A real life Tony Stark (in fact, comics legend Stan Lee based Iron Mans civilian identity on Hughes, to the extent of naming his father Howard), the legendary business tycoon, film producer, philanthropist and aviator was one of the wealthiest, most flamboyant people in the world for half of the twentieth century. You may have seen Martin Scorceses Oscar-winning film The Aviator, with Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role: thats our boy, right there. However, as well as being a business genius and innovator, Hughes suffered from mental health issues that sadly worsened throughout the course of his life. After barely surviving a horrifying plane crash in 1946, Hughes condition degenerated. He spent four months in a film studio near his home, naked, watching film after film after film, never leaving, never washing, eating the same foods over and over and using the empty containers as makeshift toilets: surrounded by tissue boxes that he would compulsively stack, restack and stack again. Hughes became so sensitive to physical touch after the injuries he sustained in the accident that he couldnt bear being near people, and became a reclusive figure for the last three decades of his life, moving from hotel penthouse to hotel penthouse, having his hair and nails cut once a year. When employees of the Desert Inn in Las Vegas entered his rooms after he had been resident there for nearly ten years, they discovered that the curtains had been closed for so long that they had nearly rotted through.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
