HOWARD HUGHES

from page 43

The film also chronicles Hughes'
struggle with his physical disabilities and
phobias, and his increasingly erratic
obsessive-compulsive behavior that led
him ultimately to withdraw from the
world. He died at 71 in 1976.
DiCaprio at first looks too young to
be playing Hughes, although the latter
was only 42 when he flew the Spruce
Goose. But DiCaprio "grows" into the
role — with a prospective Oscar nomi-
nation — as the 2-hour-40-minute film
wears on.

Supporting Roles

Hughes was the son of the Texan inven-
tor of a highly profitable oil drill bit who
died when Hughes was 18, leaving most
of the Hughes Tool Co. to his son.
Young Howard proceeded to transform
a small fortune into a massive one, drop-
ping out of Rice University and moving
to Los Angeles to continue as an aviator
and launch a moviemaking career.
Along the way, he romanced some of
the world's most beautiful women,
mainly movie actresses, launching the
careers of such starlets as platinum-
blonde bombshell Jean Harlow, who
starred in Hell's Angels. She's played by
singer Gwen Stefani in The Aviator.
But Cate Blanchett almost steals the
movie with her portrayal of a young
Katharine Hepburn, with whom
Hughes lived for a while. Her version of
the famed Hepburn speech patterns and
mannerisms are bound to earn her an
Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a
Supporting Role, especially for an amus-
ing scene in which she takes Hughes to
meet her family at their Connecticut
estate.
Kate Beckinsale also shines, as Ava
Gardner, while Alec Baldwin plays Juan
Trippe, president of Pan Am Airways
and Hughes' fiercest competitor when
the latter headed Trans World Airlines.
Alan Alda is Hughes adversary Sen.
Owen Brewster of Maine, who gave the
Flying Boat its "Spruce Goose' nick-
name.
John C. Reilly portrays Noah
Dietrich, chief of Hughes' movie sub-
sidiary, and Jude Law makes a quick
cameo appearance, as actor Errol Flynn,
using his brief time on the screen to get
into a nightclub fistfight.

Many prominent figures are portrayed
in The Aviator," including, top to
bottom (above) Alan Alda as Maine's
Sen. Owen Brewster; Alec Baldwin as
Pan Am founder Juan Trippe; Jude Law
as Errol Flynn; (at right) Cate Blanchett
as Katharine Hepburn; Gwen Stefani
as Jean Harlow and Kate Beckinsale as
Ava Gardner

.

Working With Hughes

David Grant, who lived with his wife in
the Sherwood Forest section of Detroit
and attended Temple Beth El, came into
Hughes' life when Grant moved to
California in 1946 at age 30 to handle
the aviator's hydraulics work. He former-

ly was a civilian employee of the U.S.
Air Force in Ohio.
Grant had three brothers: Dr. Joe, a
dentist; Dr. Seymour, a physician; and
Benjamin, a lawyer; and two sisters,
Pearl and Florence. The latter is the only
surviving family member; she lives in
Atlanta, Ga. The siblings, all close in
age, set some sort of record when all six
attended U-M at the same time.
Their father, Jacob, was the brother of
Alex Grant, Allan's father. The men
worked for Grant Iron & Metal in
Detroit, founded by their brother, Harry
S. Grant, one of the co-founders of the
Franklin Hills Country Club and the
former Detroit Standard Club.
Allan Grant, who owns a Troy adver-
tising agency and collects old cars he
drives in the annual Woodward. Dream
Cruise, recalls David telling him that
Hughes "was really a nice guy, and noth-
ing like the kook depicted in all of the
books and other movies."
David Grant worked in various facets
of Hughes Aviation, and invented the
Grant Valve used in the unmanned
lunar landing craft that preceded the
first manned space flight to the moon in
1969. Holder of seven hydraulics
patents, he developed hydraulic drives
for other spacecraft, missiles and heli-
copters. He retired in 1981, but later did
consulting and public relations work.
"The Flying Boat was his most impor-
tant project," said Ruth Grant, 83.
Married for 61 years, she and David
got immersed in the Hollywood social
whirl during Hughes' heyday. "We
attended parties and movie premieres
and met many famous celebrities," she
reflected. "Some of Howard's pals were
Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and author
Sidney Sheldon, and he would use their
homes for secret nighttime meetings that
David attended. We weren't very reli-
gious, but we belonged to the Reform
University Temple in Los Angeles."
Of the Flying Boat, David Grant once
said: "If there's anything
T close to my
heart, it's that airplane." He and Hughes
detested the "Spruce Goose" nickname.
"It was much too significant an aircraft
to be called that," Grant said.
Assigned to ride in the co-pilot's seat
despite his lack of a pilot's license, Grant
said Hughes really wanted him there to
rely on for any hydraulics problems, not
to take over the controls.
"That short flight in 1947 was ecstasy
all the way — like walking on air. As a
young engineer, I couldn't imagine any-
thing more thrilling. It wasn't a long
flight, but it was enough to quiet
Congress down," he added.

HOWARD HUGHES on page 48

12/17

2004

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