[INDISTINCT CHATTER] MY NAME IS BILL DEVERELL, AND I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE HUNTINGTON-USC INSTITUTE ON CALIFORNIA AND THE WEST, WHICH ALONG WITH HISTORIAN TAYLOR COFFMAN AND OUR FRIENDS AT THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES, IS CO-ORGANIZER OF THIS SYMPOSIUM. IT'S A GREAT PLEASURE TO WELCOME YOU ALL HERE THIS MORNING AS WE BEGIN THIS 2-DAY EXPLORATION OF THE HISTORY OF THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND WORLD WARS. THIS CONFERENCE HAS BEEN A LONG TIME IN COMING, AND IT'S THRILLING TO SEE YOU ALL GATHERED HERE WITH US THIS MORNING. PLEASE ALLOW ME TO OFFER BRIEF AND SINCERE THANKS TO A NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS WHOSE SUPPORT HELPED TO MAKE THIS CONFERENCE POSSIBLE. MANY IF NOT ALL OF YOU HAVE HAD SOME CONTACT WITH KIM MATSUNAGA AS THIS CONFERENCE APPROACHED. AS THE ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE ON CALIFORNIA AND THE WEST, KIM IS EYES, EARS, AND BRAIN OF SO MUCH OF WHAT WE DO, AND WE SIMPLY WOULD NOT SURVIVE WITHOUT HER. THE IDEA FOR THIS CONFERENCE ORIGINATED IN THE ORIGINAL MIND OF HEARST SCHOLAR AND BIBLIOPHILE TAYLOR COFFMAN, AND IT IS HE WHO DESERVES THE CHIEF ARCHITECTURAL CREDIT FOR ASSEMBLING WHAT WILL ENSUE TODAY AND TOMORROW. BOB OSHER OF COLUMBIA PICTURES FIRST SUGGESTED THAT WE MIGHT COLLABORATE WITH THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURES ARTS AND SCIENCES, A PARTNERSHIP BROUGHT DELIGHTFULLY TO LIFE AND FRUITION BY SID GANIS AND ELLEN HARRINGTON, WITH WHOM IT HAS BEEN A SINCERE PLEASURE TO WORK. NOR WOULD WE BE HOLDING THIS CONFERENCE WITHOUT THE SIGNIFICANT SUPPORT OF MR. WILLIAM R. HEARST III. MY THANKS TO MR. HEARST FOR THAT SUPPORT AND FOR HIS WILLINGNESS TO TAKE PART IN OUR PROCEEDINGS, INCLUDING BRINGING THE WONDERFUL MEMORABILIA IN THE BACK OF THE HALL. JOHN GECKY HAS BEEN A SUPPORTER OR OUR EVENT FROM OUR FIRST MEETING MANY MONTHS AGO, AND I'M GRATEFUL TO HIM FOR HIS ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND SMOOTH EFFICIENCY. CHRIS BALDWIN OF SHOULDER HIGH PRODUCTIONS BRINGS HIS IMPRESSIVE SKILL TO THE FILMING OF THE CONFERENCE. EVY CUTTING, SUSIE KRASNOW, AND PARTICULARLY TIFFANY HODGES OF THE HUNTINGTON PROVED AS EVER TO BE PARAGONS OF EXPERTISE AND DECENCY. THANKS, TOO, TO MY GRADUATE STUDENTS FOR ASSISTANCE AT THE REGISTRATION TABLE THIS MORNING. OUR DISTINGUISHED PANELISTS WILL BE THANKED IN TURN OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS, BUT LET ME OFFER FORMAL THANK-YOUS TO ALL OF THEM FROM TAYLOR AND MYSELF AND THE ACADEMY. THE CONFERENCE IS ONLY SO GOOD AS ITS PARTICIPANTS, AND WE'RE SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE THE VARSITY HERE WITH US TODAY AND TOMORROW. LASTLY, THANK ALL OF YOU FOR COMING. AS YOU CAN NOTE, WE ARE FILMING OUR CONFERENCE SO THAT AN ARCHIVAL AND EDUCATIONAL RECORD MAY BE KEPT OF THE PROCEEDINGS. DURING AUDIENCE QUESTION-AND-ANSWER PERIODS, WHICH WE HOPE WILL ACCOMPANY ALL OUR PANELS, PLEASE SPEAK FROM ONE OF THE TWO STANDING MICROPHONES HERE IN THE HALL. THE HISTORIAN KEVIN STARR, WHO WILL CLOSE THE CONFERENCE WITH REMARKS TOMORROW AFTERNOON, HAS WRITTEN OF THE INTERLOCKING CULTURAL AMBITIONS OF HOLLYWOOD AND THE CITY FROM WHICH IT AROSE. AS KEVIN WRITES, "SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HAD EMERGED INTO THE SUNLIGHT AS BOTH AN IMAGINED AND A FULLY MATERIALIZED AMERICAN PLACE. IT HAD BEEN A RAPID RISE, RESEMBLING THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SET AT A MOTION PICTURE STUDIO. INDEED THE SET FOR THE FILM INTOLERANCE BETWEEN SUNSET AND HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARDS MIGHT VERY WELL STAND AS A PARADIGM FOR THE INTERCONNECTION OF THE NASCENT FILM INDUSTRY AND THE RISING REGION. INTENDED TO DEPICT THE ESSENCE OF THE CITY OF BABYLON AT THE HEIGHT OF ITS POWER, THE 300-FOOT-HIGH SET FUNCTIONED AS A DREAM CITY, REFERENCING THE PAST AND SUGGESTING THE FUTURE." IT IS PRECISELY THIS SENSE OF THE RISE OF LOS ANGELES AND THE RISE OF HOLLYWOOD, AND THE SHEER POTENTIAL OF BOTH--SIMULTANEOUS, SYNERGISTIC, OVERLAPPING, MUTUALLY REINFORCING--THAT BRINGS US ALL TOGETHER HERE THIS WEEKEND TO EXAMINE HOLLYWOOD BETWEEN THE WARS. THE LAST THING WE WOULD EXPECT IS FOR THIS CONFERENCE TO BE THE LAST WORD, TO BE AT ALL COMPREHENSIVE, BUT I'M SURE YOU'LL AGREE THAT