Editing Howard Hughes (section)

==In popular culture==
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===Film===
* In [[The Carpetbaggers (film)|''The Carpetbaggers'']] (1964), the main character Jonas Cord (played by [[George Peppard]]) is loosely based on Howard Hughes.
* The [[James Bond]] film [[Diamonds Are Forever (film)|''Diamonds Are Forever'']] (1971) features a tall, Texan, reclusive billionaire character named Willard Whyte (played by [[Jimmy Dean]]) who operates his business empire from the penthouse of a Las Vegas hotel. Although he appears only late in the film, his habitual seclusion and his control of a major aerospace contracting firm are key elements of the film's plot. Several sequences were actually filmed on location at [[The Landmark Hotel and Casino]], which was owned by Hughes at the time.
* ''[[The Amazing Howard Hughes]]'' is a 1977 American made-for-television biographical film which aired as a [[mini-series]] on the [[CBS]] network, made a year after Hughes' death and based on Noah Dietrich's book ''Howard: The Amazing Mr. Hughes''. [[Tommy Lee Jones]] plays Hughes.
* ''[[Melvin and Howard]]'' (1980), directed by [[Jonathan Demme]] and starring [[Jason Robards]] as Howard Hughes and [[Paul Le Mat]] as [[Melvin Dummar]]. The film won [[Academy Awards]] for [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] ([[Bo Goldman]]) and [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] ([[Mary Steenburgen]]). The film focuses on Melvin Dummar's claims of meeting Hughes in the Nevada desert and subsequent estate battles over his inclusion in Hughes' will. Critic [[Pauline Kael]] called the film "an almost flawless act of sympathetic imagination".<ref>Shannon, Jeff. [http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/movies.php?id=952 "Melvin and Howard (1980) – Movie Preview."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927212545/http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/movies.php?id=952 |date=September 27, 2007 }} ''RopeofSilicon,'' 2008. Retrieved: August 5, 2008.</ref>
*The film ''[[Creepshow]]'' from 1982 has a segment titled "They're Creeping Up on You!". The reclusive, paranoid, tycoon Upson Pratt, played by [[E. G. Marshall]] appears to be loosely based upon Hughes. {{original research inline|date=September 2024}}
*In ''[[Tucker: The Man and His Dream]]'', (1988), Hughes (played by [[Dean Stockwell]]) figures in the plot by telling Preston Tucker to source steel and engines for Tucker's automobiles from a helicopter manufacturer in New York. Scene occurs in a hangar with the Hercules. 
* In [[The Rocketeer (film)|''The Rocketeer'']], a 1991 American [[Period piece|period]] [[superhero film]] from [[Walt Disney Pictures]], the title character attracts the attention of Howard Hughes (played by [[Terry O'Quinn]]) and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], who are hunting for a missing [[jet pack]], as well as [[Nazism|Nazi]] operatives. 
* "Howard Hughes Documentary", broadcast in 1992 as an episode of the ''Time Machine'' documentary series, was introduced by [[Peter Graves]], later released by A&E Home Video.<ref>"Howard Hughes Documentary." ''Amazon.'' Retrieved: August 22, 2011.</ref>
* In ''[[Conspiracy Theory (film)|Conspiracy Theory]]'' (1997), the character Jerry Fletcher (played by [[Mel Gibson]]) mentions one of his theories to a street vendor by saying, "Did you know that the whole [[Vietnam War]] was fought over a bet that Howard Hughes lost to Aristotle Onassis?" referring to his (Fletcher's) thoughts on the politics of that conflict.
* In [[The Aviator (2004 film)|''The Aviator'']] (2004), directed by [[Martin Scorsese]], Hughes is portrayed by [[Leonardo DiCaprio]]. The film focuses on Hughes' personal life from the making of [[Hell's Angels (film)|''Hell's Angels'']] through his successful flight of the Hercules or [[Hughes H-4 Hercules|''Spruce Goose'']]. Critically [[The Aviator (2004 film)#Reception|acclaimed]], it was nominated for 11 [[Academy Awards]], winning five for [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]; [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]; [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]]; [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction]]; and [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]] for [[Cate Blanchett]]. 
