Fabled billionaire Industrialist, filmmaker, and aviator (1905–1976) who takes a place among the most colorful personalities of the twentieth century. Known as much for his prolific womanizing (his romantic partners included screen legends Jean Harlow and Katharine Hepburn, among others) as for his record-setting aviation exploits and business acumen, Hughes settled into reclusiveness in his final decades, disappearing from view and seeking refuge in closely guarded havens in Las Vegas, the Bahamas, and elsewhere. His enigmatic persona has remained an evergreen source of fascination more than a quarter century after his death, as evidenced by the fictional portrayals of him in the Oscar-winning films Melvin and Howard (1980) and The Aviator (2004). ALS signed “Howard,” one page both sides, 8.5 x 14, no date. Letter to his wife Jean Peters. In full: “I love you so much. I will be expecting you tonight and I will try to have something you will like to watch. Please love me back and please don’t give me up as a lost cause just yet. I hope not to have any stomach aches tonight, and I am having the Dr. come now so we won’t be troubled with him. If something upsets you tonight, please write me a note and tell me about it. I love you again and again and then some more.”
At the bottom of the page, Peters responds in pencil. “Dearest How—I will be looking forward to seeing you at 10:30 or 11:00. I love you very much. J.”
The reverse bears another unsigned message in Hughes’s hand, presumably to Peters, which reads, “It’s only 1/2 finished & it’s good. He’s the old DW Griffith type. Vera is his daughter. He has absolutely no scruples. I can’t imagine where our hero is going to wind up after he takes out that policy. The boy plans to murder the old fox, but I think Carradine will beat him to it. That last close-up was overdone. C'est tous! Why did you indicate disbelief? It sounds terrific. Will it be the 1st symphony in the new theater?”
Hughes continues at the bottom upside down, “I think the conductor is very famous. If you want to, OK—but that won’t help my situation. I just want to burp.” In fine condition.
This exceptionally unique letter illustrates the unusual method of correspondence between Hughes and his wife of 14 years, actress Jean Peters. Marrying in 1957, the couple rarely saw each other in person, communicating instead through strange meeting rituals and the back-and-forth exchange of letters, such as this one. Despite the lack of physical contact, as Hughes was an infamous hypochondriac, Peters felt a deep devotion to the fragile mogul, who begged her to “Please love me back and please don’t give me up as a lost cause just yet.” Holed up in various reclusive locations and consumed by his work, Hughes exhibited genius—albeit, neurotic genius—in his broad output. When discussing an unidentified, “1/2 finished” script, he references D. W. Griffith, the silent-film era director, by whom Hughes was profoundly influenced, as shown through his personal, controversial films, which includes The Racket, Hells Angels, Scarface, and the Outlaw. He also references famed actor and director, John Carradine, commenting, “That last close-up was overdone.” Like much of Hughes’ correspondence, the letter is somewhat cryptic and disjointed, lending even more to the curious and intensely intriguing nature of this wildly successful business magnate and the wife who loved him. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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