stuff)|website=History Daily|date=|accessdate=March 2, 2022}}</ref> He wrote detailed memos to his aides giving them explicit instructions neither to look at him nor speak to him unless spoken to. Throughout this period, Hughes sat fixated in his chair, often naked, continuously watching movies. When he finally emerged in the spring of 1958, his hygiene was terrible. He had neither bathed nor cut his hair and nails for weeks; this may have been due to [[allodynia]], which results in a pain response to stimuli that would normally not cause pain.<ref name=PPM.Tennant/>

After the screening room incident, Hughes moved into a bungalow at the [[Beverly Hills Hotel]] where he also rented rooms for his aides, his wife, and numerous girlfriends. He would sit naked in his bedroom with a pink hotel napkin placed over his genitals, watching movies. This may have been because Hughes found the touch of clothing painful due to allodynia. He may have watched movies to distract himself from his pain—a common practice among patients with intractable pain, especially those who do not receive adequate treatment.<ref name=PPM.Tennant/> In one year, he spent an estimated $11&nbsp;million at the hotel.

Hughes began purchasing restaurant chains and four-star hotels that had been founded within the state of Texas. This included, if for only a short period, many unknown franchises currently out of business. He placed ownership of the restaurants with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and all licenses were resold shortly after.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Feser |first=Katherine |date=April 4, 2022 |title=Howard Hughes Corp. buys stake in Jean-Georges Restaurants |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Howard-Hughes-Corp-buys-stake-in-Jean-Georges-17056523.php |access-date=June 6, 2023 |website=Houston Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 8, 2022 |title=South Street Seaport owner buys stake in Jean-Georges restaurant empire |url=https://nypost.com/2022/08/08/south-street-seaport-owner-buys-stake-in-jean-georges-restaurant-empire/ |access-date=June 6, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref>

He became obsessed with the 1968 film ''[[Ice Station Zebra]]'', and had it run on a continuous loop in his home. According to his aides, he watched it 150 times.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918526,00.html|title=Tycoons: The Secret Life of Howard Hughes|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|location=New York City|date=December 13, 1976|access-date=March 13, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Dave|last=Kehr|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/movies/11dvd.html|title=New DVDs: 'Ice Station Zebra'|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 11, 2005|access-date=November 8, 2013}}</ref> Feeling guilty about the failure of his film ''[[The Conqueror (1956 film)|The Conqueror]]'', a commercial and critical flop, he bought every copy of the film for $12 million, watching the film on repeat. [[Paramount Pictures]] acquired the rights of the film in 1979, three years after his death.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/movie-toxic-killed-john-wayne-tragedy-conqueror/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/movie-toxic-killed-john-wayne-tragedy-conqueror/ |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=The movie so toxic it killed John Wayne: the tragedy of The Conqueror|first=Chris|last=Bell|newspaper=The Telegraph |date=January 17, 2017|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Hughes insisted on using tissues to pick up objects to insulate himself from germs. He would also notice dust, stains, or other imperfections on people's clothes and demand that they take care of them. Once one of the most visible men in America, Hughes ultimately vanished from public view, although tabloids continued to follow rumors of his behavior and whereabouts. He was reported to be terminally ill, mentally unstable, or even dead.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lawrence |first=Patrick |title=Howard Hughes and His Mysterious Fake Death |work=EAA |url=https://www.eaa.org/eaa/news-and-publications/eaa-news-and-aviation-news/bits-and-pieces-newsletter/04-12-2017-howard-hughes-and-his-mysterious-fake-death}}</ref>

Injuries from numerous aircraft crashes caused Hughes to spend much of his later life in pain, and he eventually became addicted to [[codeine]], which he injected [[Intramuscular injection|intramuscularly]].<ref name=PPM.Tennant/> He had his hair cut and nails trimmed only once a year, likely due to the pain caused by the [[complex regional pain syndrome|RSD/CRPS]], which was caused by the plane crashes.<ref name=PPM.Tennant/> He also stored his urine in bottles.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/lklw/date/2002-01-20/segment/00|title=Guests Discuss the Late Howard Hughes|work=CNN|date=January 20, 2002|access-date=May 5, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=William|last=Booth|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7810-2004Dec17.html|title=Leo and Howard|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 19, 2004|access-date=May 5, 2017}}</ref>

