A Wild Idea
Billionaire tycoon, aviator, playboy, eccentric and Hollywood legend-turned-hermit Howard R. Hughes was the subject of great intrigue in America and the world throughout most of his life. In his later years, during the late 1960s to mid 1970s the mystery surrounding him intensified when he became a recluse and hid himself from the outside world for more than a decade. Many believed him to be dead, whereas others thought he had simply gone completely crazy.
No one really knew what had become of the powerful, yet eccentric man. In fact, few knew about Howard at all, except for those closest to him. The ambiguity surrounding him fed the public’s fascination, which in turn spawned a media obsession. Interestingly, although there was a great demand for information concerning Howard, there were surprisingly few books written about the man’s fascinating life, which was rumored to be on the brink of ruin. Realizing that there was a significant opportunity in the marketplace, which could be quite profitable, author Clifford Irving set out to do what no one else had done.
In December 1970, Clifford ran into an old friend and fellow author named Richard “Dick” Suskind in Mallorca while awaiting passage to the island of Ibiza, where he and his family resided. The two men struck up a conversation, which eventually led to a discussion about the legendary Howard Hughes. Howard’s recent move from his hotel residence in Las Vegas to another hotel in the Bahamas had caused a minor sensation in newspapers around the world. According to a book later written by Clifford Irving titled, The Hoax, it was during that conversation that he claimed to have “a wild idea.”
Clifford devised a scheme in which, he would convince his publisher, McGraw-Hill, that Howard Hughes commissioned him to write his biography. Clifford would tell his publisher that the book would be based on interviews conducted with Howard. However, there would be a couple of particulars that he would keep secret from his publisher.
Clifford later stated in his book that in actuality, they would “never meet Hughes and the interviews would be faked”. He later claimed in a January 2000 CBS interview with Mike Wallace that he believed, “Howard Hughes was too ill to come forward and repudiate the book.” After all, Howard had not been seen publicly since 1958 and as far as they knew he could have even been dead.
Moreover, according to Stephen Fay, Lewis Chester and Magnus Linklater’s book, Hoax: The Inside Story of the Howard Hughes-Clifford Irving Affair, Clifford believed that his ingenious plan would be even more successful if he were to use Howard’s own “imprimatur,” which would make the book unique in itself. There was not yet any book on Howard’s life to which he contributed. Thus, the book would be a first of its kind and highly saleable if they were able to pass it off as authentic.
Furthermore, he decided he would forge letters and legal documents allegedly written by Howard in order to make the deal appear even more genuine. He would use a paragraph from a 1970 Newsweek article titled, The Case of the Invisible Billionaire, which had an actual handwriting sample from Howard, to be used as a model for his own letter. It would be a risky undertaking but could also have promising results.
Clifford suggested that Dick collaborate with him on the literary hoax, by conducting the necessary research for the project. He sincerely believed that if they were able to pull it off, they would profit tremendously both financially and career-wise. The idea was very unconventional but the two men agreed to give it a try. Unbeknownst to them at the time, the idea would one day lead to a scandal so big that it would shake the foundations of the literary world. Moreover, it would rouse the dormant hermit from his sanctuary and catapult him back again into the media spotlight after fifteen years in a self-imposed exile.
Howard Robarb Hughes was born on Christmas Eve 1905 to Howard and Allene Gano Hughes at Baptist Hospital in Houston Texas. Howard Jr. would be the couple’s only son, due to complications during the delivery. Following the birth of their son, his parents took him home to their modest house on 1404 Crawford Street on Houston’s east side.
Howard Sr. wanted the best for his new family and give his family everything and anything they wanted. To achieve this goal, he believed he needed a great deal of money. Three years later Howard Sr. struck pay dirt with an innovative creation.
In 1908, Howard Sr. and his partner Walter B. Sharp perfected an already existing invention, which was able to drill into the earth and reach reservoirs of oil at depths no other machinery was able to reach at the time. According to Brown and Broeske’s book Howard Hughes: The Untold Story, the men refused to sell their drill, known as the “rollerbit”. Instead, the men formed a company known as the Sharp-Hughes Tool Company and leased the drill for $30,000 per well to oil explorers, such as Standard Oil. Within a short period of time, Howard Sr. and his partner become two of the wealthiest men in the country. Howard Sr. was finally able to fulfill his dream of being able to give his family anything they wanted.