WE'VE ASSEMBLED A TERRIFIC CAST OF EXPERTS: SUPERB SCHOLARS AND COMMENTATORS WHOSE OWN FASCINATION WITH HOLLYWOOD--IT'S SIGNIFICANCE, PERSONALITIES, INFLUENCE, AND LEGACIES, HAVE BEEN PRODUCTIVE OF SUCH PROVOCATIVE AND IMPORTANT WORK. WITH THESE AS INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS, LET ME NOW TURN THINGS OVER TO PATT MORRISON. PATT IS, I'M CERTAIN, WELL KNOWN TO EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM AS A LIVELY, THOUGHTFUL, AND PROVOCATIVE JOURNALIST ACROSS MULTIPLE MEDIA FORMS. I CAN ATTEST FROM VERY PLEASANT PERSONAL EXPERIENCE THAT PATT IS ALSO A COMMITTED AND ERUDITE STUDENT OF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PAST, AND THUS SHE STRUCK US AS THE IDEAL PERSON TO MODERATE AND OFFER HER OWN THOUGHTS UPON AN INVESTIGATION OF THE INNER WAR, HOLLYWOOD LIVES, AND ACTIVITIES OF THE MOGULS WILLIAM R. HEARST, JOSEPH P. KENNEY, AND HOWARD HUGHES. PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING PATT MORRISON AND A PANEL CONSISTING OF CARI BEAUCHAMP, TAYLOR COFFMAN, AND PAT BROESKIE. [APPLAUSE] THANK YOU, BILL. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST THE HAT. [LAUGHTER] I WILL ASK YOU AGAIN TO TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONES. THERE'S A STORY THAT HAPPILY IS NOT APOCRYPHAL THAT AT A GARDEN PARTY AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE, A YOUNG WOMAN WAS BEING PRESENTED TO THE QUEEN, AND HER PHONE RANG. AND SHE LOOKED FLUSTERED, AND THE QUEEN SAID, "OH, GO AHEAD AND ANSWER IT. IT MIGHT BE SOMEBODY IMPORTANT." [LAUGHTER] SO WE ARE ASSUMING THAT YOU ARE HERE BECAUSE THIS IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE TO YOU TODAY, AND WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING. AND THANKS, TOO, TO THE PANEL. THEY'LL BE PRESENTING SOME OF THEIR OWN STORIES, THEIR OWN VISUALS ABOUT THIS. THEN WE'LL BE DISCUSSING AMONG OURSELVES, AND THEN WE'LL BE ASKING FOR YOUR QUESTIONS, AS YOU SEE THE MICROPHONES FROM THE FLOOR. HOWEVER, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE FILMING THIS ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO HIRE YOU, SO PLEASE NO AUDITIONS. UM...IT IS THIS YEAR 100 YEARS AGO, 1908, THAT THE FIRST SEEDS OF A FEATURE FILM WERE EVER FILMED IN CALIFORNIA. THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO WAS--I THINK THE TOTAL RUNNING TIME--YOU KNOW HOW LONG THIS BOOK WAS. THE TOTAL RUNNING TIME FOR THE FILM WAS NO MORE THAN 11 MINUTES, I BELIEVE, AND A ONE-REELER TO SAY THE LEAST. AND SO I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG CALIFORNIA FEATURED IN THIS EXCEPT FOR THE SCENE OF THE BODY BEING THROWN OFF THE CLIFF OF THE CHATEAU D'IF. UH, BUT THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR, I THINK, WAS WHERE MUCH OF CALIFORNIA ENDED UP. HOWEVER, MUCH OF HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA ENDED UP BEING THE FILM CAPITAL, THANKFULLY NOT NEW JERSEY. IT WAS ALMOST NEW JERSEY. IT WAS A VERY CLOSE CALL. FORT LEE, NEW JERSEY. IT JUST DOESN'T HAVE THE RESONANCE. [LAUGHTER] AND THE EVOLUTION OF FILM IN HOLLYWOOD IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY. THIS PARTICULAR PERIOD WAS ANTICIPATED BY THE EARLY ARRIVALS, 1908 AND 1909, THE FIRST FILM EVER FILMED ENTIRELY IN LOS ANGELES. IT WAS FILMED ON THE CHINESE LAUNDRY BACK LOT IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES, WHICH IS WHERE WE GET THE WORD "LOT," BECAUSE SO MANY OF THE FILMS JUST ENDED UP BEING SHOT IN VACANT LOTS. NOW, IN THAT ERA, FILM WAS SOMETHING OF A DEMOCRACY, WHICH IS A POLITE WORD FOR "FREE FOR ALL." BUT AS FILM BEGAN TO CHANGE, AS IT BECAME MORE PROFITABLE, OF COURSE, IT MOVED FROM DEMOCRACY TO AUTOCRACY. AND YOU CAN'T HAVE AN AUTOCRACY WITHOUT AUTOCRATS, AND THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY, SOME OF THE 3 GREAT MOGULS OF FILM WHO THEMSELVES HAD MONEY AND AN INTEREST IN THIS. UNLIKE SOME OF THE FILMMAKERS WHO STARTED FORM THE BOTTOM, AS WE HEARD ABOUT FURRIERS AND GLOVE MAKERS IF YOU READ THE HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD, THESE ARE MEN WHO BROUGHT THEIR OWN MEANS TO HOLLYWOOD AND THEIR OWN INTERESTS. SO FIRST I WOULD LIKE TO START WITH CARI BEAUCHAMP, WHO WILL BE TALKING ABOUT HER FAVORITE, JOE KENNEDY. [CHUCKLING] THANK YOU, PATT. LET ME ADD TO THAT THAT, YOU KNOW, IN 1920, WHICH WE'RE FOCUSING '20 