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Melvin Earl Dummar (born August 28, 1944) is a Utah man who earned attention when he claimed to have saved reclusive business tycoon Howard Hughes in a Nevada desert in 1967, and to have been awarded part of Hughes' vast estate. Dummar's story was adapted into the Academy Award winning film Melvin and Howard, in which he was portrayed by Paul Le Mat. As of 2008, Dummar lives in Brigham City, Utah with his wife Bonnie.

Dummar's claims resulted in a series of court battles which have all ruled against Dummar. A Las Vegas jury determined in 1978 that the will, leaving Dummar $156 million, was a forgery.^[1]

Dummar's purported meeting with Hughes[link]

While working at a service station in Willard, Utah, Dummar claimed to have discovered a disheveled and lost man lying on the side of a stretch of U.S. Highway 95 about 150 miles (240 km) north of Las Vegas, Nevada, near Lida Junction. Hughes asked Dummar to take him to the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. Dummar claimed that only in the final minutes of their encounter did Hughes reveal his identity.

The "Mormon Will"[link]

After Hughes's death in April 1976, a handwritten will was discovered in the Salt Lake City, Utah headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Though purportedly written by Hughes in 1968, the will had many strange discrepancies. It named Noah Dietrich as an executor, despite the fact that Dietrich had left Hughes' employ on bad terms in the late '50s. The will left approximately $156,000,000 to the LDS Church and although Hughes had employed many LDS workers, he had never been a member of that church. The will left money to his two ex-wives, Ella Rice and Jean Peters, even though both women had alimony settlements that barred claims on Hughes' estate. The will was rife with misspellings, including misspelling the name of Hughes' cousin. It called Hughes' famous flying boat, the Hughes H-4 Hercules, the "spruce goose"—a derisive nickname that Hughes had always despised.^[2] Most oddly, the will left one "Melvin DuMar" of Gabbs, Nevada one-sixteenth of Hughes's estate.

Text of the "Mormon Will"[link]

The text of the handwritten document known as the "Mormon Will":

Last Will and Testament

I, Howard R. Hughes, being of sound mind and disposing mind and memory, not acting under duress, fraud or the undue influence of any person whomever, and being a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, declare that this is to be my last will and revolt [sic] all other wills previously made by me -

After my death, my estate is to be devided [sic] as follows -

First: one-forth [sic] of all my assets to go to Hughes Medical Institute of Miami -

Second: one-eight [sic] of assets to be devided [sic] among the University of Texas - Rice Institute of Technology of Houston - the University of Nevada - and the University of Calif.

Third: one-sixteenth to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - David O. McKay - Pre.

Forth [sic]: one-sixteenth to establish a home for Orphan Cildren [sic] -

Fifth: one-sixteenth of assets to go to Boy Scouts of America.

Sixth: one-sixteenth to be devided [sic] among Jean Peters of Los Angeles and Ella Rice of Houston -

Seventh: one-sixteenth of assets to William R. Lommis [sic] of Houston, Texas -

Eighth: one-sixteenth to go to Melvin DuMar [sic] of Gabbs, Nevada -

Ninth: one-sixteenth to be devided [sic] among [sic] my personal aids [sic] at the time of my death -

Tenth: one-sixteenth to be used as school scholarship fund for entire country - the spruce goose is to be given to the City of Long Beach, Calif.

The remainder of my estate is to be devided [sic] among the key men of the company's [sic] I own at the time of my death.

I appoint Noah Dietrich as the executer [sic] of this will -

Signed the 19 [sic] day of March 1968

Howard R. Hughes

1978 Probate trial of the "Mormon Will"[link]

Dummar (whose inheritance would have been $156 million) originally claimed that he knew nothing about the will and told his story of picking up Hughes by the side of the road. Afterwards, when authorities discovered Dummar's fingerprint on the envelope, he said that a well-dressed man had left the will in a sealed envelope at Dummar's service station. An enclosed note, Dummar claimed, instructed him to deliver the will to the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which had also been left 1/16 of the estate.^[3]

Investigation revealed that Dummar's wife Bonnie Dummar had worked for a magazine called Millionaire that was distributed to wealthy Americans, and that her job had allowed her access to Hughes' memos and Hughes' signature. However, Bonnie Dummar denied forging the will.^[4]

The document, which became known as the "Mormon Will", was ruled a forgery by a Nevada jury in June 1978. Dummar received no portion of Hughes' estate, but no criminal charges were filed against him or his wife.