Needless to say, Howard Jr. grew up in a life of luxury. From a young age he was pampered by his parents and doted on by his mother. Howard would often receive elaborate gifts and exorbitant sums of money from his father to make up for his frequent absence from home, due to his many business trips and outings with mistresses. Howard Jr. didn’t mind his father being gone because he then was able to receive the sole attention of his mother. The two shared a very strong bond throughout Howard’s youth. In fact, the relationship between the two was deemed by many to be unnaturally close.
Mrs. Hughes thought her shy son was superior to other children and treated him as such. As a result, Howard failed to form close bonds with other children and became increasingly dependent on his mother. The dependency was to last for many years.
Howard Jr. was an introverted youth who spent most of his time alone tinkering with mechanical bits and pieces in an attempt to create various things. It wasn’t long before the boy’s genius became apparent to those around him. Howard Jr. proved to be a gifted mechanical inventor. Before the age of thirteen he had already created objects, such as radios and a motorcycle from scrap pieces lying about his workshop.
Howard’s passion for mechanics was evident in every aspect of his life. It was, in many respects, his first love and he was continuously constructing, inventing or reassembling any form of mechanical equipment or machinery that he could get his hands on. The skies were the limit and his father provided him with whatever he needed to conduct his experiments. His passion was only interrupted by bouts of illness, which he suffered intermittently throughout his youth and teenage years.
Howard’s frequent episodes of “illness” were not as serious as he led others to believe. In fact, he was a hypochondriac in the truest sense of the word, vying for attention using every means possible. He became quite skillful at inventing symptoms that had no medical explanation, knowing that his mother would come running at his slightest cough, hiccup or complaint. Such behavior carried on until one day he really did fall ill with an unknown virus that ravaged his body and temporarily paralyzed him for approximately two months.
Eventually, Howard made an almost full recovery from the strange illness. However, he did experience partial hearing impairment as a result. Howard’s doctor was suspicious of the symptoms the boy suffered because he had never seen anything like it. He believed that Howard was faking his sickness all along. According to Brown and Broeske, the doctor diagnosed the boy with “hysterical paralysis,” which greatly worried his father. He thought his wife’s constant doting on his son weakened the boy’s emotional health and possibly even his physical constitution.
In order to prevent any long-term damage to his son, Howard Sr. decided it would be best to enroll his son at a boarding school, where he could mature into a strong, independent man. Howard Jr. acclimated quickly to the school and began to excel in his studies, yet he failed to socially adjust due to his intense shyness. Unfortunately, in 1922 after attending only one year he was withdrawn by his father following the untimely and tragic death of his mother. Less than two years later his father would also die from a heart attack. The deaths of his parents proved to be a turning point for Howard that would forever change his life.
Shortly after the death of his father, Howard discovered both of his parents’ wills. According to Barlett and Steele’s book, Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness, he quickly learned that he was to inherit approximately one million dollars in stock in his father’s company and a majority of the estate. The remaining money was left to relatives.
Less than a year later, Howard set about obtaining full control of his father’s tool company. However he was only eighteen-years-old and legally he was not allowed to assume such a responsibility. Howard was determined to get his way, as always. He petitioned the courts on the day he turned nineteen and won the right to buy out his relatives and take complete control of the company.
Once Howard had his foothold in the family business, he decided it was time to get married. During the 1920’s, it was still considered prudent in the upper echelons of society to marry someone from a similar social class and status, regardless of whether they were in love with the person or not. Howard stuck to this traditional value and agreed to an arranged marriage with Houston debutante Ella Rice. The couple eventually exchanged vows in a formal ceremony in June 1925, but the marriage was doomed from the beginning. Howard’s ambition and adventurous nature prevented him from settling down for any length of time.
That same year the couple moved to California and into Los Angeles’s Ambassador Hotel. The primary motivation behind the move was so that Howard could be in close proximity to the movie studios. He was an avid film buff and he wanted to make his mark in the industry. Howard longed to fulfill his dream by becoming a film producer. He had no idea how difficult it would be.
Howard became obsessed with obtaining as much information as he could about the film industry, from the workings of the cameras to producing and directing. Most of what he learned came from hands on knowledge that was obtained during work on his first film Swell Hogan. The making of the film quickly turned out to be a money pit due to Howard’s lack of knowledge.