=== Later years in Las Vegas ===

The wealthy and aging Hughes, accompanied by his entourage of personal aides, began moving from one hotel to another, always taking up residence in the top floor penthouse. In the last ten years of his life, 1966 to 1976, Hughes lived in hotels in many cities—including [[Beverly Hills]], [[Boston]], [[Las Vegas]], [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], [[Freeport, Bahamas|Freeport]]<ref name="Howard Hughes history">{{cite web |title=Business magnate and famed aviator Howard Hughes dies |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/howard-hughes-dies |website=History.com |date=November 16, 2009 |access-date=July 22, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> and [[Vancouver]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Aaron|last=Chapman|url=http://www.vancourier.com/issues04/123204/news/123204nn1.html|title=Man of mystery|work=[[Vancouver Courier]]|publisher=[[Glacier Media]]|location=Vancouver, British Columbia|date=December 15, 2004|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050124103855/http://www.vancourier.com/issues04/123204/news/123204nn1.html |archive-date=January 24, 2005}}</ref>

On November 24, 1966 (Thanksgiving Day),<ref name=lvrj1>{{cite news|first=Corey|last=Levitan|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/life/gritty-city/|title=Top 10 Scandals: Gritty City|work=[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]]|publisher=News + Media Capital Group LLC|location=Las Vegas, Nevada|date=March 2, 2008|access-date=March 3, 2008}}</ref> Hughes arrived in Las Vegas by railroad car and moved into the [[Desert Inn]]. Because he refused to leave the hotel and to avoid further conflicts with the owners, Hughes bought the Desert Inn in early 1967. The hotel's eighth floor became the center of Hughes' empire, and the ninth-floor penthouse became his personal residence. Between 1966 and 1968, he bought several other hotel-casinos, including the [[Castaways (casino)|Castaways]], [[New Frontier Hotel and Casino|New Frontier]], [[the Landmark Hotel and Casino]], and the [[Sands Hotel|Sands]].<ref>{{cite news|first=K.J.|last=Evans|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/howard-hughes|title=Howard Hughes|work=[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]]|publisher=News + Media Capital Group LLC|location=Las Vegas, Nevada|date=February 7, 1999}}</ref> Hughes was rumored to have bought the [[Silver Slipper (Las Vegas)|Silver Slipper]] casino to move its trademark neon silver slipper which was visible from his bedroom, but this is not credible.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Levitan |first1=Corey |title=VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: Howard Hughes Bought Silver Slipper Just to Dim its Sign |url=https://www.casino.org/news/vegas-myths-busted-howard-hughes-bought-silver-slipper-just-to-dim-its-sign/ |website=Casino.org |date=January 3, 2025 |access-date=23 January 2025}}</ref> After Hughes left the Desert Inn, hotel employees discovered that his drapes had not been opened during the time he lived there and had rotted through.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Megan|last1=Messerly|first2=J.D.|last2=Morris|title=A peek into the mind of Howard Hughes|url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/dec/28/a-peek-into-the-mind-of-howard-hughes/|work=[[Las Vegas Sun]]|publisher=Greenspun Media Group|location=Las Vegas, Nevada|date=December 28, 2015|access-date=March 13, 2018}}</ref>

Hughes wanted to change the image of Las Vegas to something more glamorous. He wrote in a memo to an aide, "I like to think of Las Vegas in terms of a well-dressed man in a dinner jacket and a beautifully jeweled and furred female getting out of an expensive car."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goldstein |first1=Michael |title=Las Vegas At A Crossroads: Popular Destination Tries Re-Invention |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2018/02/16/las-vegas-at-a-crossroads-popular-destination-tries-re-invention/?sh=5452fee4786a |website=forbes.com |access-date=March 16, 2023}}</ref> Hughes bought several local television stations (including [[KLAS-TV]]).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=K.J. |title=Howard Hughes |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/howard-hughes/ |website=reviewjournal.com |date=February 7, 1999 |publisher=Las Vegas Review-Journal, Inc. |access-date=March 16, 2023}}</ref>