TO '40, YOU KNOW, MOVIES HAD BEEN AROUND FOR 25 YEARS. UM, 1920 IS ALSO THE YEAR THAT MOVIEMAKING BECAME THE LARGEST EMPLOYER IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA. SO THIS, UM, ART FORM THAT HAD BEEN SO DISDAINED 10 TO 5 YEARS BEFORE WAS SUDDENLY ALL OF A SUDDEN APPRECIATED FOR THE BUSINESS THAT IT WAS INDEED BECOMING AND THE BUSINESS, MORE TO THE POINT, THAT IT WAS BRINGING INTO THE AREA--THE HOTELS, THE RESTAURANTS, ETC. UM, AND HOLLYWOOD TO THAT POINT HAD ALSO BEEN BUILT, AS PATT ALLUDED TO, BY WOMEN, IMMIGRANTS, AND JEWS--PEOPLE WHO WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN WELCOME IN ANY OTHER PROFESSION. AS MOVIEMAKING BECAME A RESPECTED PROFESSION, UM, MANY OF THOSE, PARTICULARLY THE WOMEN, WERE THEN PUSHED OUT. HALF OF ALL FILMS WRITTEN BETWEEN 1912 AND 1925 WERE WRITTEN BY WOMEN, UM, BUT AGAIN, AS THE JOBS BECAME, UH, MUCH MORE ADVANTAGEOUS, IT WAS THE--IT WAS THE, UM, THE MEN AND THE MOGULS WHO MOVED ON IN. JOE KENNEDY WAS BORN IN BOSTON IN 19--IN 1888. UM...OK, BILL'S DOING THIS. THERE HE IS FRONT AND CENTER OF HIS 1908 BOSTON LATIN GRADUATION CLASS. HE WAS THE SCHOOL PRESIDENT. IT TOOK HIM 5 YEARS TO GET THROUGH, BUT, UM, HE MARRIED--BEING NO FOOL--THE MAYOR'S DAUGHTER IN 1914, AND 9 MONTHS AND 18 DAYS LATER, JOE JR. ARRIVED. UM, AND THIS IS JOE IN 1914 WHEN HE BECAME A BANKER. HE TOOK OVER A VERY SMALL BANK, ONE OF 500 IN MASSACHUSETTS, THAT HIS FATHER HAD HELPED FOUND. THIS DID NOT STOP HIM HOWEVER FROM SENDING OUT A RELEASE THAT FIRST OF ALL, HE WAS MASSACHUSETTS' YOUNGEST BANK PRESIDENT, AND THEN HE BECAME AMERICA'S YOUNGEST BANK PRESIDENT, AND THEN THE WORLD'S YOUNGEST BANK PRESIDENT, AS NOBODY QUESTIONED HIS, UM--HE WAS LEARNING ABOUT CELEBRITY BEFORE HE EVEN GOT TO HOLLYWOOD. UM, ANYWAY, IN 1919, NOW, JOE WOULD LATER PRESENT HIS ARRIVAL IN HOLLYWOOD AS A FLUKE--THAT HE JUST HAPPENED TO COME ACROSS THIS BUSINESS, AND IT KIND OF LANDED IN HIS LAP. IN REALITY, STARTING IN 1919, HE HAD BEEN WORKING ON INVESTIGATING THE MOVIES, BEGINNING WITH, AMONGST OTHER THINGS, SIGNING BABE RUTH TO A OPTION TO MAKE A MOVIE. UM, HE WAS ON THE BOARD OF--JOE WENT ON TO SERVE ON THE BOARD OF ROBERTSON-COLE NATIONAL, WHICH BECAME FBO. HE ALSO WAS HEAD OF THE UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION FOR NEW ENGLAND. HE HAD RIGHT--HE HAD INTERESTS IN MANY MOVIE THEATERS IN NEW ENGLAND. UM, SO HE WAS TRYING VERY HARD TO--FINALLY IN 1926, FOR A MILLION DOLLARS, 200,000 DOLLARS DOWN, UM, WAS ALL HE HAD TO--AND IT WASN'T ANY OF HIS OWN MONEY. IT WAS HIS SILENT PARTNER'S. HE BOUGHT FBO, WHICH OF COURSE NOW IS PART OF PARAMOUNT. THIS BUILDING STILL STANDS, BUT IT'S SURROUNDED NOW BY THE STUCCO WALLS OF PARAMOUNT, RIGHT ON THE CORNER OF GOWER AND MELROSE. UM, THIS WAS THE 17-ACRE LOT THAT THEY HAD BOUGHT FROM THE CEMETERY, FROM WHAT'S NOW HOLLYWOOD FOREVER. BUT THEY HAD BOUGHT IT IN 1920 AND BUILT THIS STUDIO. IN THE BACK YOU CAN SEE WHAT IS NOW PARAMOUNT BUT AT THE TIME WAS BRONSON OR UNITED STUDIOS. OK, LET'S SEE--OH, I LOVE THIS. THIS IS JOE'S FIRST TRIP TO HOLLYWOOD, 1926, GIVING A DINNER FOR HIS SALESMEN AND EXECUTIVES WHO HAD ALL COME TO CALIFORNIA TO SEE THE LOT. THIS IS ON STAGE 3 OF FBO. AND THERE HE IS IN THE MIDDLE LOOKING VERY COMFORTABLE AS THE NEW HEAD. THIS WAS HIS FIRST CHANCE TO MEET MOST OF THE PEOPLE THAT HE HAD BOUGHT THIS, UM--THE COMPANY HE HAD BOUGHT. WITHIN A YEAR, HE TOOK OVER PATHE. NOW, NO ONE BEFORE OR SINCE HAS RUN 2 STUDIOS SIMULTANEOUSLY, BUT THIS DIDN'T PHASE JOE. AND THEN, WITHIN A YEAR AFTER THAT, HE WAS BROUGHT IN TO TAKE OVER FIRST NATIONAL, AGAIN ALL AT THE SAME TIME. HE WAS ALSO BY THEN CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF KEITH-ALBEE-ORPHEUM, OVER 700 THEATERS. UM, SO HE HAD SET UP THIS WHOLE INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF HAVING, YOU KNOW, THE DISTRIBUTION, THE PRODUCTION, AND THE SCREENING OF ALL OF THESE COMPANIES. NOW, HE THEN VERY QUICKLY GOT THROWN OUT OF FIRST NATIONAL BECAUSE HE WANTED 25% OF THE ENTIRE COMPANY, AND BARNEY BALABAN AND SPYROS SKOURAS HAD THE AUDACITY TO ASK TO BE AN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, AND JOE STORMED OUT AND SAID, "I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT." NOW, AS THE ONLY MAN TO RUN THESE 4 COMPANIES SIMULTANEOUSLY, THE WAY HE DID IT WAS UNLIKE--THIS IS EDDIE MOORE, AND