He hired thirty-six year old accountant Noah Dietrich to assist him with his finances and manage business affairs for the tool company. He also assisted Howard in his many projects. It was a relationship that would span over thirty years.
Howard’s first experience as a film producer was a complete failure. Following its release in 1926, the movie bombed. However, he refused to give up and began to work on several more movie projects with the assistance of some of Hollywood’s leading director’s. Between 1927 and 1929 his determination finally paid off. He produced a series of films, including Two Arabian Nights and Hell’s Angels that proved to be enormous successes. In fact, Two Arabian Nights won an Academy Award in 1928.
Howard’s film career was to stretch over three decades and result in more than forty films to his credit. Many actors and actresses would go on to star in his movies and eventually be propelled into stardom, including Jean Harlow, John Wayne, Gina Lollabrigida, Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell. Many of his films’ leading ladies became his mistresses off screen, as well as some of Hollywood’s brightest stars that didn’t act in his films. Some of his many lovers included Katherine Hepburn, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Joan Crawford, Betty Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Elizabeth Taylor and Lana Turner.
Howard’s inability to remain faithful to his wife during his marriage eventually led to the couple’s divorce in December 1929. He would not remarry again until twenty-eight years later. There was no doubt that women and producing films were major pursuits for Howard. However, his true passion lay in quite a different area, that of aviation and airplane engineering. They were obsessions that would continue throughout most of his life.
Howard’s intense interest in aviation began at a young age. When he was fourteen, he experienced his first flight, which changed his life. Not long afterwards, Howard convinced his father to allow him to take flying lessons. From that moment on, he learned as much about piloting and airplane engineering as he possibly could and eventually received his pilot’s license in 1928. His passion for planes spilled into his film-producing career, when he made the epic aviation war movie Hell’s Angels, complete with aviation sequences never before witnessed on film.
According to Barlett and Steele, Howard established the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1932, which was mostly used to build racing planes until it later became, “one of the nation’s largest and most powerful defense contractors.” Howard spent countless hours working away on constructing and recreating airplanes from new and used parts. During the mid 1930s he earned the reputation as one of the aviation industry’s leading innovators, following his design and construction of one of the world’s fastest planes, known as the Silver Bullet. He went on to create hundreds more new inventions that would change the face of aviation in the years to come.
Howard also earned a reputation as one of the world’s greatest aviation heroes for his record-breaking flights. Some of his more famous flight achievements included a record for the world’s greatest long-distance speed flight in 1937, a record breaking round-the-world flight in 1938 and his famous test flight of an aircraft developed by Hughes Aircraft Company known as the Spruce Goose. Brown and Broeske stated in their book that Hughes received “the prestigious Harmon International Trophy as the world’s most outstanding aviator for 1936” for his contributions to aviation. Almost three decades later Hughes’ achievements were once again recognized when he was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.
Aside from Howard’s aviation and film interests, he also devoted a considerable amount of time investing in a myriad of business enterprises throughout the country. He had important stakes in companies such as RKO Pictures and Trans World Airlines (TWA). However, Howard was not always successful in his business adventures.
During the 1950s problems began to develop between TWA executives and Howard, who owned a vast majority of the company’s shares. The TWA people accused Howard of mismanagement and believed he was incapable of controlling the company. They claimed that Howard was mentally deteriorating and they feared he would run the company into the ground. TWA eventually filed suit against Howard and for many years he would be continuously haunted by litigations and tracked down by lawyers, in relation to the case.
In fact, Howard was far from running the company into the ground. However, there was no doubt that he was mentally deteriorating. He suffered from a series of degenerative medical disorders that disrupted his thought pattern and lead to frequent episodes of bizarre behavior. The two most significant problems Howard battled were a personality syndrome known as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and a debilitating venereal disease called neurosyphilis, both of which severely affected his behavior and judgment.
According to Brown and Broeske, some of the symptoms Howard experienced as a result of the neurosyphilis included, “difficulty in concentrating, defective judgment, memory deterioration, delusions of grandeur and a marked erosion of hygiene and grooming habits.” Some of the symptomatic effects of OCD included anxiety; phobias; compulsive, ritualistic and obsessive behavior.
For instance, almost daily Howard would spend hours scrubbing his phone to rid it of unseen germs. Moreover, he often would not let people into his home for fear of contamination. Howard was also obsessive with women, which he would collect by the hundreds and form unnatural fixations on them, often becoming insanely jealous to the point of stalking.