Eventually, the brain trauma from Hughes' previous accidents, the effects of [[neurosyphilis]] diagnosed in 1932<ref>Brown and Broeske 1996, p. 91</ref> and undiagnosed [[Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder|obsessive-compulsive disorder]]<ref>Brown and Broeske 1996, p. 183–185</ref> considerably affected his decision-making. A small panel, unofficially dubbed the "Mormon Mafia" for the many [[Latter-day Saint]]s on the committee, was led by [[Frank William Gay]] and originally served as Hughes' "secret police" headquartered at 7000 Romaine, Hollywood. Over the next two decades, however, this group oversaw and controlled considerable business holdings,<ref>Brown and Broeske 1996, p. 263</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918528,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930033905/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918528,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 30, 2007|title=The Keepers of the King|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|location=New York City|date=December 13, 1976|access-date=January 5, 2008}}</ref> with the CIA anointing Gay while awarding a contract to the Hughes corporation to acquire sensitive information on a sunken Russian submarine.<ref>Brown and Broeske 1996, pp. 345–346</ref><ref>The term "Mormon Mafia" has also been used to describe the Mormon presence in the CIA and FBI. see {{cite book|author-last=Shupe|author-first=Anson|author-link=Anson D. Shupe|title=The Darker Side of Virtue: Corruption, Scandal, and the Mormon Empire|publisher=Prometheus Books|year=1991|pages=11–12}}</ref> In addition to supervising day-to-day business operations and Hughes' health, they also went to great pains to satisfy Hughes' every whim. For example, Hughes once became fond of [[Baskin-Robbins]]'s banana nut ice cream, so his aides sought to secure a bulk shipment for him, only to discover that Baskin-Robbins had discontinued the flavor. They put in a request for the smallest amount the company could provide for a special order, 350 gallons (1,300 L), and had it shipped from Los Angeles. A few days after the order arrived, Hughes announced he was tired of banana nut and wanted only French vanilla ice cream. The Desert Inn ended up distributing free banana nut ice cream to casino customers for a year.<ref>Brown and Broeske 1996, p. 341.</ref> In a 1996 interview, former Howard Hughes Chief of Nevada Operations [[Robert Maheu]] said, "There is a rumor that there is still some banana nut ice cream left in the freezer. It is most likely true."{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

As an owner of several major Las Vegas businesses, Hughes wielded much political and economic influence in Nevada and elsewhere. During the 1960s and early 1970s, he disapproved of underground nuclear testing at the [[Nevada Test Site]]. Hughes was concerned about the risk from residual [[Ionizing radiation|nuclear radiation]] and attempted to halt the tests. When the tests finally went through despite Hughes' efforts, the detonations were powerful enough that the entire hotel in which he was living trembled from the shock waves.<ref>{{cite news|first=Ralph|last=Vartabedian|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-hometown-nuke28-2009jun28,0,1389110.story|title=Howard Hughes and the atomic bomb in middle of Nevada|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=June 28, 2009|access-date=July 25, 2009}}</ref> In two separate, last-ditch maneuvers, Hughes instructed his representatives to offer bribes of $1 million to both Presidents [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and Richard Nixon.<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Carlson|title=Obituary: Robert Maheu|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/aug/20/usa|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London, England|date=August 20, 2008|access-date=July 27, 2016}}</ref>

In 1970, [[Jean Peters]] filed for divorce. The two had not lived together for many years. Peters requested a lifetime [[alimony]] payment of $70,000 a year, adjusted for inflation, and waived all claims to Hughes' estate. Hughes offered her a settlement of over a million dollars, but she declined it. Hughes did not insist on a [[gag order|confidentiality agreement]] from Peters as a condition of the divorce. Aides reported that Hughes never spoke ill of her. She refused to discuss her life with Hughes and declined several lucrative offers from publishers and biographers. Peters would state only that she had not seen Hughes for several years before their divorce and had dealt with him only by phone.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

Hughes was living in the Intercontinental Hotel near [[Lake Managua]] in Nicaragua, seeking privacy and security,<ref>{{cite book|first=Jay|last=Mallin|url=http://www.ineter.gob.ni/geofisica/sis/managua72/mallin/great04.htm|title=The Great Managua Earthquake|publisher=SamHar Press|location=Charlotte, New York|date=1974|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220073628/http://www.ineter.gob.ni/geofisica/sis/managua72/mallin/great01.html|archive-date=February 20, 2007|access-date=April 23, 2007}}</ref> when a [[1972 Nicaragua earthquake|magnitude 6.5 earthquake]] damaged [[Managua]] in December 1972. As a precaution, Hughes moved to a large tent facing the hotel; after a few days, he moved to the Nicaraguan National Palace and stayed there as a guest of [[Anastasio Somoza Debayle]] before leaving for Florida on a private jet the following day.<ref>[http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/e-h/hughes1.html "Howard Hughes: A Chronology."] ''Channel 4''. Retrieved: January 5, 2008.</ref> He subsequently moved into the penthouse at the Xanadu Princess Resort on [[Grand Bahama Island]], which he had recently purchased. He lived almost exclusively in the penthouse of the [[Xanadu Beach Resort & Marina]] for the last four years of his life.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} Hughes spent a total of $300&nbsp;million on his many properties in Las Vegas.<ref name="lvrj1" />