2005 investigation by FBI agent Gary Magnesen[link]

In early 2005, retired FBI agent Gary Magnesen claimed to have found new evidence supporting Dummar's story. Magnesen stated that Hughes's closest employees remembered him entering the Sands early one morning in December 1967 and stating that he had been picked up by Dummar in the desert. Furthermore, Hughes had purchased interests in mines located near the area where Dummar said he found him, and had frequented a brothel near where Dummar said he'd first encountered Hughes.^[5][6] Magnesen documented his findings in his 2005 book, The Investigation: A Former FBI Agent Uncovers the Truth Behind Howard Hughes, Melvin Dummar, and the Most Contested Will in American History.

2006 suit against Lummis and Gay[link]

On June 12, 2006, Dummar filed suit in the United States district court for Utah against William Lummis, the primary beneficiary of the Hughes estate, and Frank Gay, the former chief operating officer of a number of Hughes entities, claiming that the two had conspired to defraud Dummar out of his rightful share of the Hughes estate by presenting perjured testimony and concealing evidence in the 1978 trial. Dummar's complaint demanded the $156 million which he would have received from the estate, plus punitive damages and interest.

On January 9, 2007, U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins dismissed Dummar's lawsuit, stating that Dummar's claims had been “fully and fairly litigated” in Las Vegas in 1978, when a jury decided the purported will was invalid.^[7]

Trivia[link]

Melvin Dummar had a brief cameo in the movie "Melvin and Howard" and was given two lines.

References[link]

• Hack, Richard. Hughes: The Private Diaries, Memos and Letters. The Definitive Biography of the First American Billionaire. New Millennium Press, Beverly Hills, 2001.

External links[link]

• 2005 report of new evidence
• Dummar interview
• Melvin and Howard at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Chicago Public Media

Dummar is a suburb of Damascus.^[1] Its construction began in the 1970s and the first residents moved in during the mid 1980s.^[2] Dummar is located 5 km west of Damascus.^[2]

References[link]

This Syria location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Coordinates: 33°31′48″N 36°13′55″E / 33.5300°N 36.2320°E / 33.5300; 36.2320

Paul Le Mat (born September 22, 1945) is an American actor who first came to prominence in the 1973 film American Graffiti, which won him the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actor.

Personal life[link]

Le Mat was born to Matthew (1914–1963) and Paula Le Mat (1912–1990). He is of French, Scottish, English, Cuban, and Irish descent. He graduated from Newport Harbor High School in 1963, and, although he never received a degree, he attended various colleges in California. A Vietnam veteran, Le Mat was awarded the National Defense Medal and Vietnam Service Medal. He is married to Suzanne de Passe and they have three daughters.

Career[link]

Le Mat starred in the pilot episode of Firehouse in 1973. The same year, he appeared in American Graffiti, a coming of age film about a group of friends in Modesto, California in the early 1960s. He played John Milner - a role that would earn him his first Golden Globe Award. The film went on to receive universal acclaim, and was a box office hit. Le Mat also starred in Floyd Mutrux's 1975 crime spree film Aloha, Bobby and Rose. In 1977, he starred in Jonathan Demme's acclaimed comedy, Handle with Care, which was later re-titled Citizens Band, which saw him reunite with his American Graffiti co-star Candy Clark. Le Mat would reunite with Demme for 1980's Melvin and Howard, in which he played the titular role of Melvin Dummar. The film was based upon the true story of a gas station attendant who claimed to be an heir of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, and won two Academy Awards. It was met with rave reviews from Pauline Kael and other top film critics, and Le Mat was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. In 1979, Le Mat reprised his role of John Milner in More American Graffiti.

In 1982, Le Mat played the Donald E. Westlake character John Dortmunder in Jimmy the Kid, opposite Gary Coleman in the role of Jimmy. He also provided the voice of Omar in the American release of the animated film Rock & Rule. Le Mat starred in the made-for-TV movie The Burning Bed opposite Farrah Fawcett. The film was based on the true story of an abusive husband who drives his wife to drastic measures with his aggressive ways. Le Mat was awarded the second Golden Globe Award of his career for his role in the film. He would go on to star in other television films such as The Night They Saved Christmas, Into the Homeland and Secret Witness. He appeared in the TV miniseries On Wings of Eagles, and in the film Puppet Master. In the 1990s, Le Mat would continue to work on independent films and TV movies. He played Josiah Peale in Lonesome Dove: The Series, and in the follow-up Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years. He had a small role in the 1998 film American History X. More recently, Le Mat starred in the film Stateside.

