Creative Person research

Howard Hughes

• Went to private schools. Aged 12 he made a radio transmitter out of an electrical doorbell and made a self starting motor for his bike
• He was orphaned aged 18 and inherited the Hughes Tool Company and the estate. he used some of this money to finance his film making and a pilot liscene.
• He rarely participated in the Hollywood glamour and lively a relatively quiet life
• He represented the traditional American dream qualities of individuality, daring and imagination and got on the Aviation Wall of Fame 1973

• A producer and director of movies in the 1930s (including Hells Angles 1930, Scarface 1932 and The Outlaw 1943)
• He was also an aviator but had a plane accident in 1946 and afterwards became a recluse in Nevada

• He is also credited for aviation innovations, for example the first retractable landing gear and the H-4 Hercules (nicknamed Spruce Goose).
• He founded his own aircraft company, breaking several world air speed records

• It is thought that when he became a recluse he was suffering from OCD and a drug problem
• He is largely known as being one of the wealthiest men and one of the most famous recluses
• His life was captured in the film The Aviator in 2004 after his death (aged 70), played by Leonardo DiCaprio
• He died on a plane flying to a hospital for medical treatment
• A planned autobiography turned out to be a hoax and the author ended up in prison for 18 months for fraud
• His body was neglected and they had to take fingerprints to identify it. They discovered he had died of a kidney failure with large amounts of codeine and Vallium in his bloodstream

JT LeRoy

• Jerimiah "Terminator" LeRoy is a literary persona created by American writer Laura Albert.
• First Novel Sarah
• Laura Alberts 15 years younger sister in Law was Savannah Koop
• Koop dressed as JT Leroy in a wig, normally wearing sunglasses. He went to all the parties and hung out with big names (coming off grunge rock): Courtney Love, Eddie Vedder, Bono, Shirley Manson, Debbie harry
• JT LeRoy had a tragic backstory: truck stop sex worker mum, southern Baptist grandparents and LeRoy a cross dresser