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The Aviator
and Jack and Helen Frye
Sedona Legend Helen Frye Profile
This new movie about Howard Hughes' life is not the first such saga to be produced. We have all seen stories of the late great Howard Hughes on the screen. Some were inspiring, some were dismal. However, this new aviation film is of great interest to the people of Sedona Arizona and the aviation world. What is the sensation about this particular film? Not only is it a new angle on Howard Hughes, but as well, it will feature the roles of Jack and Helen Frye. The Fryes, both, were good friends of Hughes, and of course, Jack and Howard were tight business partners for many years. Howard was a frequent guest at Helen and Jack's D.C. estate. So much so. that Hughes was on intimate terms with the servants and told everyone the Frye cook was his personal chef! And of course, it's no secret Jack Frye gave Howard the opportunity to invest in TWA, a company Jack Frye built from the ground up. This film explores this particular segment of Howard's life.
This is perhaps the very first time Jack and Helen Frye have been portrayed on the silver screen. Although Jack did appear as an aerial stuntman in early Hollywood movies. Jack and Helen certainly knew many celebrities and lived on the fringes of the movie industry, but this is the first time they have been portrayed in the roles they lived day to day. Jack was charismatic, larger than life, and everyone loved his jovial nature. He was a phenomenal success in the business world. Helen Frye was a knockout and men fell at her feet. Beautiful, glamorous, and voluptuous, she always caused a sensation with the men to include Howard Hughes. I am reasonably sure she was not one of his many conquests, even though it has been rumored, Helen was only interested in one man- Jack Frye. All in all, I am just thrilled that Helen and Jack are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Both were stellar personalities of their time. Even though the film is about Howard Hughes, the fact that Jack and Helen are part of the supporting cast helps cement their places permanently in the world of which they lived. Not only was Jack an aviation hero, but a war hero as well. It is said he rescued endangered dignitaries from behind enemy lines in secret aerial missions of WWII. Jack earned his position in the corporate world, he didn't buy it! How many men of that era had the United States Presidency offered to them? If it were not for the enormous amount of money Hughes inherited, which fueled his mystique, he would have been just another Hollywood playboy. I hope someday soon we will see a movie about a real aviation legend- Jack Frye! He and Helen were one of the original "power couples" long before that phrase became popular!
The movie has premiered in Sedona- I viewed it with many other Sedona residents on Christmas Day. Unfortunately for Jack and Helen, this film did not give an accurate portrayal of either person. The actors portraying Jack and Helen looked nothing like them. Emma Campbell's hair style and manner was out of character for Helen. Jack was portrayed as a Hughes "yes-man" which could not be farther from the truth. It is thoroughly documented that Jack ran TWA and took orders from no one. He was the vision behind TWA from 1930-on. The airline was well placed before Howard Hughes tried to gain control. Jack was a powerful presence, much like the way the film portrayed Juan Tripp. Howard was shy, and many say a social misfit. Jack and Helen, among others helped Howard meet all the right people and opened society's many doors. Many of Howard's contemporaries helped him circulate in his social circle. Helen, on the other hand,  was an amazing presence. In this film all her lines were cut. However she was not a demure quiet wife as intimated in the movie. She was a partner, along with her husband, for the good of TWA and quite outspoken and admired by Jack's peers. She was not only a well documented presence with in TWA, but with Jack and Howard socially, as well.
Helen was instrumental in helping Jack secure his oversea route dream for TWA with her radiant personality, glamorous presence, social connections, and negotiating abilities. (This partly in regard to her Stackelberg connection.) Jack was always grateful for Helen's input and participation with this issue, and readily credited her. Of the four wives Jack had, Helen was his soul mate life partner, and the only one who had input in his business decisions. Unfortunately, when Howard in his greed and ungratefulness, forced Jack out of TWA, he unsuccessfully tried to claim "Jack's dream" of making TWA a "worldwide airline" as his own. In the movie, this expansion which was really Jack Frye's dream, was credited solely to Howard. The film is full of historical errors and continuity issues. For instance, the first time Jack is featured was in 1935, when Howard was designing the H-1. In realty, Jack did not connect with Hughes until the '38-'39 timeframe. Also, Dietrich is credited with buying up TWA stock, this was in fact done by Frye and Richter. The film does feature some amazing airplane footage, notably of the H-1 Racer. TWA and Frye also flew a very similar model extensively for high altitude weather testing, the (NX 13758.) A paramount difference between Jack and Howard was that Jack never endangered planes or passengers, even with all his flight hours. Having flown over 60 types of planes in his career, Jack Frye never left a trail of wreckage in his wake, proving not all aviators are cut from the same cloth! The film is worth seeing for entertainment value but not as a historical documentation. See this page.
In keeping with the theme of "the above movie is more about entertainment than an accurate portrayal of history," the following article must be considered.
Frye Maneuvers To Kill Juan Tripp's "Chosen Instrument” A.K.A. the "One Airline Bill" and End Pan Am's Proposed Monopoly- As reported In Washington D.C. August 7, 1947
Background on the following article: If one would believe the “Aviator” Movie, one would think that it was Howard Hughes who miraculously and unassisted, killed Juan Tripp’s, Chosen Instrument Bill, in Washington D.C. This being pushed through by Tripp's henchman, Sen. Owen Brewster. From the article below we see that it was really Jack Frye who made sure this deadly bill was scrapped! The result? TWA retained round-the-world service. as well as other airlines. and Juan Tripp’s desire to monopolize the world with Pan Am was a dead deal. At this same juncture, Howard, typically, in his failure to see “the forest for the trees” forced Frye out of TWA, the only man who truly had the power and influence to run it optimally! Howard, from this point on, nearly destroyed the airline, as he had not the "know-how" or management skills to succeed.
The Washington-Merry-Go-Round- By Drew Pearson (article below is an excerpt)
It was Senator Brewster who flew to Raleigh N.C. last year to visit ailing Senator Bailey of North Carolina, then Chairman of the Senate Interstate Commerce Committee, to urge his support of the “one company” idea for American airlines overseas. The “one company” plan, urged by Pam American, to fly all foreign routes, was against the American system of free competition as favored by other companies.
Incidentally, when Brewster flew to see Senator Bailey in Raleigh, Jack Frye, the then president of Trans World Airlines, learned of the flight and getting ex-Senator Bennett Clark out of bed in Kansas City, Frye persuaded him to phone Senator Bailey long distance (and urge him) to not side with Senator Brewster in favor of the “one company” bill.
Brewster’s plane was delayed about fifteen minutes in reaching Raleigh, which permitted Clark’s phone call to come through, which persuaded Bailey not to go along with Brewster. This was probably the chief reason why the “one company” bill never passed the 70th Congress.
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