THEN ED DURER, CHARLIE SULLIVAN, AND THEN ANOTHER GENTLEMAN PAT SCOLLARD. UM, HE HAD, UM...THIS CORDON OF LOYALTY AROUND HIM. AT MGM WE GOT THALBERG AND MAYER, WHO ARE KIND OF HASSLING WITH EACH OTHER, AND NOWHERE ELSE DID HE--JOE HAD THIS CORDON OF LOYALTY OF 5 OR 6--ACTUALLY, GLORIA SWANSON WOULD CALL THEM THE 4 HORSEMEN. THESE GUYS WHO WERE THERE TAKING CARE OF EVERYTHING, NO QUESTIONS ASKED. SOME PEOPLE--GLORIA'S SECRETARY THOUGHT THEY LOOKED LIKED GANGSTERS, BUT JOE DIDN'T CARE. THEY WERE LOYAL, THEY WERE ALL ACCOUNTANTS, THEY WERE ALL IRISH, AND NO QUESTIONS WERE ASKED. IN THE MEANTIME, JOE PUT HIS NAME ON EVERYTHING, UH, PROMOTING HIMSELF. WE HAVE JOSEPH P. KENNEDY PRESENTING TARZAN. HE PUT HIS NAME ON THE MUSIC, OK, THAT'S BEING SENT OUT. "PRESENTED BY JOSEPH P. KENNEDY." HE PUT HIMSELF IN THE ADS, WHERE HE PUTS HIMSELF TALKING TO THE THEATER OWNERS, ONE MASTER SHOWMAN TO ANOTHER. HE'S PROMOTED IN THE FAN MAGAZINES. THIS IS PHOTOPLAY. AND THEN HE SENDS OUT FOR HIS CHRISTMAS CARDS PICTURES OF HIS FAMILY WITH THE HUNDREDS OF GIFTS HE SENDS OUT TO EVERYBODY IN THE BUSINESS. ONE OF HIS MAIN STARS AT FIRST WAS FRED THOMSON, HERE WITH SILVER KING, WHO WAS THE NUMBER 2 COWBOY OF ALL TIME. UM, AND THEN--AND HE MADE A PERSONAL DEAL--FBO COULDN'T AFFORD TO DO THE KIND OF MOVIES THAT FRED WAS DOING, SO WHAT JOE DID WAS PUT HIM UNDER PERSONAL CONTRACT, CUT A DEAL WITH PARAMOUNT, AND IT WASN'T UNTIL JOE DROPPED FRED, PICKED UP TOM MIX INSTEAD, THAT FRED LEARNED THAT IN REALITY JOE HAD BEEN MAKING $100,000 OFF OF EACH OF THOSE PARAMOUNT FILMS. AND HE HAD TOTAL CONTROL OVER WHETHER FRED WAS ON THE SCREEN OR NOT. AND SO HE KEPT FRED OFF THE SCREEN TO PROMOTE TOM MIX. AND WITHIN 6 MONTHS, FRED DIED OF TETANUS, BUT HIS WIFE FRANCES MARION SAID SHE THOUGHT HE JUST LOST HIS WILL TO LIVE. OK, GO AHEAD. AND THEN OF COURSE GLORIA SWANSON, THE BEST-KNOWN PART OF OUR JOE'S HOLLYWOOD CAREER, UM, AND OF COURSE THEIR DISASTROUS QUEEN KELLY. THERE WE HAVE GLORIA BEING WHIPPED BY SEENA OWEN. BUT IT REALLY WASN'T A DISASTER FOR JOE AT ALL BECAUSE, BEING NO FOOL, HE HAD SET IT UP. IT WAS ALL GLORIA HAD BORROWED THE MONEY FROM JOE. SO IT WAS SHE WHOSE CAREER AND BANK ACCOUNT ENDED UP A MILLION DOLLARS SHORT, NOT JOE'S. AND NONE OF THIS--HERE'S GLORIA WITH HER HUSBAND THE MARQUIS ON THE SET. UM, JOE CONTINUED TO HAVE A GOOD TIME. HERE'S JOE AND THE MARQUIS IN VERY--IT'S FOR JOE'S 40th BIRTHDAY. DIDN'T SEEM TO BOTHER HIM AT ALL WHOSE, YOU KNOW, WHO HE WAS CUCKOLDING, BUT, UM...AND HERE'S JOE WITH FRED THOMSON AND FRANCES MARION, AND A, AS THEY SAY AT THE KENNEDY LIBRARY, "UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE." [LAUGHTER] HOW MANY LISTINGS ARE THERE FOR THOSE? [LAUGHTER] BY THE TIME JOE LEFT HOLLYWOOD--AS IMPECCABLE AS HIS TIMING WAS COMING IN, HIS TIMING COMING OUT WAS EVEN BETTER. HE ARRIVED HAVING ABOUT 2 MILLION DOLLARS TO HIS NAME, AGAIN, USING NONE OF HIS OWN MONEY. HE LEFT WITH OVER 15 MILLION DOLLARS ABOUT 4 YEARS LATER. HE SOLD ALL OF HIS STOCK BEFORE THE STOCK MARKET CRASHED, AND THEN HERE HE IS WITH JESSE LASKY OF PARAMOUNT. EVEN AFTER THE CRASH, JOE PROCEEDED TO MAKE MORE MONEY BECAUSE HE WAS SELLING PARAMOUNT SHORT. UM, THIS IS THE PORTRAIT JOE HAD DONE FOR GLORIA. I THINK HE EXPECTED HER TO PUT IT OVER THE MANTLE. I'M NOT SURE. UM, BUT HE POSED FOR IT IN SECRET AND WAS VERY PROUD TO PRESENT IT TO HER. THIS IS THE WAY HE SAW HIMSELF AS A MOGUL. NOW, JOE OF COURSE WOULD LEAVE HOLLYWOOD AND GO ON TO BE CHAIRMAN OF THE SEC FOR ROOSEVELT, THE AMBASSADOR TO NEW ENGLAND. BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, WHAT HE LEARNED IN HOLLYWOOD--HE NOT ONLY GOT THE FOUNDATION OF HIS FAMILY WEALTH FROM HOLLYWOOD, BUT HE LEARNED THE SECRET OF CELEBRITY. HE LEARNED ABOUT CELEBRITY AND PROMOTING HIMSELF, AND THOSE LESSONS HE OBVIOUSLY WOULD TAKE WITH HIM IN PROMOTING HIS FAMILY. HE ALSO FROM 1922--IN 1922 HE HAD APPROACHED, BEFORE--THIS IS 4 YEARS BEFORE HE BOUGHT FBO. HE APPROACHED BOTH HEARST AND GOLDWYN ABOUT MERGING THEIR FILM INTERESTS TOGETHER. NOW, THIS IS EXACTLY THE SAME BLUEPRINT THAT MGM WOULD USE 2 YEARS LATER. YOU KNOW, JOE WASN'T A BIG ENOUGH PLAYER YET TO PULL THAT OFF, BUT HE HAD PROMOTED THESE IDEAS OF THE MERGERS TO THE POINT THAT WHEN HE BROUGHT IN THE FINANCIAL INTERESTS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THESE