MClub Lunch and Learn

Montecito Bank & Trust sponsors the MClub, which offers various travel trips. Today we met at the Santa Barbara Club, courtesy of president/CEO George Leis, who is a member and he welcomed everyone. Maria McCall is in charge of MClub and instigates some special outings and programs. This day, it was with Ken Richardson, who wrote Hughes After Howard, The Story of Hughes Aircraft Company.

The program began with an anecdote from Beverley Jackson, who wrote the society column for the Santa Barbara News–Press for 20+ years. She knows “everyone” and all the gossip. She told about the actress Terry Moore, who was supposed to have married Howard Hughes. She and Terry were good friends, and “Uncle” Howard used to call Beverley’s to make sure Terry was there. Meantime, he had ladies stashed in various homes around Los Angeles.

Dana Newquist introduced his friend Ken. Gossip-wise Ken told, “Hughes is rumored to have dated 25 movie actresses. For Ginger Rogers, he bought the property where the iconic Hollywood sign is located and promised to build her a mansion, but she turned him down.

Ken Richardson was born in Honolulu and earned degrees in engineering and business administration from Tufts University, USC, and UCLA. He’s also a certified private pilot. He retired in 1991 as president and COO of Hughes Aircraft Company, where he had a 40-year career. He began as a radar designer and worked his way through many key technical and management positions. 

At peak, the company employed 85,000 people and produced thousands of diverse products, including being the world’s leading developer and producer of military electronics. He stressed how many projects were initiated by governmental need and went on to be developed for everybody and everything – including computers begun for the Army in 1942 and lasers begun in 1960 with more than 55,000 applications, to name a few.

Hughes discovered he could save taxes if he lived out of the country for six months and one day of the year, so he did. He became increasingly eccentric and ended up living atop the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas.

For the entire scientific tech details and more, read Ken’s book.