* ''Howard Hughes: The Real Aviator'' documentary was broadcast in 2004 and went on to win the Grand Festival Award for Best Documentary at the 2004 Berkeley Video & Film Festival.<ref>"Howard Hughes: The Real Aviator." {{ISBN|9780738930756}}.</ref>
* In the 2005 animated film ''[[Robots (2005 film)|Robots]]'', the character Mr Bigweld (voiced by [[Mel Brooks]]), a reclusive inventor and owner of Bigweld Industries, is loosely based on Howard Hughes.
* ''The American Aviator: The Howard Hughes Story'' was broadcast in 2006 on the [[Biography Channel]]. It was later released to home media as a DVD with a copy of the full-length film ''[[The Outlaw]]'' starring [[Jane Russell]].<ref>[http://www.visionfilms.net/catalog/documentaries/biographies/american_aviator.php ''The American Aviator: The Howard Hughes Story.''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003224436/http://www.visionfilms.net/catalog/documentaries/biographies/american_aviator.php |date=October 3, 2011 }} Vision Films. Retrieved: August 22, 2011.</ref>
* ''[[Captain America: The First Avenger]]'' (2011), the character Howard Stark (played by [[Dominic Cooper]]), a wealthy inventor of futuristic technology, clearly embodying Hughes' persona and enthusiasm. His subsequent appearances in the TV series ''[[Agent Carter (TV series)|Agent Carter]]'' further this persona, as well as depicting him as sharing the real Hughes' reputation as a womanizer. [[Stan Lee]] has noted that Howard's son Tony Stark ([[Iron Man]]), who shared several of these traits himself, was based on Hughes.<ref name="IMDVD">{{cite video|title=The Invincible Iron Man|medium=Ultimate 2-Disc Edition ''[[Iron Man (2008 film)|Iron Man]]'' DVD|publisher=[[Paramount Pictures]]|date=2008}}</ref>
* ''[[Rules Don't Apply]]'' (2016), written and directed by [[Warren Beatty]], features Beatty as Hughes from 1958 through 1964.
* In the ''[[Dark Knight Trilogy]]'', director [[Christopher Nolan]]'s characterization of [[Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy)|Bruce Wayne]] is heavily inspired by Hughes' perceived lifestyle – from a playboy in ''[[Batman Begins]]'' to a recluse in ''[[The Dark Knight Rises]]''. Nolan is reported to have integrated his original material intended for a [[development hell|shelved]] Hughes biopic into the trilogy.<ref>{{cite news|first=Kevin|last=Jagernauth|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/12/editor-lee-smith-says-bruce-wayne-in-the-dark-knight-rises-inspired-by-nolans-aborted-howard-hughes-movie-103237/|title=Editor Lee Smith Says Bruce Wayne In 'The Dark Knight Rises' Inspired By Nolan's Aborted Howard Hughes Movie|work=[[Indiewire]]|location=Los Angeles, California|date=December 6, 2012|access-date=December 6, 2012}}</ref>
* In ''[[The Hoax]]'' (2006) - in what would cause a fantastic media frenzy - Clifford Irving sells his bogus biography of Howard Hughes to a premiere publishing house in the early 1970s.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Hoax (2006) - Plot - IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462338/plotsummary/ |access-date=May 27, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Games===
* The character of [[Andrew Ryan (BioShock)|Andrew Ryan]] in the 2007 video game ''[[BioShock]]'' is loosely based on Hughes. Ryan is a billionaire industrialist in post-World War II America who, seeking to avoid governments, religions, and other "parasitic" influences, ordered the secret construction of an underwater city, [[Rapture (BioShock)|Rapture]]. Years later, when Ryan's vision for Rapture falls into dystopia, he hides himself away and uses armies of mutated humans, "Splicers", to defend himself and fight against those trying to take over his city, including the player-character.<ref>{{cite web|title=Exclusive: Ken Levine on the making of Bioshock|url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2007/08/20/exclusive-ken-levine-on-the-making-of-bioshock/|website=[[Rock Paper Shotgun]]|date=August 20, 2007 |access-date=March 20, 2013|last1=Gillen |first1=Kieron }}</ref>