As the years passed, Howard’s mental condition became chronic. He lived in dread that he would be committed to a mental institution, possibly resulting in his money being confiscated from him. He decided that the only way he could escape such misfortune was to marry. In January 1957, Howard married long-time lover, Jean Elizabeth Peters. Like his first marriage, signs of trouble began to surface after several years.
Howard became increasingly reclusive, shutting himself away from the outside world in order to escape the threat of lawsuits related to the TWA case and germ contamination. Howard also began to withdraw from his wife. The couple spent much of their marriage living in separate residences. In fact, in the years preceding the divorce, Jean lived in California and Howard in Las Vegas.
Finally enough was enough for Jean. She asked Howard for a divorce, which he eventually granted. The relationship was legally terminated in June 1971. Not long afterwards Jean remarried. Howard had only his aides to keep him company and tend to his ever-increasing needs. By the time the divorce was granted, Howard had already moved from Las Vegas and had taken up residence at a hotel on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
During his time on the island, Howard’s mental disorder had worsened into a severe form of psychosis. He was so fearful of the outside world that he committed himself to a self-imposed exile that had lasted for more than a decade. Howard was psychologically at his most vulnerable and socially dysfunctional. It was during this time that a young author noticed an opportunity and took advantage of Howard’s unusual position, in order to stage what would be considered one of the most famous hoaxes in American history. The mastermind behind the elaborate con was Clifford Irving.
Clifford Michael Irving was an only child born to Jay and Dorothy Irving of New York on November 5, 1930. Little is known about his formative years, but Clifford was believed to have had a contented childhood. Growing up, Clifford was greatly influenced by his father Jay who played a significant role in his son’s life. According to Fay, Chester and Linklater, Jay was a magazine cover designer and the creator of a popular newspaper cartoon figure called Pottsy. Jay had great expectations for Clifford and saw in him potential to be successful, even more so then himself. After all, Clifford was a handsome and determined young man, who was popular amongst his fellow students and full of ambition.
Clifford graduated in 1947 from the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan and immediately enrolled in Cornell University. It was at the university that he became interested in literature and writing. He surrounded himself with a colorful group of aspiring young writers who shared his ambition to one day be a literary success. Throughout the years, Clifford’s popularity grew as he became increasingly active in extra-curricular activities. Since he was in the upper echelon of the school’s social strata, it seemed only fitting that he date a young woman in a similar position, which he did.
The young woman whom he dated was named Nina Wilcox and within a relatively brief period of time the two were engaged. Eventually, they were married. However, the relationship was short-lived. After approximately two years Nina and Clifford were divorced.
Clifford worked at a series of odd jobs while he began writing his first novel, which would later be titled On a Darkling Plain. In 1956 Putnam eventually published the book, yet it warranted little attention. During this time, Clifford was traveling around Europe and working on his second novel, which later became known as The Losers. During his stay on the Spanish island of Ibiza he met and fell in love with a British woman named Claire Lydon.
Claire and Clifford were married in 1958 and shortly thereafter moved back to the United States and settled in California. The marriage was an unhappy one and Clifford was often unfaithful to his wife. The marriage ended abruptly in disaster a couple years later when Claire was killed in a car accident.
Clifford was shaken by Claire’s untimely death and escaped from his grief by plunging into the writing of another book. The manuscript, a Western called The Valley, was completed in 1960 and captured the attention of the prestigious McGraw-Hill in New York. The book was eventually published and Clifford’s reputation as a writer began to excel.
Clifford’s love life was also picking up, especially after he met a young English model named Fay Brooke. It wasn’t long before the couple married and together they began their ascent up California’s social ladder. However, Clifford was quickly disillusioned with the rich and famous crowd that surrounded him and he began to yearn for something different.
In 1962, the couple moved with their newly born son Josh to the island of Ibiza, where Clifford felt most at home. The island’s expanding expatriate group made up mostly of artists, poets and writers welcomed the new family and received them into their circle with open arms. Clifford reveled in island life. He especially enjoyed and became well acquainted with the beautiful women that frequented the isle.
One of the women whom he developed a relationship with was Baroness Nina Van Pallandt, a Danish singer who lived on the island. The relationship outlasted his marriage, which ended in divorce in 1965. However, the Baroness and Clifford would never tie the knot. Clifford would marry another in 1967, a Swiss/German artist named Edith Sommer.