Trivia[link]

To date, Le Mat is the only multiple-time Golden Globe winner (for performances in film) who has never been nominated for an Academy Award.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Paul Le Mat at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website

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Mary Steenburgen
Steenburgen at the December 2009 ceremony to receive her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Born	Mary Nell Steenburgen (1953-02-08) February 8, 1953 (age 59) Newport, Arkansas, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1978–present
Spouse	Malcolm McDowell (1980–1990) (divorced) Ted Danson (1995–present)
Children	2 (with McDowell)
Awards	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Melvin and Howard (1980) Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Melvin and Howard (1980)

Mary Nell Steenburgen^[1] (born February 8, 1953) is an American actress. She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for playing the role of Lynda Dummar in Jonathan Demme's 1980 film Melvin and Howard.

Early life[link]

Steenburgen was born in Newport, Arkansas, the daughter of Nellie Mae (née Wall), a school-board secretary, and Maurice Steenburgen, a freight-train conductor who worked at the Missouri Pacific Railroad.^[2][3][4][5] Steenburgen grew up in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

Career[link]

Steenburgen moved to New York City in 1972, working at Doubleday while studying acting at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse under Will Esper.^[6] Her break came when she was discovered by Jack Nicholson in the reception room of Paramount's New York office and was cast as the lead in his second directorial effort, the 1978 Western Goin' South.^[6] She had a leading role in the 1979 film Time After Time as a modern woman who falls in love with author H. G. Wells, played by her first husband-to-be Malcolm McDowell.

In only her third film, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1980 film Melvin and Howard, playing the wife of a man who claims to have befriended reclusive eccentric Howard Hughes. Another notable film appearances came in the well-received 1983 film Cross Creek.

In Back to the Future Part III (1990), Steenburgen played Clara Clayton, a school teacher who falls in love with Doc Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd. She was persuaded to play the role by her children, as well as by fans of the Back to the Future films, and reprised the role by providing the character's voice in Back to the Future: The Animated Series.

Other performances have been: in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), as a woman who is having an affair with the title character (played by Johnny Depp); the role of Hannah Nixon in the Oliver Stone biopic, Nixon (1995); and in the Will Ferrell 2003 comedy Elf, as a woman who discovers that her husband is the father of one of Santa's elves.

Steenburgen in December 2000

In television, she has starred in the sitcom Ink (1996) with her husband Ted Danson, and co-starred in the television miniseries Gulliver's Travels (1996) with Danson. She appeared as herself alongside Danson in the HBO comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm. She played mother of the title character in the CBS drama series Joan of Arcadia. In 2011, she made guest appearances in Bored to Death, again alongside Danson.

In recent years, she has been in the comedy films, Step Brothers (2008), starring Will Ferrell, playing the mother of Ferrell's character; Four Christmases (2008) opposite Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon; and The Proposal (2009) opposite Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.

Steenburgen received the 2,395th star on Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 16, 2009.

It was announced in June 2010 that Steenburgen would star in a 2011 FX pilot, Outlaw Country.^[7]

Dirty Girl, which features Steenburgen along with Juno Temple, Milla Jovovich and William H. Macy, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 12, 2010. She also appeared in the critically acclaimed film The Help (2011), starring opposite Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Bryce Dallas Howard.

Personal life[link]

Steenburgen married actor Malcolm McDowell in 1980 and they had two children together: Lilly Amanda (now Lilly McDowell Walton), born January 31, 1981, and Charles Malcolm, born July 10, 1983. Charlie, who runs a popular blog and twitter feed titled "Dear Girls Above Me" recently had his website, which details the many vapid and airheaded things his upstair neighbors can be overheard saying, optioned for a movie produced by Ashton Kutcher. Steenburgen and McDowell divorced in 1990.

