FAITH'S COMPETITION? AVA GARDNER!

The following excerpts are from the book
HOWARD HUGHES THE UNTOLD STORY
by PETER HARRY BROWN and PAT H.BROESKE and are copyright 1996 by the authors.

Howard Hughes told Faith Domergue that she was the child he should have had but also that he wanted to marry her.  The huge emerald ring he gave her as an engagement ring was spotted on the Warner Brother's studio lot and by day's end Louella Parson's had printed it in her column. Hughes declined requests for interviews.  He also went through a lot of maneuvers to purchase her 7 year contract from Jack Warner who charged him $50,000.  Hughes himself also acquired her representation from Henry Willson, then at the Zeppo Marx agency.

"Suddenly my professional and emotional future were completely in his hands," Domergue recalled.  Sometimes I wasn't afraid.  I had complete confidence that my blue prince had arrived."

pages 151 - 152 -159

But then...

page 158

But then 21 year old Ava Gardner "blew into Howard's arms in January 1943."   She "kept his life in turmoil for more than a decade."  He told Ava he wanted to marry her and gave her four proposals, each with lavish gifts - diamonds, rubies, opals, Cartier, even a shoe box with $250,000 cash, and flew a plane to get her wish - orange ice cream.

page 160 - 163

"All that he had cruelly denied FAITH DOMERGUE, he showered on Gardner."  Weekends in Palm Springs Racket Club, formal dinners at Darryl Zanucks and Samuel Goldwyns (two Hollywood movie company heads), shopping in Mexico City and Manhattan.  He set Ava up in a lavish apartment just off Sunset where she lived with her sister. Then Howard put Ava under surveillance and discovered her ex husband Mickey Rooney was still sleeping with her.  When Ava confronted him and they had a fight that turned physically abusive, Howard disappeared on Faith and then he lied and claimed he'd been in a car accident.  He was addicted to psychodrama and danger.  Finally Faith overheard him making love with another woman and using the "Little Baby" endearment on this someone else!  She was 17 and had five more years on her contract with Hughes and no film rolls.

She caught sight of Howard driving Ava Gardner in a Cadillac.  Driving her red roadster, Faith gave chase.  When Hughes stopped the Cadillac, faith bumped into it with her car.

page 164

"Faith deliberately backed up her roadster and floored the gas pedal, crashing repeatedly into the passenger's door.  Gardner screamed.  Poor Ava bounced up and down in her seat."  The front of the roadster crumbled and steamed."  Howard took Faith by the hand and took her home where he made more promises, apologies, swore he'd give her father a business and make her a star.  Someone else drove Ava home."  By this time Faith noticed Howard's germ phobias and rituals and that he periodically went into a fog.

page 180

October 1944, still with Faith, he made a demonstration of burning some of his past away by tossing letters from his parents , especially his mother, into the roaring fireplace as well as the legal documents of his fight for his father's company.

page 209

In 1946 Faith finally got the courage to leave Howard and then married another playboy, Teddy Stauffer.  She later starred in Hughes produced film "Vendetta."  Ava married Artie Shaw.

page 210

Hughes continued to romance stars like Lana Turner, Yvonne DeCarlo, and Linda Darnell, and eventually Jean Peters, who eventually became Mrs. Howard Hughes Jr., his second wife.  Peters would stick by him for years even though he was rarely with her.