COMP--OF ALL OF HIS FILM COMPANIES, AND HE, UM, REALLY COLLECTIVELY SHIFTED THE EYE--I MEAN, THALBERG AT MGM IS LOOKING AT A YEAR'S PLAN OF MOVIES. JOE IS LOOKING NOWHERE BUT THAT QUARTERLY BALANCE SHEET. AND WHAT HE ENDED UP CREATING WAS, I MEAN I THINK EVEN HE WOULD BE SURPRISED THAT UA, MGM, COLUMBIA ARE ALL OWNED AT LEAST IN PART BY THE SAME MULTI-NATIONAL CORPORATION. BUT IN REALITY, IT'S THE BLUEPRINT THAT HE CREATED FOR HOLLYWOOD. CARI? YEP? UM, DO WE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIS FIRST EXPOSURE TO MOTION PICTURES? WAS HE EXCITED BY THE MEDIUM, OR WAS THIS SIMPLY A WAY TO MAKE MONEY? NO, HE WAS EXCITED BY THE PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE THEATER PAYING TO GO IN. [LAUGHTER] HIS VERY FIRST--HE SIGNED UP A COUPLE OF VAUDEVILLE PLAYERS, CONVINCING THEM--BECAUSE IN THE SUMMER THE THEATERS WERE CLOSED, SO THEY COULDN'T MAKE MOVIES IN THE SUMMER. AND HE PUT THEM UNDER CONTRACT TO MAKE MOVIES BECAUSE HE KNEW THAT IF THEY WERE FAMOUS IN VAUDEVILLE, HE COULD TRANSLATE THAT STARDOM TO THE SCREEN. DID HE EVER HAVE THE HANDS-ON ROLE IN MAKING FILMS THAT WE KNOW THAT--THAT HEARST AND HUGHES DID? DID HE EVEN CARE THAT MUCH ABOUT IT? DID HE SHOW UP ON SET? QUEEN KELLY WAS HIS FIRST EXPERIENCE AT ACTUALLY BEING ON THE LOT, ACTUALLY SITTING IN WITH STROHEIM AND GLORIA WATCHING THE RUSHES, UM, WHICH HE LOVED. HE THOUGHT THIS WAS FABULOUS. BUT NO, HE'D NEVER DONE THAT IN THE, BY THEN, 10 YEARS HE'D BEEN IN THE MOVIE BUSINESS. SO THIS COULD HAVE BEEN IPODS AS FAR AS HE WAS CONCERNED. WIDGETS HE JUST WASN'T CONCERNED ABOUT THE MEDIUM OR-- NO, HE LOVED BEING ABLE-- I MEAN, OVER 100 FILMS WERE, UM, PRODUCED WITH "JOSEPH P. KENNEDY PRESENTS" BANNERED ACROSS THEM, AND HE LOVED THAT PART OF IT. BUT NO, HE--AND HE RARELY EVEN TOOK TIME TO SEE THEM. WOW. YEAH, HE HAD A THEATER IN HIS HOUSE, BUT HE--AND LATER ON--AND WHEN HE WAS AMBASSADOR TO THE COURT OF ST. JAMES, HE WAS VERY PROUD OF THE FACT THAT HE WOULD SHOW MOVIES THERE BEFORE THEY WERE RELEASED. THEY WERE SHIPPED IN, AND HE HAD TO IMPRESS THE GUESTS. WELL, HE SET THAT STANDARD FOR THE WORLD THEN. EXACTLY. HA HA HA HA HA! ONE MAN WHO DID LOVE THE MOVIES FOR WHAT THEY WERE AND THREW HIMSELF WHOLEHEARTEDLY INTO THEM WAS HOWARD HUGHES, AND PAT BROESKIE HAS HIS STORY. THANKS, PATT. UM, LET ME START OUT BY SAYING IT'S A REAL PLEASURE TO BE HERE. BECAUSE I'M OFTEN ASKED TO SPEAK ABOUT HOWARD HUGHES, BUT IT'S USUALLY FOR SOMETHING LIKE THE
HOLLYWOOD STORY. OK? BECAUSE THE MAN HAD A LIFE, UM, THAT IS OFTEN ON PROGRAMS ABOUT MYSTERIES AND SCANDALS. AND IT'S KIND OF SAD IN A WAY THAT HIS LATTER-DAY REPUTATION OBSCURED HIS LEGACY. AND, UH, ABOUT THAT REPUTATION, IF YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THE GERMS, THE PHOBIA OF GERMS, IT'S TRUE. AND HE REALLY DID DESIGN A SPECIAL BRAZEER FOR JANE RUSSELL FOR THAT NUTTY WESTERN
IN THE FORTIES. HE CONSIDERED IT AN ENGINEERING FEAT. AND--AND HIS LATTER YEARS, AND HIS LATTER YEARS THEY WERE VERY SAD. AND, UM, HE WAS CONSIDERED AT THE TIME THE WORLD'S MOST MYSTERIOUS MAN, AND VERY BIZARRE STORIES WERE ERUPTING ABOUT THE EMPIRE HE RAN. AND AFTER HIS DEATH, MANY OF THOSE STORIES WERE CONFIRMED, AND THEN THE MYTH CONTINUED, THE LEGEND OF HOWARD HUGHES, BY THE FACT THAT HE DIDN'T LEAVE A WILL. AND THAT TRIGGERED THIS COUNTRY'S BIGGEST ESTATE BATTLE AT THE TIME. SO ALL THOSE THINGS LED TO THIS KIND OF SAD, RECLUSIVE IMAGE OF HOWARD HUGHES. BUT BEFORE THAT HOWARD HUGHES HAPPENED, BEFORE THAT HOWARD HUGHES TOOK OVER, THERE WAS ANOTHER HUGHES. THERE WAS A VERY DASHING AND ENIGMATIC, IMPASSIONED HOWARD HUGHES, ESPECIALLY OF THE 1920s AND THE '30s. AND THE THIRTIES WAS REALLY A GREAT DECADE FOR HUGHES. AND, UM, FIRST OF ALL, I--I--YOU KNOW, HE WAS ONLY 19 YEARS OLD WHEN HE SHOWED UP IN HOLLYWOOD IN 1925. THINK ABOUT HOW YOUNG THAT IS. UM, I THINK JOSEPH KENNEDY, WASN'T HE 36 OR SOMETHING WHEN HE CAME? AND MR. HEARST WAS--ALREADY HAD AN EMPIRE. HOWARD HUGHES WAS 19 YEARS OLD. UM, HE CAME TO HOLLYWOOD AND ANNOUNCED HE WANTED TO BE A PRODUCER, AND HE HAD PLENTY OF BACKING: HIS OWN FAMILY FORTUNE. AND HE ALSO, UM, HAD PLENTY OF NERVE BECAUSE HE HAD GROWN UP FAIRLY PRIVILEGED AND WAS ACCUSTOMED TO GETTING WHAT HE WANTED, ALL RIGHT? SO, UM, AND IT'S KIND OF INTERESTING, THOUGH. UNLIKE MR. HEARST AND MR. KENNEDY, HOWARD HUGHES NEVER WENT ON TO