Edith was unabashedly in love with her husband and was determined to make the relationship a success, unlike their previous marriages. Clifford was also convinced that he had finally met the woman of his dreams. The couple bought a farmhouse on the island and began to focus on expanding their family.
Within a year of their marriage the couple welcomed the birth of their son Nedsky, who was followed by another son one half year later named Barney. Not only was Clifford’s family life a success, but his literary career was also taking off. He published several more novels, one of which was called Fake! about a master art forger named De Hory who was a neighbor of the Irving’s. The book was a great success and earned him acclaim. Everything was working in the couple’s favor and they maintained a happy existence, at least for a while.
The happy couple began to experience problems after Clifford revived his relationship with his ex-mistress Baroness Nina Van Pallandt. Edith was very jealous of Nina and Clifford’s liaison and convinced the two to end the love affair. She threatened Clifford with divorce if he did not. He finally agreed but time would prove him incapable of keeping his promise. However, by the beginning of 1971, Edith and Clifford had more important things to focus their energy on apart from extramarital affairs. They were busy devising a hoax that they hoped would lead to fame for Clifford and riches for the entire family.
On January 1971 Clifford wrote a series of letters to McGraw-Hill stating that he had corresponded with the famous Howard R. Hughes, who was allegedly an admirer of his recent book Fake! According to the letters, Howard expressed interest in having Clifford assist in the writing of his memoirs. The letters promptly caught the interest of the publishing company’s top executives who immediately flew Clifford to their offices in New York for a conference.
During the meeting, Clifford explained in detail Howard’s interest in having him write his autobiography. To support his claim, he showed the men three letters, purportedly written by “the man himself.” The first two letters were largely insignificant. However the third letter was of great interest to the McGraw-Hill executives and allegedly stated that Howard did not want to die “without having certain misconceptions cleared up and without having stated the truth about my life.” The letter went on to ask for clarification of when and how the writing was to commence, with an emphasis that there be no publicity surrounding the project. In other words, secrecy was of utmost importance or the deal was to be called off.
McGraw-Hill executives were impressed with the letters and gave Clifford the go-ahead to write the book. There was no question as to Clifford’s credibility. After all, he was a successful writer and had worked for McGraw-Hill for approximately twelve years. As far as they were concerned, they were just beginning to embark on a highly profitable deal that could propel the company to great success. The idea was viewed as a windfall in their favor and they were anxious for Clifford to get started so they could reap the benefits.
A series of legal documents were drawn up between Hughes, Clifford and McGraw-Hill in an effort to protect the collaborating parties’ interests. The signing of the documents by Hughes was to be of particular stress to Clifford, mainly because he would have to forge Hughes’ signature. It was already known that Hughes would never show up to sign the documents himself as he was a recluse and had only left his residence once in more than a decade.
An agreement was signed, using a forged signature made by Clifford. The contract stated that an advance of $500,000 would be paid, of which $100,000 would be paid in advance. Clifford was to receive a total of $100,000, whereas the remaining $400,000 was allotted to Howard. It was one of the largest sums to be advanced by the company in decades.
On top of that, Time-Life Magazine offered $250,000 for serial rights to the manuscript and Dell Publishing Company offered a further $400,000 for paperback rights. Fay, Chester and Linklater stated in their book that at the time, Clifford was one of “the best paid writers in America” but it wasn’t enough.
Clifford stated to McGraw-Hill that Howard wanted another $500,000, when in actuality it was he who wanted more money. McGraw-Hill was initially angered at such an astronomical sum for a manuscript that wasn’t yet written. Nevertheless, a deal was struck that would result in an advance of $750,000, of which $100,000 would be paid to Clifford. The remaining monies were made out in checks to Howard. The checks were eventually cashed, however McGraw-Hill hadn’t a clue that someone else other than Howard was receiving the money.
With the help of his friend Dick Suskind, who was later approved by McGraw-Hill to be a primary researcher of the story, the two set out to gather as much information as possible. Executives of McGraw-Hill were led to believe that Clifford was well into his interviews with Howard. According to Clifford, by the time the alleged interviews were completed, he had approximately one hundred hours of taped interviews taken from locations throughout the world. Clifford stated that Howard was so fanatic about maintaining his personal privacy and secrecy about the project that he went to extreme lengths to meet Clifford in places where they would not be discovered. McGraw-Hill had no idea that the interviews were merely a part of a grand hoax orchestrated by Clifford and his research companion.
