Howard Hughes
/ˌhaʊəd ˈhjuːz/
/ˌhaʊərd ˈhjuːz/
- (1905-76) a rich American who produced and directed films, and built planes. He owned an oil company and the Hughes Aircraft Company. His films included Hell's Angels (1930) and The Outlaw (1941). He established several fastest flights (1935-8) and designed the world's largest aircraft (1947). Hughes gained control of RKO in 1948 and TWA in 1959, and he helped to develop Las Vegas in the 1960s. He hid from the public for the last 25 years of his life. A film about Hughes, The Aviator (2005) starred Leonardo DiCaprio.