====Autobiography hoax====
In 1972, author [[Clifford Irving]] caused a media sensation when he claimed he had co-written an authorized Hughes autobiography. Irving claimed he and Hughes had corresponded through the United States mail and offered as proof handwritten notes allegedly sent by Hughes. Publisher McGraw-Hill, Inc. was duped into believing the manuscript was authentic. Hughes was so reclusive that he did not immediately publicly refute Irving's statement, leading many to believe that Irving's book was genuine. However, before the book's publication, Hughes finally denounced Irving in a teleconference attended by reporters Hughes knew personally: James Bacon of the Hearst papers, Marvin Miles of the ''Los Angeles Times'', Vernon Scott of UPI, Roy Neal of NBC News, Gene Handsaker of AP, Wayne Thomas of the ''Chicago Tribune'', and Gladwin Hill of the ''New York Times''.<ref name=":3">Bartlett and Steele 2011, pp. 469–471.</ref>

The entire hoax finally unraveled.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/clifford-irving-dead-howard-hughes-prankster-was-87-1069918|title=Clifford Irving, Howard Hughes Prankster, Dies at 87|newspaper=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|location=Los Angeles, California|date=December 21, 2017|access-date=June 25, 2018}}</ref> The [[United States Postal Inspection Service]] (USPIS) got a subpoena to force Irving to turn over samples of his handwriting. The USPIS investigation led to Irving's indictment and subsequent conviction for using the postal service to commit fraud. He was incarcerated for 17 months.<ref>{{cite web |title=Clifford Irving {{!}} National Postal Museum |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/behind-the-badge-case-histories-scams-and-schemes-financial-frauds/clifford-irving |website=postalmuseum.si.edu |access-date=December 11, 2021}}</ref> In 1974, the [[Orson Welles]] film ''[[F for Fake]]'' included a section on the Hughes autobiography hoax, leaving a question open as to whether it was actually Hughes who took part in the teleconference (since so few people had actually heard or seen him in recent years). In 1977, ''The Hoax'' by Clifford Irving was published in the United Kingdom, telling his story of these events. The 2006 film ''[[The Hoax]]'', starring [[Richard Gere]], is also based on these events.{{sfn|Irving|1999|p=309}}

===Death===
[[File:HowardHughesGravestone.jpg|thumb|right|Hughes' gravestone]]
[[File:Hughes.Family.Gravesite.jpg|thumb|right|Hughes family grave site at [[Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas)|Glenwood Cemetery]]]]
Hughes is reported to have died on April 5, 1976, at 1:27&nbsp;p.m. on board an aircraft, [[Learjet]] 24B N855W, owned by Robert Graf and piloted by Roger Sutton and Jeff Abrams.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=di04thgoPGMC|title=Hughesworld: The Strange Life and Death of an American Legend|first=Arelo C|last=Sederberg|date=2013|publisher=iUniverse |isbn=978-1475969221|via=Google Books}}</ref> He was en route from his penthouse at the [[Hotel Princess Mundo Imperial|Acapulco Princess Hotel]] (now the Princess Mundo Imperial) in Mexico to [[the Methodist Hospital]] in Houston.<ref>{{cite web |title=Howard Hughes |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Howard-Hughes |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |access-date=December 4, 2019}}</ref>

<!-- After receiving a call, his senior counsel, [[Frank P. Morse]], ordered his staff to get his body on a plane and return him to the United States. It was common that foreign countries would hold a corpse as ransom so that an estate could not be settled. Morse ordered the pilots to announce Hughes's death once they entered U.S. [[airspace]].-->His reclusiveness and possibly his drug use made him practically unrecognizable. His hair, beard, fingernails, and toenails were long—his tall {{convert|6|ft|4|in|cm|abbr=on}} frame now weighed barely {{convert|90|lb|kg}}, and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] had to use [[fingerprint]]s to conclusively identify the body.<ref>Hack 2002, pp. 16–18.</ref> Howard Hughes' alias, John T. Conover, was used when his body arrived at a morgue in Houston on the day of his death.<ref>[http://www.hulu.com/watch/71033/inside-howard-hughes-revealed#s-p1-so-i0 "Howard Hughes Revealed".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090907015735/http://www.hulu.com/watch/71033/inside-howard-hughes-revealed#s-p1-so-i0|date=September 7, 2009}} ''hulu.com'', via National Geographic Channel, ''Inside'' (series), Season 7, episode 2. Retrieved: September 24, 2009.</ref>