On October 7, 1995, Steenburgen married actor Ted Danson. In September 2005, she and Danson gave a guest lecture for students at the Clinton School of Public Service where they discussed their roles in public service as well as the foundations and causes in which they are involved.^[8] An alumna of Hendrix College, Steenburgen received an honorary doctorate from the institution in 1989.^[9] In 2006, Steenburgen received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas.^[10]

She is a close friend of Secretary of State and former Senator Hillary Clinton, and supported Clinton's 2008 Presidential campaign along with Danson.^[11]

She splits her time living in Ojai, California and Martha's Vineyard, in addition to sharing a condominium with Danson in the River Market District of Little Rock.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2012, Steenburgen became a grandmother when her daughter Lilly gave birth to a girl named Clementine Mae.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mary Steenburgen

• Mary Steenburgen at the Internet Movie Database
• Mary Steenburgen at AllRovi
• Mary Steenburgen Named 27th Sexiest Woman Over 50
• Mary Steenburgen: The Gift of Giving

Jason Robards
Jason Robards in Florida around 1975.
Born	Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. (1922-07-26)July 26, 1922 Chicago, Illinois
Died	December 26, 2000(2000-12-26) (aged 78) Bridgeport, Connecticut
Cause of death	lung cancer
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1946–2000
Known for	Playing Historical Figures, Eugene O'Neill
Spouse	Eleanor Pittman (m.1948-1958; divorced) Rachel Taylor (m.1959-1961; divorced) Lauren Bacall (m.1961-1969; divorced) Lois O'Connor (m.1970-2000; his death)
Children	6, including Sam Robards
Parents	Jason Robards, Sr., Hope Maxine (nee Glanville)

Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor on stage, and in film and television. He is a winner of the Tony Award, two Academy Awards and the Emmy Award. He was also a United States Navy combat veteran of World War II.

He became famous playing works of Eugene O'Neill, an American playwright, and regularly performed in O'Neill's works throughout his career. Robards was cast in both common-man roles and as well-known historical figures.

Early life and education[link]

Robards was born in Chicago, the son of Hope Maxine (née Glanville) Robards and Jason Robards, Sr.,^[1] an actor who regularly appeared on the stage and in such early films as The Gamblers (1929). Robards was of English, Welsh, Irish, and Swedish descent.^[2][3]

The family moved to New York City, New York, when Jason Jr. was still a toddler, and then moved to Los Angeles, California, when he was six years old. Later interviews with Robards suggested that the trauma of his parents' divorce, which occurred during his grade-school years, greatly affected his personality and worldview.

As a youth, Robards also witnessed first-hand the decline of his father's acting career. The elder Robards had enjoyed considerable success during the era of silent films, but he fell out of favor after the advent of "talkies" (sound film), leaving the younger Robards soured on the Hollywood film industry.

The teenaged Robards excelled in athletics, running a 4:18 mile during his junior year at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles. Although his prowess in sports attracted interest from several universities, upon his graduation in 1940, Robards decided to join the Navy.

Naval service in World War II[link]

As a radioman 3rd class in the Navy, Robards served aboard a heavy cruiser, the USS Northampton (CA-26) in 1941. On December 7, 1941, he was aboard the Northampton in the Pacific Ocean about 100 miles (160 km) off Hawaii. Contrary to some stories, he witnessed the devastation of the Japanese attack on Hawaii only afterwards, when the Northampton returned to Pearl Harbor two days later.^[4] The Northampton was later directed into the Guadalcanal campaign in World War II's Pacific theater, where she participated in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.

During the Battle of Tassafaronga on Guadalcanal on the night of November 30, 1942, the Northampton was sunk by hits from two Japanese torpedoes. Robards found himself treading water until near daybreak, when he was rescued by an American destroyer. For its service in the war the Northampton was awarded five battle stars.

Two years later, in November 1944, Robards was radioman on the USS Nashville (CL-43), the flagship for the invasion of Mindoro in the northern Philippines. On December 13, she was struck by a kamikaze aircraft off Negros Island in the Philippines. The aircraft hit one of the port five-inch gun mounts, while its two bombs set the midsection ablaze. There were 223 casualties, and the Nashville was forced to return to Pearl Harbor and then to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, for repairs.

Robards served honorably during the war, but was not a recipient of the U.S. Navy Cross for bravery, as has been recorded in numerous uncited resources. The inaccurate story that he was a Navy Cross recipient derives from a 1979 column by Hy Gardner^[5] which stated that Robards was awarded the medal. From this false story, many subsequent references repeated the inaccuracy. But Robards's name does not appear on any official or semi-official rolls of Navy Cross recipients.^[6]

It was on the Nashville that Robards first found a copy of Eugene O’Neill’s play Strange Interlude in the ship’s library.^[7][8] It was also in the Navy that he first started thinking seriously about becoming an actor. He had emceed for a Navy band in Pearl Harbor, gotten a few laughs and decided he liked it. His father suggested he enroll in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.^[7]

Career[link]