SPAWN A BIG FAMILY DYNASTY. THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THERE WAS SUCH A BATTLE FOR HIS MONEY AT THE END. THERE WAS NO DIRECT HEIR. AND HE NEVER HAD A FAMILY COMPOUND. THERE'S NO FAMOUS HUGHES FAMILY COMPOUND. AND HE NEVER HAD A MOUNTAINTOP MANSION. IN FACT, HE MOSTLY MOVED FROM PLACE TO PLACE, AND AT THE END MOVED FROM ONE PENTHOUSE SUITE TO THE OTHER AND ONE CONTINENT TO THE OTHER. THEY DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HIS HOME STATE WAS WHEN HE DIED. BUT HE SHARES SOMETHING WITH, UH, MR. KENNEDY AND MR. HEARST. YOU KNOW, MR. KENNEDY WAS FAMOUSLY INVOLVED WITH GLORIA SWANSON, AND MR. HEARST HAD MARION DAVIES AS HIS MUSE. AND FOR HOWARD HUGHES, HE ALSO HAD A MUSE. HE HAD GREAT INSPIRATION, AND THAT WAS AVIATION. AND IT'S INTERESTING. PROBABLY HIS GREATEST TRIUMPH OF--I'M GONNA CALL IT THE TWENTIES AND THIRTIES 'CAUSE THE FILM STARTED IN THE TWENTIES AND WAS FINALLY SHOWN IN 1930--WAS HELL'S ANGELS. AND THAT SHOWED, IT'S LIKE A COMBINATION OF HIS GREAT LOVE FOR MOVIE MAKING AND ALSO HIS LOVE OF AVIATION. AND SEVERAL OTHER SMALLER FILMS WOULD MAKE USE OF HELL'S ANGELS' OUTTAKES. HE CLEVERLY MADE USE OF A LOT OF FILM THAT HE SHOT AND NEEDED TO PUT TO USE IN SOME SMALLER FILMS. AND HE WOULD GO ON TO EXPLORE AVIATION AS A THEME ALL THE WAY INTO THE 1950s. NOW, UH, ESPECIALLY LIKE MR. HEARST, MR. HOWARD HUGHES ALSO GOT INVOLVED WITH VARIOUS WOMEN AND WOULD SOMETIMES SIGN THEM TO CONTRACTS. AND IN THE 1920s AND ON INTO THE '30s, THAT WOMAN WAS BILLIE DOVE. SHE WAS A FABULOUSLY BEAUTIFUL ACTRESS OF THE SILENT SCREEN, AND SHE ACTUALLY MADE THE TRANSITION TO TALKIES. AND THEY WERE AN ITEM, AND HOWARD, UH--SHE WAS CONTRACTED TO SOMEBODY ELSE. I THINK IT WAS FIRST NATIONAL. HOWARD JUST BOUGHT HER CONTRACT AND PUT HER INTO HIS FILMS. UM, LET ME--LET ME BACKTRACK JUST A BIT. HOWARD HUGHES, HE--YOU KNOW, HE WASN'T BORN OUT HERE. HE WAS BORN IN HOUSTON, TEXAS. AND HOUSTON IS THE HOME BASE FOR THE HUGHES TOOL COMPANY. AND IT'S A COMPANY THAT MAKES SOMETHING CALLED A ROLLER BIT. IT'S A SPECIAL DRILL BIT THAT REVOLUTIONIZED THE, UH, OIL INDUSTRY. UM, HOWARD HUGHES WAS ONCE ASKED, "WELL, DON'T YOU THINK IT'S A MONOPOLY THAT YOU HAVE THIS THING?" AND HE SAID, "NO, YOU CAN ALSO USE A SHOVEL." [LAUGHTER] BUT IN FACT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAD TO HAVE THAT DRILL BIT, AND IT WAS THE BASIS OF THE HUGHES FAMILY FORTUNE. SO THERE'S THE--THERE'S THE FAMILY FORTUNE THERE. NOW, HOWARD THOUGH HAS A CONNECTION TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN THAT HIS FATHER HOWARD HUGHES SR., WHO CO-DEVELOPED THAT DRILL BIT, HOWARD HUGHES SR. TRAVELS BACK AND FORTH TO THE WEST COAST ON BEHALF OF THE COMPANY. IT'S CALLED TOOL CO. IT'S KNOWN AS TOOL CO. AND HOWARD HUGHES SR. ALSO HAS LADY FRIENDS OUT HERE, INCLUDING A BEAUTIFUL SILENT FILM ACTRESS NAMED ELEANOR BOARDMAN. AND, UM, HOWARD SR. ALSO HAS A BROTHER OUT HERE. HIS NAME IS RUPERT HUGHES. HE'S A SCREENWRITER WHO GOES ON TO BECOME A DIRECTOR. VERY WELL LIKED GUY. EVERYBODY IN THE TOWN KNOWS HIM. AND RUPERT HUGHES GIVES THESE FABULOUS SUNDAY PARTIES AT HIS HOME ON LOS FELIZ BOULEVARD. HE HAS THIS NUTTY HOUSE WITH AN ARABIAN NIGHTS THEME. AND YOUNG HOWARD HUGHES, WHO'S TRAVELING BACK AND FORTH OUT HERE BY TRAIN, HE'S VERY SHY AS HE'S GROWING UP. HE'S STANDING ON THE SIDELINES WATCHING AT HIS UNCLE'S PARTIES, WHICH ARE ATTENDED BY SOME OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD. AND HE IS ESSENTIALLY FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE GLAMOUR OF HOLLYWOOD. OH, PAT, CAN I--CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT ONE, BILL? BY THE WAY, THAT--THAT PHOTO WAS SHOT BY BILLIE DOVE, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S--IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE ORIGINAL PHOTO IS THIS BIG. SHE SHOT IT ON A YACHT THAT HE BOUGHT HER. UM...NOW, SO--SO HOWARD AS A BOY, AS A TEENAGER, IS KIND OF FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOLLYWOOD, BUT HE ALREADY HAS ANOTHER GREAT PASSION GOING IN HIS LIFE, 'CAUSE WHEN HE'S A BOY, HE WAS ALLOWED TO TAKE A $5 FLIGHT IN A SEA PLANE. AND YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, I MEAN, PEOPLE JUST DIDN'T GO AND GET ON AIRPLANES IN THOSE DAYS. IT WAS TRULY A WONDROUS THING TO FLY. AND SO FOR THIS BOY, THAT AIRPLANE TRIP