When Howard Hughes Purchased a TV Station Due to Insomnia

Bob Stoldal woke up one night to an unexpected sight. On his television was “Bullitt,” a crime drama starring Steve McQueen that is famed for its exceptional car chases. The peculiar thing was that “Bullitt,” which premiered in October 1968, was still showing in theaters across the nation. It should have taken months or even years for the film to make its debut on network TV. And when it finally did, it certainly wasn’t expected to premiere at 3 a.m. But there it was, and Stoldal, who was the news director at KLAS, the local CBS affiliate where the movie was airing, was mystified.

Stoldal soon remembered who owned KLAS—Howard Hughes, the legendary aviator and reclusive billionaire. It turned out that Hughes had managed to persuade Warner Bros. to allow him to air the movie. This was no ordinary occurrence, but it wasn’t unusual for Hughes, who owned the channel not for its profitability but to treat it like his personal movie library. Decades before on-demand streaming, Hughes could air his favorite films, including “Bullitt,” whenever he desired.

Hughes had inherited a fortune built on his father’s invention of an oil drill bit capable of penetrating hard rock. This wealth allowed Hughes to lead multiple lives—as a pioneering aviator, a socialite, and a film mogul. By the 1960s, Hughes had retreated from public life, withdrawing into a reclusive existence triggered by a 1946 aviation accident that left him in chronic pain and dependent on opiates.

Las Vegas had a hold on Hughes, who first visited during World War II and returned in 1953 to lease a small bungalow, which he painted green and called “the green house.” Hughes left it undisturbed but returned to Vegas more permanently in 1966, arriving on his private train during Thanksgiving. He sought greater influence in Vegas than he had in California.

“I’m sick and tired of being a small fish in the big pond of Southern California,” Hughes reportedly said. “I’ll be a big fish in a small pond. I want people to pay attention when I talk.”

However, Hughes rarely spoke to anyone outside his inner circle. After his arrival in Vegas, he took up residence at the Desert Inn on Las Vegas Boulevard, occupying both upper floors. He stayed through New Year’s, paying $250 per night until he outright bought the property for $13.25 million when the hotel management grew irritated.

Hughes confined himself to the hotel and became an avid TV viewer, particularly of movies. His options were limited, as there was no cable, no video cassettes, and only the programming from the three major networks: CBS, NBC, and ABC. Hughes had a preference for CBS affiliate KLAS, owned by publisher Hank Greenspun.

However, KLAS had a major issue—Hughes’s insomnia meant his prime viewing hours were from midnight to 6 a.m., but the channel signed off at 11 p.m. Hughes’s nocturnal habits and desire to restart or demand specific movies frequently disrupted the station’s schedule. Eventually, Greenspun challenged Hughes to buy the station if he wanted to control its programming. Hughes did just that, purchasing KLAS in September 1967 for $3.6 million, giving him complete control.

The surprise screening of “Bullitt” was just one of many decisions Hughes made. He often had employees call in to restart movies or change the film, leaving KLAS viewers baffled. “The station was for Howard Hughes back in the ’60s his own private movie projector, his Redbox,” former KLAS anchor Gary Waddell said in 2018.

Hughes’s investment in Vegas didn’t stop with KLAS. Over the years, he spent approximately $300 million, buying five casinos and various real estate properties, helping to reshape the Vegas Strip. His presence in Vegas contributed to a shift in the city’s image from a mafia haven to a more commercialized entertainment hub.

“He cleaned up the image of Las Vegas,” Hughes employee Robert A. Maheu once noted, adding that Hughes’s influence encouraged large corporate entities to consider investments in the city.

By the time Hughes left Las Vegas in 1970, he was regarded as one of the city’s founding fathers. He was one of Nevada’s largest landowners at one point. Hughes passed away in 1976 at the age of 70, never returning to Las Vegas, the city he had significantly influenced.

Today, KLAS is still broadcasting and is owned by Nexstar Media. Interestingly, Hughes’s small green bungalow from 1953 now stands in the station’s parking lot, a silent nod to his impactful presence in Las Vegas.

Source: Mental Floss