Over the consecutive months, Dick and Clifford scrambled to find any and all information available about Howard Hughes that would make up for the fact that they had never met or spoken with the man. They struck the jackpot when Clifford ran into an old friend of his at his mother’s house named Stanley Meyer. It would prove to be a turning point in Clifford and Suskind’s charade.
Clifford’s old friend Stanley just happened to be looking for someone to rewrite his colleague’s biography of Howard Hughes, so that it could be published. The book was a collaboration between journalist/writer James Phelan, also known as “Old Compulsive” and Howard Hughes’ ex-accountant and right-hand-man Noah Dietrich. The manuscript had been a long time in the making and following its completion there was difficulty getting it published because it had not been written to the satisfaction of potential publishers.
As Dietrich’s friend and referral agent, Stanley suggested that he find someone else to rewrite the book so that it was more publishable. Without Phelan’s knowledge, Stanley made a copy of the manuscript, which he showed that summer to Clifford in the hopes that he would take an interest in rewriting it. Clifford had no interest in rewriting Phelan and Dietrich’s book. Instead, he had another use for the Phelan/Dietrich manuscript.
Without Stanley’s consent or knowledge, Clifford and Suskind made copies of the book to use as a foundation for their own autobiography on Howard Hughes. It was just what they were looking for and if they were able to beat Dietrich to the publishing house, they would get the recognition for the first autobiography on Howard Hughes. They knew that they had to write the story as soon as possible and get it to McGraw-Hill before Dietrich published his manuscript.
In the fall of 1971, the nearly completed book of several thousand pages was handed over to Clifford’s publishers for editing. After several days of reading by the McGraw-Hill people, a final assessment was made. The book in its entirety was deemed a wonderful success and ready for the marketplace.
In December 1971, McGraw-Hill made a public announcement that the autobiography of Howard Hughes was about to be published. That same month Clifford received the full sum of his advance. It appeared that he and Suskind had overcome insurmountable odds of convincing the publishing company and more recently the public that the book was indeed authentic. However, Clifford and Suskind were not yet “out of the woods.”
Shortly following the publicity release that the autobiography was due to be published, eyebrows immediately began to rise. Several of Howard Hughes’ leading companies, as well as his closest confidents condemned the book and denied Howard’s participation. They knew that Howard was a very private man who would never sell his story. However, according to Barlett & Steele, Clifford ignored the charges against him that the book was a phony, stating that Hughes’ men “didn’t know a damn thing about it.”
To make matters worse, Frank McCulloch, a journalist for Time-Life and a Howard Hughes expert, who was the last to interview the great man in 1958, received an unexpected phone call at work. A man professing to be Howard Hughes called McCulloch in a fit of anger. He stated that Clifford and the book he wrote were phonies and that he in no way contributed to the writing of the manuscript. McCulloch told his superiors and informed McGraw-Hill of the conversation. He then approached Clifford about Howard Hughes’ denial of knowledge about the book.
Acting wounded because his credibility was being questioned, Clifford angrily suggested that the phone call was most likely a fake. McCulloch decided to read the manuscript himself and form his own opinion. During his reading of the book, McCulloch found the material to be surprisingly accurate in its depiction of Hughes and events in his life.
According to Fay, Chester and Linklater, McCulloch was even more astonished when he went to Clifford’s office shortly thereafter and, while waiting for his arrival, accidentally viewed a page that was omitted from the version of the book he read. Within the new section of manuscript, there was a detailed account of a conversation he himself had with Howard years earlier that was off the record and, he believed, was known only to the two men. At that moment, McCulloch no longer questioned the book’s authenticity and dismissed the phone call purportedly by Howard as a hoax. Little did he know that his initial intuition was right on the mark because the phone call had indeed come from Howard Hughes.
McGraw-Hill and Life continued to support Irving and his book throughout the ordeal. Barlett and Steele wrote that the primary reason for their continued support was because a nationally recognized firm of handwriting experts, Osborn Associates, declared that the writing samples and legal documents allegedly written by Hughes were authentic. Another reason was that both companies had a lot to lose financially and reputation-wise if the book was in fact a hoax.
