Howard Hughes, Craig Cullinan, Frank Calvin Mann, and me!

[crazyquik]

Totally unrelated and not to threadjack, but . . .

This stuff reminds me of Smokey Yunick, a (white) self-taught mechanical genius who also dabbled in flying airplanes I think. Think he flew bombers in WWII. Anyway, became a race car mechanic, did out-source engineering for the Big 3, wildcatted for oil or gold in South America, designed alternative-energy and fuel engines in the 70s, had nine patents, etc etc etc. Larger than life guy, wore an iconic hat, also drank a lot and chased women, a lot.

Wrote a good 3 volumne autobiography later in life.

It seems like people had more fun back then (1950s-60s).

http://retroscenemag.com/image.axd?p...key-Image1.jpg

 

[rnoldh]

I had never heard of him, Thanks!

Definitely another larger than life figure.

Here's his Wiki.

I agree there a few people like this today.

 

[Drafton]

What changes? How was Mann essential to Hughes? How did Hughes treat him? What was the essence to the relationship? How was Mann seen in Houston? Worker, Race Man, Community Servent? He lived poor... and was a friend/ associated?

I am curious ... as to why he was there and his significance.

 

[Cognacad]

Very enlightening topic for an ignorant Canadian, thanks alot!

 

[Waterman]

My dad was a buddy of Slim's (Craig's) in the 40's; they went to a prep school in NH together, and later Yale. Funny you mention Skull and Bones, because later in life he was vocal in his opposition to such nefarious schemes. In one letter to my father, he disdainfully wrote of the "collectivist bias" that had become part of this country's schools. Good to see a name from my dad's past.
Cheers

 

[rnoldh]

Originally Posted by Waterman

My dad was a buddy of Slim's (Craig's) in the 40's; they went to a prep school in NH together, and later Yale. Funny you mention Skull and Bones, because later in life he was vocal in his opposition to such nefarious schemes. In one letter to my father, he disdainfully wrote of the "collectivist bias" that had become part of this country's schools. Good to see a name from my dad's past.
Cheers

Waterman

It's amazing that the son of one of Craig's friends has popped up.

I just Emailed you.

Craig was really book material.

So were Frank Mann and Howard Hughes.

AAMOF there have been books written about Hughes

True story. I know of someone that owns one of Hughes aviators caps ( one of those leather ones with ear flaps ). The cap was used on a historic Hughes flight. I'm trying to get him to give it to me and I want to send it to a little boy in Westchester. But the current owner is mighty proud of the cap. It's like Hughes was famous or something

Cap like this:

 

[rnoldh]

Some of you know I was going to go to the Valley this past weekend with friends.

See the poll here.

It was truly sad, but we decided it was too dangerous to go ( and we didn't go by the poll results ). I note that 5 voted "Yes, go and get killed or at least robbed." I didn't make the poll public on purpose. But I wonder if those 5 voters have the balls to live life fully. Maybe fully on SF is good enough for them.

Anyway, I was bummed out a bit so I decided to pay respects to some great men one of whom I knew very, very well and the other 2 not at all.

At Glenwood Cemetery:

My buddy Craig C. who is dearly missed:

His Uncle John H Cullinan, one of the 20th Centuries great heroes:

They genuinely don't make men like John H. Cullinan anymore.

And Howard Hughes and his parents who have always fascinated me:

I never met John H. or Howard but I know Craig would be mighty happy when Mexico gets safe again and I guarantee I'm going to visit one of the "Zonas" on the border with Craig in mind.

And somehow I get a feeling HRH would have approved to

 

[dalan88]

Nobody seems to care about old Houston, but I do.

A couple of SFers PMed me and asked questions, so I wanted to say something about Frank Calvin Mann.

He was perhaps one of the most brilliant and amazing men I have ever met. Please read this if you have any interest. I met Frank in the early 1980's when he had an auto repair shop in Houston's 3rd Ward. That was still when the 3rd Ward was a lower end black are and not the gentrified area it is now becoming.

Frank was very modest and never mentioned his accomplishments. Imagine having flown on Howard Hughes legendary Spruce Goose flight and not even mentioning it. Frank never knew Craig Cullinan or vice versa but I knew both of them. There was even a tangential connection. Craig's grandfather, Joe Cullinan, had funded the "Houston Negro Hospital" in the 1920s because black people were not seen in white man's hospitals back then. So Joe Cullinan personally funded a hospital for the black people of Houston. The hospital exists to this day as the Riverside Hospital on Elgin in Houston. Today it's a public drug and alcohol rehab hospital.

Frank thought Cullinan's founding of that hospital was one of the greatest things he had ever seen. I told him that he had done things that were just as amazing.

My friends Mike and Paul B. were extremely close to Frank, and when he died they were the administrator's of his estate (which was not large). But they tried to develop Frank's story into a movie script and got pretty far along. They invested about $100,000 and did the story boards and hired a film writer. But I think Scorsese's film beat them to the market. Of course "The Aviator" was about Howard Hughes and did not mention Frank Calvin Mann. But Mann's story would have featured Hughes prominently.

If anyone cares I could probably get the publicity package and story boards about the proposed Frank Calvin Mann film. Read the above link about him and see if you think his life merited a movie?

Do you happen to know where Mr. Mann is buried? I also never knew who established Riverside Hospital and how it happened. I was born there! Wonderful history lesson.