* In ''[[L.A. Noire]]'', Hughes makes an appearance presenting his Hercules H-4 aircraft in the game opening scene. The H-4 is later a central plot piece of DLC Arson Case, "Nicholson Electroplating".<ref>[http://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/16711/new-la-noire-screens-from-the-nicholson-electroplating-arson-cas.html "New L.A. Noire Screens from the "Nichsolson Electroplating" Arson Case."] ''Rockstargames.com,'' June 9, 2011. Retrieved: January 5, 2012.</ref>
* In ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'', the character of Robert Edwin House, a wealthy business magnate and entrepreneur who owns the New Vegas strip, is based on Howard Hughes and closely resembles him in appearance, personality and background. A portrait of Mr. House can also be found in the game which strongly resembles a portrait of Howard Hughes standing in front of a Boeing Army Pursuit Plane.<ref>[https://lensebender.org/2016/01/15/fallout-howard-hughes-and-mr-house/ "Fallout – Howard Hughes And Mr. House"] ''lensebender.org,'' January 15, 2016. Retrieved: April 6, 2017.</ref>

===Literature===
* [[Stan Lee]] repeatedly stated he created the Marvel Comics character [[Iron Man]]'s civilian persona, Tony Stark, drawing inspiration from Howard Hughes' colorful lifestyle and personality. Additionally, the first name of Stark's father is Howard.<ref name="Maskarticle">{{cite magazine|date=January 2008|title= Mask of the Iron Man|magazine= [[Game Informer]]|issue= 177|page= 81}}</ref>
* Hughes is a supporting character in all three parts of [[James Ellroy]]'s [[Underworld USA Trilogy]], employing several of the protagonists as [[private investigator]]s, [[bagman|bagmen]], and consultants in his attempt to assume control of Las Vegas. Referred to behind his back as "[[Count Dracula]]" (due to his reclusiveness and rumored obsession with [[blood transfusion]]s from [[Mormons|Mormon]] donors), Hughes is portrayed as a spoiled, [[racism|racist]], [[opioid]]-addicted [[wiktionary:megalomaniac|megalomaniac]] whose grandiose plans for Las Vegas are undermined by the manipulations of the [[Chicago Outfit]].
* In the 1981 novel ''[[Dream Park]]'' by [[Larry Niven]] and [[Steven Barnes]], the weapon "which might have defeated the Japs if it hadn't come so late" is revealed to be the [[Spruce Goose]], which had been magically hijacked on its test flight by evil Foré sorcerers in New Guinea. Hughes' skeleton is found at the controls, identified by Hughes' trademark fedora and cloth-and-leather jacket.

===Music===

* [[John Hartford]]'s song "Howard Hughes Blues" from his 1972 album [[Morning Bugle]] is a philosophical reflection on fame and fortune in the public eye: "But success is just a mess of overdues / For old Howard Hughes and all of his blues."
* The 1973 song "Broadway melody of 1974" by Genesis referenced Howard Hughes: "There's Howard Hughes in blue suede shoes / Smiling at the majorettes, smoking Winston cigarettes".<ref>{{Citation |title=Genesis - Fly on a Windshield/Broadway Melody of 1974 | date=March 10, 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9X2QtzCvBQ |language=en |access-date=August 21, 2022}}</ref>
* The 1974 song "[[Workin' at the Car Wash Blues]]" by [[Jim Croce]] compares the main protagonist of the song to Howard Hughes in one of the lyrics.
* The 1974 song "[[The Wall Street Shuffle]]" by English rock band [[10cc]] directly references Hughes and his ways of life in the last verse.
* The name of the musical group [[The Hues Corporation]] who had the 1974 hit song "[[Rock the Boat (The Hues Corporation song)|Rock the Boat]]" was selected since it was a heterophonic spelling of Hughes as in Howard Hughes.
* The song "Me and Howard Hughes" by Irish band [[The Boomtown Rats]] on their 1978 album ''[[A Tonic for the Troops]]'' is about the title subject.
* The song "Closet Chronicles" by American rock band [[Kansas (band)|Kansas]] on their 1977 album ''[[Point of Know Return (album)|Point of Know Return]]'' is a Howard Hughes allegory.