CHANGED HIS LIFE. AND SO HE GROWS UP IMPASSIONED BY THE IDEA OF FLIGHT, AND IT MAKES SENSE IN MANY WAYS. HE WAS ONCE CALLED THE MECHANICAL MAN. HE'S A TINKERER. HE'S ALWAYS TAKING THINGS APART. AS A KID, HE TOOK EVERYTHING APART AND THEN PUT IT BACK TOGETHER AGAIN. AND AS AN ADULT, HE'S GONNA TAKE AIRPLANES APART, BUT HE'S ALSO GOING TO TAKE MOVIES APART. I MEAN, HE'S LITERALLY GOING TO TAKE THEM ALL APART AND REASSEMBLE THEM AND TRY THEM IN DIFFERENT WAYS. HE WORKS IN THE EDIT BAY, HANDS-ON. SO HOWARD IS GROWING UP WITH THESE 2 GREAT PASSIONS, AND WITH THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER--THE UNEXPECTED DEATH OF HIS FATHER--WHEN HOWARD IS JUST 18 YEARS OLD, HOWARD IS KIND OF EXPECTED TO RUN THE COMPANY BUSINESS IN, UM, IN HOUSTON. BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT HE HAS IN MIND. FOR ABOUT A YEAR, HE DOES ADHERE TO FAMILY WISHES, BUT HE'S ALSO SLOWLY BUYING OUT FAMILY MEMBERS WHO'D BEEN LEFT PART OF THE FAMILY FORTUNE. HE WAS A VERY SMART KID--DOESN'T WANT ANY PARTNERS. AND WHEN HE'S 19, HE'S THE FULL-BLOWN OWNER OF HUGHES TOOL CO. AND HE TELLS HIS FAMILY, "I'M NOT GONNA RUN THE BUSINESS. I'LL GET SOMEBODY ELSE TO DO IT. I'M GOING TO HOLLYWOOD." AND HIS FAMILY IS HORRIFIED BECAUSE AT THE TIME HOLLYWOOD IS ALSO CONSIDERED KIND OF A SCARY PLACE TO PEOPLE OUT IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. THEY READ--THEY READ THOSE FAN MAGAZINES. HIS AUNT WAS CONVINCED ALL THE WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD WERE GONNA PREY ON HOWARD HUGHES, WHICH IS KIND OF FUNNY IN RETROSPECT. SO HIS FAMILY SAID, "YOU CAN GO TO HOLLYWOOD, BUT YOU NEED TO BE MARRIED." SO HE KIND OF HAD TO AGREE TO THIS--THIS MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE WITH A CHILDHOOD ACQUAINTANCE. THEY TRIED TO MAKE IT WORK. THEY CAME OUT TOGETHER IN HOLLYWOOD IN 1925. HOLLYWOOD IS AN AMAZING PLACE. THEY'RE MAKING SOMETHING LIKE 400 MOVIES A YEAR. BY COMPARISON TODAY, LAST YEAR THEY MADE 199 FILMS. AND THERE ARE 15,000 SCREENS IN THE COUNTRY. UM...HOLLYWOOD IS LIKE--OH, AND THERE'S LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF PRODUCTION COMPANIES. HUNDREDS OF COMPANIES. IT'S LIKE THE NEW GOLD RUSH. AND HOWARD HUGHES, WHO IS AS HANDSOME AS MOST MOVIE STARS, WAS THE NEW GOLDEN BOY. AND THE MARRIAGE DOESN'T LAST REAL LONG, OK? IT DOESN'T LAST LONG, AND HOWARD DOES INITIALLY MAKE A FATAL MISTAKE. UM, WHEN HE SHOWS UP, HE LETS EVERYBODY KNOW WHAT HE WANTS TO DO, AND MONEY TALKS, AND HE WINDS UP BANKROLLING A FILM. A FAMILY FRIEND COMES TO HIM--AN UNEMPLOYED ACTOR--AND HE BANKROLLS THE GUY'S MOVIE. IT'S A COMEDY CALLED
IT NEVER GOT RELEASED. AND THE BUDGET, THE INITIAL BUDGET OF $40,000 DOUBLED BECAUSE AFTER A WHILE SOMEBODY FIGURES, "HE'S JUST GONNA KEEP WRITING US CHECKS." AND THE BUDGET BANKROLLS TO $80,000, AND THE MOVIE IS UNRELEASABLE, AND HOWARD HUGHES IS KIND OF KNOWN AS THE SUCKER WITH THE CASH. THAT'S KIND OF A JOKE THAT GOES AROUND TOWN. AND HE'S HUMILIATED, AND HOWARD HUGHES DOESN'T LIKE TO BE HUMILIATED. AND HE TELLS SOMEBODY, "NEVER AGAIN. NEVER AGAIN. FROM NOW ON, I WILL BE IN CONTROL OF WHAT HAPPENS TO ME." AND HE SETS OUT FOR THE REST OF THE TWENTIES ON A VERY DEFINED PATH. HE MAKES ABOUT 4 REALLY DECENT FILMS THAT MAKE THEIR MONEY BACK AND ALSO MAKE BACK THE MONEY FROM THE MOVIE CALLED SWELL HOGAN. AND, UH, ONE OF THE FILMS HE MAKES IS A LITTLE COMEDY CALLED TWO ARABIAN KNIGHTS, DIRECTED BY LEWIS MILESTONE, WHO WILL GO ON TO WIN AN OSCAR FOR ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. BUT LEWIS MILESTONE ALSO WINS AN ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION OF A COMEDY FOR THAT MOVIE THAT HE MADE WITH HOWARD HUGHES. THAT WAS THE FIRST YEAR OF THE OSCARS, AND THEY HAD DIVIDED THE OSCARS INTO COMEDY AND DRAMAS. SO HOWARD HUGHES GETS PUT ON THE MAP IN THE TWENTIES, AND AFTERWARDS HE'S EMBOLDENED, AND AGAIN HE ALSO HAS THIS PASSION FOR FLIGHT. AND HE SAYS, "YOU KNOW WHAT I'M GONNA DO? I'M GONNA MAKE AN AVIATION EPIC." AND HE SETS OUT TO MAKE HELL'S ANGELS. UM, PRE-PRODUCTION BEGINS, IF YOU WANT TO CALL IT PRE-PRODUCTION, IN 1927. UH, THE FILM BECOMES A KIND OF LEGEND IN ITSELF. IT'S BEEN--THANKS. THE FILM IS KIND OF A LEGEND IN ITSELF. IF YOU--IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN HELL'S ANGELS, IT'S ONE OF THOSE FILMS THAT, UM, PRODUCTION SPANS 