Clifford knew the truth and realized that the problems were just beginning. Tensions concerning the book began to increase amongst those involved. In order to further authenticate the book, McGraw-Hill asked Irving to take a lie detector test, which he was unable to finish because he had to go home to Ibiza. The results, although incomplete, showed inconsistencies but no concrete lies.
Finally Howard had had enough of the nonsense and decided that he had to take matters into his own hands. On January 7, 1972 Howard Hughes arranged for a meeting to take place via the telephone, in which he would state the facts of the case to seven journalists. The meeting was televised and later aired across the country. It was the first time Howard spoke publicly in fourteen years.
During the phone conversation, via a telephone loud speaker Howard was asked about his knowledge of Clifford’s book. He claimed that he never knew about the book and until recently had never heard of Clifford Irving. In fact, he was surprised that such a thing could ever happen. According to Fay, Chester and Linklater, Howard “never left the Bahamas and had certainly not traveled to the places Irving claimed to have visited in his company”.
Following the unprecedented meeting, Clifford gave a press conference in which he stated that the voice on television was not that of Howard. He also showed a copy of one of the letters purportedly written by Howard. Clifford refused to give up his position. He continued to declare that the book was genuine when he was later asked to appear in a televised CBS interview with Mike Wallace on Sixty Minutes.
That same month, Howard’s attorney Chester Davis filed suit against McGraw-Hill, Life, Clifford Irving and Dell Publishing Company, citing that they had violated Howard’s right to publish his own autobiography. Howard had been pushed too far. He demanded his privacy and he was not about to let Clifford or those who supported him interfere with his basic human rights.
During the height of the storm, Swiss police were involved in an investigation into a suspicious bank account under the name H.R. Hughes. Within a short period of time over $750,000 passed through the private account only to be whittled away down to approximately $150 shortly thereafter. It was suspected that the account was in some way involved in the huge scandal, taking place overseas in New York involving Howard Hughes.
A link was made, when it was discovered that the checks from McGraw-Hill made out to Howard were indeed cashed at the bank. However, it was not Howard receiving the money. After questioning the bank tellers, investigators learned that a woman named Helga Hughes was depositing and withdrawing the large sums entered into the account. Intriguingly, the woman bore a remarkable resemblance to Clifford’s Swiss/German wife Edith.
In late January, the Swiss police paid a visit to Clifford and Edith’s home on the island of Ibiza. They were anxious to interview Edith and determine her possible role in the emerging bank scandal. Edith denied having any knowledge of the bank account and Clifford backed up her story but the police weren’t convinced. Fay, Chester and Linklater stated that when Clifford was asked about the unusual circumstances, he stated that there was a possibility that “1) He had been dealing all along with an imposter. 2) Howard Hughes had, for his own inscrutable purposes, used a ‘loyal servant’ to cash the checks for him. 3) He, Irving, was a hoaxer”. It didn’t take much longer for the truth to be revealed.
Clifford’s lies were becoming unraveled. The connection between Clifford and Phelan and Dietrich’s manuscript was discovered. Moreover, when the manuscripts were compared, the resemblances between them were uncanny. It became obvious that Clifford stole a large portion of their manuscript to be used for his own book.
To make matters worse for Clifford, McCulloch learned that he had lied about his whereabouts when he was allegedly interviewing Howard Hughes. In actuality, the places where he said he had been did not correspond with his travel records. It became clear that Clifford lied about the entire book and the circumstances surrounding its creation. Moreover, it was discovered that during the alleged many rendezvous with Hughes, Clifford was actually keeping company with his various mistresses around the world, gathering data of a different sort. Gradually, the hoax was becoming exposed.
On January 28, Clifford and his wife Edith publicly confessed to orchestrating and taking part in one of the most elaborate hoaxes of the century. They further confessed that it was Edith who deposited the checks made out to Hughes. It was also learned that she and Clifford falsified her passport in order to withdraw the money from the Swiss bank account, which they established under the name H.R. Hughes (Helga R. Hughes, not Howard R. Hughes).
Not surprisingly, the confession led to a media frenzy. Headlines and news reports around the world sensationalized Clifford, Suskind and Edith’s illegal but daring exploitation of Howard Hughes and the world’s most prominent publishing and magazine companies. Just as much attention was given to Clifford’s mistresses, especially Baroness Nina Van Pallandt. Fay, Chester and Linklater stated that more reporters covered the hoax than those reporting on the ongoing war in Vietnam.