Robards decided to get into acting after the war and his career started out slowly. He moved to New York City and found small parts — first in radio and then on the stage. His big break was landing the starring role in José Quintero's 1956 off-Broadway-theatre production and the later 1960 television film of O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh, portraying the philosophical salesman Hickey; he won an Obie Award for his stage performance. He later portrayed Hickey again in a 1985 Broadway revival also staged by Quintero, who also directed Robards in Broadway productions of O'Neill's plays: Long Day's Journey Into Night (1956, as Jamie Tyrone, and 1988, as Tyrone, Sr.), Hughie (1964), A Touch of the Poet (1977) and A Moon for the Misbegotten (1973). He repeated his role in Long Day's Journey Into Night in the 1962 film and televised his performances in A Moon for the Misbegotten (1975) and Hughie (1984).

Robards also appeared on stage in a revival of O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! (1988) directed by Arvin Brown, as well as Lillian Hellman's Toys in the Attic (1960), Arthur Miller's After the Fall (1964), Clifford Odets's The Country Girl (1972) and Harold Pinter's No Man's Land (1994).

He had made his film debut in the two-reel comedy Follow That Music (1946), but after his Broadway success he was invited to make his feature debut in The Journey (1959). He became a familiar face to movie audiences throughout the 1960s, notably for his performances in A Thousand Clowns (1965) (repeating his stage performance), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968).

He appeared on television anthology series, including two segments in the mid-1950s of CBS's Appointment with Adventure.

Robards played three different U.S. presidents in film. He played the role of Abraham Lincoln in the TV movie The Perfect Tribute (1991) and supplied the voice for two television documentaries, first for "The Presidency: A Splendid Misery" in 1964, and then again in the title role of the 1992 documentary miniseries Lincoln. He also played the role of Ulysses S. Grant in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981) and supplied the Union General's voice in the PBS miniseries The Civil War (1990). He also played Franklin D. Roosevelt in FDR: The Final Years (1980).

Robards appeared in two dramatizations based on the Watergate scandal. In 1976 he portrayed Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee in the film All the President's Men, based on the book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. The next year, he played fictional president Richard Monckton (based on Richard Nixon) in the 1977 television miniseries Washington: Behind Closed Doors based on John Ehrlichman's roman à clef The Company.

Robards voiced a number of documentaries, including Ken Burns's Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991).

Awards[link]

Robards received eight Tony Award nominations,^[9] — more than any other male actor as of October 2009^[update]. He won the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his work in The Disenchanted, (1959); this was also his only stage appearance with his father.

He received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in consecutive years for All the President's Men (1976) for portraying Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee and Julia (1977) for portraying writer Dashiell Hammett (1977).^[10] He was also nominated for another Academy Award for his role as Howard Hughes in Melvin and Howard (1980).

Robards received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie for Inherit the Wind (1988).^[11]

In 1997, Robards received the U.S. National Medal of Arts, the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Recipients are selected by the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts and the medal is awarded by the President of the United States.

In 1999, he was among the recipients at the Kennedy Center Honors, an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture.^[12]

Jason Robards narrated the public radio documentary, "Schizophrenia: Voices of an Illness," produced by Lichtenstein Creative Media, which was awarded a 1994 George Foster Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting. According to Time Magazine, Robards offered to narrate the schizophrenia program, volunteering that his first wife had been institutionalized for that illness."^[13]

Personal life[link]

Robards had six children from his four marriages, including actor Jason Robards III (born 1949) by his first wife, Eleanor Pittman; and actor Sam Robards by his third wife, actress Lauren Bacall, to whom he was married in 1961: he divorced her in 1969.^{[citation needed]}

In 1972 he was seriously injured in an automobile accident when he drove his car into the side of a mountain on a winding California road, requiring extensive surgery and facial reconstruction. The accident may have been related to his life-long struggle with alcoholism.^[7][8]

Robards was a U.S. Civil War buff and scholar, an interest which informed his portrayal of the voice of Ulysses S. Grant in The Civil War series by filmmaker Ken Burns.

Death[link]

A resident of the Southport section of Fairfield, Connecticut,^[14] Robards died of lung cancer in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on December 26, 2000 at the age of 78. He was cremated.

His death was mourned by both fans and actors. "He was the last of a breed of actors who dedicated themselves to a life in the theater. Without asking for the role, he was our elder statesman," said actor Kevin Spacey.^[15]

Legacy[link]

The Jason Robards Award was created by the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City in his honor and his relationship with the theatre.

Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh chose her middle name in honor of Robards.

Work[link]

Stage[link]