4 YEARS. THE BUDGET AGAIN DOUBLES, BUT THIS TIME HUGHES IS IN CHARGE. PEOPLE DIE IN THE AIRPLANE AVIATION SEQUENCES. IT'S, UM...IT BECOMES KIND OF HOWARD HUGHES' SAN SIMEON IN A WAY. HE--HE NEVER STOPS SPENDING. HE NEVER SAYS NO. AND AFTER 2 DIRECTORS COME AND GO, HE WINDS UP TAKING OVER THE REINS OF THE PICTURE AS DIRECTOR. NOW LISTEN, WHEN THE FILM FINALLY IS RELEASED IN 1930, IT IS CONSIDERED A HUGE SUCCESS BECAUSE A LOT OF THE MONEY WENT INTO SPECTACULAR AVIATION SEQUENCES NO ONE HAD EVER BEFORE SEEN. AND THOUGH THE FILM WILL REMAIN IN THE RED, IT WILL BE CONSIDERED A SUCCESS STORY FOR HOWARD HUGHES, AND HE GOES ON INTO THE THIRTIES BOLSTERED BY THAT AND HAS A REAL 1-2 PUNCH WITH A PAIR OF FILMS. ONE IS CALLED THE FRONT PAGE. THE OTHER IS SCARFACE. AND SCARFACE MAY STAND AS ONE OF THE GREAT FILMS OF THE THIRTIES. AND WITH THAT FILM, HOWARD HAD A MAJOR BATTLE WITH THE HOLLYWOOD CENSORS, AND HE DUKED IT OUT WITH THEM FOR 2 YEARS. AGAIN, ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT THESE MOGULS, THEY DON'T LIKE TO BE TOLD "NO." AND SO HOWARD WAS JUST, "I'LL SEE YOU IN COURT. WE'LL DUKE IT OUT FOR 2 YEARS." AGAIN, HE HAS THIS GREAT START IN THE THIRTIES, AND THEN HE SURPRISES EVERYBODY. THERE'S NO GREAT FOLLOW-UP FILM TO SCARFACE. INSTEAD HE TURNS HIS DIRECTION TO THE SKIES, AND, UH, FOR THE DURATION OF THE 1930s, HE WILL FOCUS ON AVIATION. AND IT'S DURING THAT PERIOD THAT HE'LL SET SOME OF HIS GREAT AVIATION RECORDS, INCLUDING MAKING A FAMOUS 1938 FLIGHT AROUND THE WORLD. AND HE WILL ALSO DO SOMETHING ELSE THAT IMPACTS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA; HE WILL START THE HUGHES AIRCRAFT COMPANY. IT STARTS IN GLENDALE. IT'LL LATER MOVE TO CULVER CITY. THAT IS GOING TO REDEFINE THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE ALMOST AS MUCH AS HOLLYWOOD BECAUSE AS THE DECADES GO ON, THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY AT ONE TIME WAS EVERY BIT AS SIGNIFICANT AS THE FILM PRODUCTION INDUSTRY HERE. SO HUGHES IS BRANCHING OUT THAT WAY, AND SADLY, HE'S NEVER REALLY GONNA SEE ANOTHER GREAT DECADE--DECADES LIKE THE TWENTIES AND THIRTIES--AS FAR AS HIS FILMMAKING GOES. IN THE ENSUING DECADE, HE'S GONNA KIND OF SPIN OUT OF CONTROL. HE'LL--HE HAS SOME PROBLEMS, AND SOME OF THEM HAVE TO DO WITH A CONDITION HE HAS CALLED OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER. AND HOWARD HUGHES IS GONNA GO INTO A FREEFALL. BUT IN THE TWENTIES AND THIRTIES, HE'S REALLY A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. THANKS. [APPLAUSE] PAT, UM...IT'S CLEAR THAT UNLIKE JOE KENNEDY, HOWARD HUGHES LOVED THE MOVIES. LOVED THEM. BUT IT'S ALSO CLEAR THAT JOE KENNEDY MADE MONEY. DID HOWARD HUGHES EVER, BOTTOM LINE, MAKE MONEY IN MOVIES? HE--HE--YOU KNOW WHAT? WITH HIS FILMS OF THE TWENTIES AND THIRTIES, YES, HE MADE HIS MONEY BACK. NO QUESTION. HE-- HELL'S ANGELS REMAINED 1.5 MILLION DOLLARS IN THE RED, THOUGH. IT TOOK YEARS FOR PEOPLE TO ADMIT THAT. HE SPENT ALMOST 4.5 MILLION DOLLARS ON THAT MOVIE. BUT ONE THING WITH HELL'S ANGELS BY THE WAY, IT WENT SO LONG, IT STARTED AS A SILENT FILM, THEN HE HAD TO RESHOOT MAJOR SCENES TO MAKE IT A TALKIE. SO HE'S KIND OF INVENTED HOLLYWOOD ACCOUNTING, TOO. [LAUGHTER] HE DEFINITELY INVENTED HOLLYWOOD ACCOUNTING. OK. OUR NEXT MOGUL, WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST, WAS BORN I BELIEVE AROUND THE CIVIL WAR, AND USED HIS FATHER'S MONEY IN WAYS THAT HIS FATHER PROBABLY WOULD NOT HAVE APPROVED OF. BUT WAS INTERESTED IN A GREAT MANY THINGS. HE WAS A NATIVE CALIFORNIAN AND BROUGHT TO BEAR A CALIFORNIA SENSIBILITY TO THIS NEW MEDIUM OF MOVIES. AND TAYLOR COFFMAN'S GOING TO TELL US ABOUT HIM. THANK YOU, PATT. WITH WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST, WE ARE, AS PATT JUST SAID, GOING BACK AS FAR AS THE CIVIL WAR. HE WAS VERY MUCH THE SENIOR MEMBER OF OUR TRIO HERE OF HEARST, KENNEDY, HUGHES. UM, THE MAN WAS BORN IN 1863, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CIVIL WAR--SAME YEAR AS HENRY FORD. UH, AND IN FACT, IT'S ALMOST AS LONG AGO AS THE MAN WHO PUT THIS PLACE IN SAN MARINO TOGETHER, HENRY HUNTINGTON, WAS BORN. THAT WAS IN 1850, SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. SO W.R. HEARST GOES WAY BACK. WE HEARD THAT JOE KENNEDY WAS BORN IN 1888. AT THAT POINT, W.R. WAS 25. HE HAD ALREADY BEGUN PUBLISHING THE SAN