An [[autopsy]] recorded [[renal failure|kidney failure]] as the cause of death.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Dennis|last=Breo|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20074229,00.html|title=Howard Hughes' Doctor Gives a Chilling Description of His Strange Patient's Final Hours|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|location=New York City|date=July 30, 1979|access-date=January 18, 2015|archive-date=May 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160518172046/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20074229,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In an eighteen-month study investigating Hughes' drug abuse for the estate, it was found that "someone administered a deadly injection of the painkiller to this comatose man&nbsp;... obviously needlessly and almost certainly fatal".<ref>Brown and Broeske 1996, p. 457</ref> He suffered from [[malnutrition]] and was covered in [[Pressure ulcer|bedsores]]. While his kidneys were damaged, his other internal organs, including his brain, which had no visible damage or illnesses, were deemed perfectly healthy.<ref name=PPM.Tennant/> [[X-ray]]s revealed five broken-off [[hypodermic needle]]s in the flesh of his arms.<ref name=PPM.Tennant/> To inject codeine into his muscles, Hughes had used glass syringes with metal needles that easily became detached.<ref name=PPM.Tennant/>

Hughes is buried next to his parents at [[Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas)|Glenwood Cemetery]] in Houston.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eaa.org/eaa/news-and-publications/eaa-news-and-aviation-news/bits-and-pieces-newsletter/04-12-2017-howard-hughes-and-his-mysterious-fake-death |title=Howard Hughes and His Mysterious Fake Death |last=Lawrence |first=Patrick |date=April 2017 |publisher=[[EAA AirVenture Oshkosh]] |access-date=April 28, 2021}}</ref>

===Estate===
Approximately three weeks after Hughes' death, a [[Holographic will|handwritten will]] was found on the desk of an official of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] in [[Salt Lake City]], Utah. The so-called "Mormon Will" gave $1.56 billion to various charitable organizations (including $625&nbsp;million to the [[Howard Hughes Medical Institute]]), nearly $470&nbsp;million to the upper management in Hughes' companies and to his aides, $156&nbsp;million to first cousin William Lummis, and $156&nbsp;million split equally between his two ex-wives Ella Rice and [[Jean Peters]].

A further $156&nbsp;million was endowed to a gas station owner, [[Melvin Dummar]], who told reporters that in 1967, he found a disheveled and dirty man lying along [[U.S. Route 95]], just {{convert|150|mi|km}} north of [[Las Vegas]]. The man asked for a ride to Vegas. Dropping him off at the [[Sands Hotel]], Dummar said the man told him that he was Hughes. Dummar later claimed that days after Hughes' death a "mysterious man" appeared at his gas station, leaving an envelope containing the will on his desk. Unsure if the will was genuine and unsure of what to do, Dummar left the will at the LDS Church office. In 1978, a Nevada court ruled the Mormon Will a forgery and officially declared that Hughes had died [[intestate]] (without a valid will). Dummar's story was later adapted into [[Jonathan Demme]]'s film ''[[Melvin and Howard]]'' in 1980.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/obituaries/melvin-dummar-dead.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/obituaries/melvin-dummar-dead.html |archive-date=January 3, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Melvin Dummar, 74, Who Claimed Howard Hughes Left Him Millions, Dies|last=Seelye|first=Katharine Q.|date=December 12, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 8, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Hughes' $2.5&nbsp;billion estate was eventually split in 1983 among 22 cousins, including William Lummis, who serves as a trustee of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The [[Supreme Court of the United States]] ruled that [[Hughes Aircraft]] was owned by the [[Howard Hughes Medical Institute]], which sold it to [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]] in 1985 for $5.2&nbsp;billion. The court rejected suits by the states of California and Texas that claimed they were owed [[inheritance tax]].

In 1984, Hughes' estate paid an undisclosed amount to [[Terry Moore (actress)|Terry Moore]], who claimed she and Hughes had secretly married on a yacht in [[international waters]] off Mexico in 1949 and never divorced. Moore never produced proof of a marriage, but her book, ''The Beauty and the Billionaire,'' became a bestseller.