Clifford was up to his neck in legal problems. There was a wealth of evidence now available that made for a potentially damaging case against him. There was evidence that Clifford had committed the federal offense of mail fraud, based on the forged letters sent to McGraw-Hill. Moreover, there was also evidence that he had violated state laws by obtaining money under false pretenses and committing perjury by lying in a sworn affidavit about his role in the hoax. Therefore, Clifford as well as his accomplices who faced similar charges, was to face an investigation by two grand juries in New York, one investigating the obstruction of state laws and the other to investigate a violation of federal laws.
During the month of February, Clifford and his accomplices confronted both grand juries. A vast amount of evidence against Clifford, Edith and Suskind was presented in both cases. The juries viewed the forged letters and the checks cashed by Edith. They also heard testimony from experts who examined the documents involved, as well as testimony given by Suskind about his role in the affair. Moreover, those who were directly and indirectly exploited in the hoax testified before the jury, with the exception of Howard Hughes, who was enroute to Nicaragua.
Howard moved from his long-time residence in the Bahamas following an investigation by Bahamian immigration officials. It was believed that some of Howard’s staff had bypassed registration for work permits and immigration procedures, which were necessary for them to live and work in the Bahamas. Bahamian officials were allegedly alerted to Howard’s unregistered staff during the controversy concerning Clifford’s book. Thus, according to Fay, Chester and Linklater, Howard became an unsuspecting victim of Clifford’s grand hoax.
On March 13, Clifford, Edith and Suskind appeared before the grand jury and pleaded guilty to their roles in the literary fraud. They made a complete confession before the federal jury and revealed the entire scheme behind the hoax. Following their declaration of guilt, further testimony was heard from several more witnesses, including that from Baroness Nina van Pallandt.
After listening to approximately one hundred witnesses, the federal jurors assessed the evidence before indicting the defendants. At about the same time, state jurors were also in the process of charging Clifford, Edith and Suskind. The state charged all three defendants on fourteen criminal counts, including possession of forged documents, intent to defraud, grand larceny for stealing monies from McGraw-Hill, perjury and conspiracy. Moreover, the federal grand jury indicted Clifford and Edith on two counts of mail fraud.
On June 16, 1972 following a federal court hearing, Clifford and Edith were both found guilty and sentenced. Clifford received a two-and-a-half year sentence in a federal prison, whereas Edith received a total of two years. However, according to Clifford Irving’s book, most of Edith’s sentence was suspended and she served only two months in New York’s Nassau County Jail. Irving further stated that the Swiss authorities eventually caught up with Edith and sentenced her to two years in prison. Dick Suskind was sentenced by the state of New York to a half-year in prison, in which he only served five months for good conduct. On top of their sentences, they were ordered to pay back a total of more than $750,000 to Clifford’s publisher.
According to a CBS interview with Clifford by Mike Wallace in 2000, Clifford caused as much trouble during his stint in prison as he had prior to his sentencing. Clifford stated that he was put in three different institutions due to his bad behavior. He claimed to have been kicked out of Allenwood Penitentiary after being, “caught with a bottle of gin.” He then was placed into solitary confinement in Lewisburg penitentiary and eventually “dispelled” for not fitting in. Finally, Clifford stated that he was sent to a penitentiary in Danbury, Connecticut, where he was accused of plotting to kill a warden and provoke a prison riot.
In February 1974, Clifford was released after spending a total of seventeen months in prison. To date he’s continued with his writing and has authored approximately a dozen books. According to the CBS interview, the almost seventy-year-old Clifford currently spends his time traveling between New Mexico and Mexico. The infamous autobiography that he had written was finally published in 1999 on the internet.
Barlett, Donald L., Steele, James B. (2003). Howard Hughes: His Life & Madness. Andre Deutsch Limited, London.
Brown, Peter Harry & Broeske, Pat H. (1997). Howard Hughes: The Untold Story. Warner Books, London.
CBS News (January 2000). Liar, Liar. CBS Broadcasting Inc.
Fay, Stephen, Chester, Lewis & Linklater, Magnus (1972). Hoax: The Inside Story of the Howard Hughes-Clifford Irving Affair. Andre Deutsch Limited, London.
Irving, Clifford (1981). The Hoax. First e-reads publication 1999.
Phelan, James R. & Chester, Lewis (1997). The Money: The Battlefor Howard Hughes’s Billions. Random House, Inc, NY and Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.