* The song "Ain't No Fun (Waiting 'Round To Be a Millionaire)" by [[AC/DC]] on their 1976 album "[[Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap]]" singer [[Bon Scott]] referenced Howard Hughes toward the end of the song: "Hey, hello Howard, how you doin', my next door neighbour? Oh, yea... Get your fuckin' jumbo jet off my airport"
* The 1983 song "Casanova Brown" by [[Teena Marie]] includes the lyric "He's had more girls than Howard Hughes had money".
* Hughes' name is mentioned in the title and the lyrics of the 2002 song "Bargain Basement Howard Hughes" by [[Jerry Cantrell]].
*The 2008 song "Howard" by American pop-punk band Bayside is written about Hughes.
* The 2012 song "Nancy From Now On" by American songwriter [[Father John Misty]] likens Hughes' destructive and erratic tendencies to the singer's own.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://genius.com/Father-john-misty-nancy-from-now-on-lyrics |title=Nancy From Now On |website=genius.com |access-date=November 12, 2021 }}{{unreliable source?|date=November 2021}}</ref>
* The 1996 album "[[Thanks for the Ether]]" by [[Rasputina (band)|Rasputina]] features a song titled "Howard Hughes" about Hughes' eccentricities and isolation in his later life.

===Television===
* In Episode 14 of ''[[Lupin III Part 2]]'', the owner of a cursed ruby is named Howard Heath. Heath is based on Hughes, who had only recently died when the episode aired.
* In the 1973 episode of the [[The Partridge Family|Partridge Family]], [[John Astin]] plays a reclusive millionaire in "Diary of a Mad Millionaire"<ref>{{Citation |title="The Partridge Family" Diary of a Mad Millionaire (TV Episode 1973) - IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0670150/ |access-date=May 4, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> who was readily recognized as a reference to Howard Hughes who was famous for being a recluse at that time.
* In ''[[List of The Greatest American Hero episodes|The Greatest American Hero]]'' Season 2 episode 3, "Don't Mess Around with Jim", Ralph and Bill are kidnapped by a reclusive tycoon, owner of Beck Air airplane company, who fakes his own death, and seems to know more about the suit than they do. He then blackmails them into retrieving his will to prevent it from being misused by the president of his company.
* In ''[[Benson (TV series)|Benson]]'' Season 6, Episode 2, "The Inheritance," Benson learns he has inherited the assets of Hugh Howard, a pastiche of Howard Hughes and [[Hugh Hefner]], including his ''[[Playboy]]''-like magazine, which becomes embarrassing for him, the Governor, and the Governor's staff.
*In ''[[The Simpsons]]'' Season 5 episode "[[$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)]]", Mr. Burns resembles Hughes in his recluse state. Various nods to his life appear in the episode, ranging from casino ownership and penthouse office to the "[[Spruce Goose]]" being renamed "Spruce Moose" as well as a lack of hygiene and being a germaphobe.
* In ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'' episode, "The Clampett-Hewes Empire", Jed Clampett, while in Hooterville, decides to merge his interests with a man Mr. Drysdale believes is Howard Hughes, the famous reclusive billionaire. Eventually it turns out, to Mr. Drysdale's chagrin, "Howard Hughes" is no billionaire; he is, in fact, nothing but a plain old farmer and severely henpecked husband with the homophonic name "Howard ''Hewes''" (H-E-W-E-S).
* In the ''[[Invader Zim]]'' episode, "Germs", the alien Zim becomes paranoid after discovering that Earth is covered in germs. Referencing Howard Hughes, he isolates himself in his home and dons tissue boxes on his feet.
* In the ''[[Superjail!]]'' episode "The Superjail! Six", The Warden repeatedly watches a film called ''Ice Station Jailpup'' which parodies Hughes' obsession with the film ''Ice Station Zebra''
* In the ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' episode "De Plane! De Plane!" ,  Phineas and Ferb are watching an informational TV show, where it tells about Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose, which is the largest plane ever built. Phineas and Ferb set out to build a bigger plane than the wooden Spruce Goose.
* In the ''[[Dark Skies]]'' episode Dreamland, John and Kim travel to Las Vegas where they are tasked by Howard Hughes to investigate a possible Hive infiltration of ''[[Area 51]]''. Hughes is portrayed as extremely [[Mysophobia|mysophobic]] and his encounter at the end of the episode with a Hive (extraterrestrial) ganglion is presented as the reason for his final seclusion and mental decline.