Howard Hughes' Will

Hosted byGeorge Knapp

Howard Hughes' Will

About the show

George Knapp welcomed Melvin Dummar, who has famously claimed that Howard Hughes left him over $150 million. He was joined by former FBI agent and author Gary Magnesen, along with attorneys Stuart Stein and Ron Greening to discuss new evidence in the most contested will in American history. "It was beyond my wildest imagination to even think of being left in Howard Hughes' will," Dummar said, regarding the infamous document that purportedly stood to net him a large portion of the Hughes fortune.

During the first hour, Dummar detailed his fateful meeting with Howard Hughes and how it began the chain of events discussed throughout the evening. He explained how, while traveling through Nevada in December of 1967, he discovered a wounded man on the side of the road and gave him a ride to Las Vegas. "I thought he was a vagrant," Dummar said of the stranger who claimed to be Howard Hughes. Nine years later, following Hughes' death, a document emerged (dubbed the "The Mormon Will") which left 1/16th of the Hughes fortune to Dummar, yet was deemed a forgery in a subsequent, contentious trial.

Appearing from the second hour onward, Gary Magnesen talked about his recent investigation into the will. He cited the discovery of a number of new facts that strengthened the veracity of Dummar's story. Most notably, Magnesen recounted the testimony of Bob Diero, the private pilot of Howard Hughes, who claims to have flown him to Nevada during the exact time when the chance encounter with Dummar was said to have taken place. Making the story even more credible, Diero told Magnesen that he'd lost Hughes during the Nevada trip, which would explain how the reclusive millionaire ended up getting picked up by Dummar.

Later in the program, they were joined by Dummar's lawyers Stuart Stein and Ron Greening, who have, in light of the newfound supporting evidence, revived the legal battle over the controversial will. Stein explained that they are not trying to re-open the Hughes estate case, rather they are suing the Hughes handlers who, they claim, committed fraud during the original probate trial over the "Mormon Will." While the lawyers were confident that, ultimately, they will be victorious in the case, Dummar expressed the feeling that, "verification is more important than the money," after having his story doubted for over thirty years.

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