In 1958, Howard Hughes secluded himself in a darkened screening room for over four months, surrounded by boxes of Kleenex that he continuously stacked and re-arranged. He ate only chocolate bars, chicken, and drank only milk, and wrote memos to his aides giving them explicit instructions not to look at him or speak to him unless spoken to. During this period, Hughes sat fixated in his chair, often naked, continuously watching movies. When he emerged, his hygiene was terrible, and he had not bathed or cut his hair and nails for weeks, possibly due to allodynia. He also used to walk around with boxes of kleenex's on his feet to "protect them"
After the screening room incident, Howard Hughes moved into a bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel with his wife and numerous girlfriends. He would sit naked in his bedroom, watching movies, possibly due to allodynia. He spent an estimated $11 million at the hotel in one year and may have watched movies to distract himself from his pain.
Howard Hughes purchased restaurant chains and four-star hotels founded in Texas, placing ownership under the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and later reselling the licenses. He became obsessed with the film Ice Station Zebra and watched it 150 times on a continuous loop in his home. He also bought every copy of his own commercial and critical flop, The Conqueror, for $12 million and watched it repeatedly. The film's rights were acquired by Paramount Pictures after his death.
Howard Hughes had a phobia about germs and insisted on using tissues to pick up objects. He would also notice imperfections on people's clothes and demand that they take care of them. He vanished from public view and was reported to be terminally ill, mentally unstable, or even dead, although rumors of his behavior and whereabouts continued to circulate in tabloids.
Howard Hughes had a phobia about germs and insisted on using tissues to pick up objects. He would also notice imperfections on people's clothes and demand that they take care of them. He vanished from public view and was reported to be terminally ill, mentally unstable, or even dead, although rumors of his behavior and whereabouts continued to circulate in tabloids.
Howard Hughes lived in hotels in several cities, including Beverly Hills, Boston, Las Vegas, Nassau, Freeport, and Vancouver, during the last ten years of his life. He bought several hotel-casinos and wanted to change the image of Las Vegas to something more glamorous. However, his decision-making abilities were considerably affected by brain trauma, neurosyphilis, and undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder. He had a small panel of aides who oversaw and controlled considerable business holdings, satisfying his every whim. Hughes wielded much political and economic influence in Nevada and was concerned about the risk from residual nuclear radiation from underground nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site. In 1970, Jean Peters filed for divorce, and Hughes lived almost exclusively in the penthouse of the Xanadu Beach Resort & Marina for the last four years of his life. Hughes spent a total of $300 million on his many properties in Las Vegas.