Thursday, Sept. 11, 1997 | 11:07 a.m.
James Phelan, a widely respected investigative journalist and author of the most acclaimed book on Howard Hughes, has died in Southern California. He was 85.
Phelan, who wrote articles for more than 60 magazines during his career, had longstanding ties to the Las Vegas SUN and its late publisher, Hank Greenspun.
He was the lead reporter on an award-winning SUN series in 1982 that detailed misconduct in the government's investigation of former U.S. District Judge Harry Claiborne. In 1986, following a tax conviction, Claiborne became the first federal judge impeached by Congress and removed from the bench in 50 years.
Former New York Times reporter Wallace Turner, a Pulitzer Prize winner who also covered the Claiborne story, described Phelan 20 years ago as "one of the best investigative reporters of his generation."
On Wednesday, Turner echoed those words, saying the quality of Phelan's work "was of the finest."
"He had an encyclopedic knowledge of sources, documents and procedures to follow," Turner said. "He was totally dedicated to finding out what was true, writing it and getting it published."
SUN Publisher Barbara Greenspun called Phelan a "true artist in his profession."
"He was just a wonderful human being," Greenspun said.
Phelan covered Hughes and his legacy for more than 40 years and was regarded as the most authoritative source on his life and death.
"Jim was one of the greatest investigative reporters I've ever met," said Robert Maheu, Hughes' top aide and alter ego.
Maheu described Phelan and Hank Greenspun, who died in 1989, as two of a kind.
"One of the reasons he and Hank had so much respect for each other was that they were cut from the same mold," Maheu said. "If they had a cause, they would fight from here to hell for it."
Phelan's 1976 best seller, "Howard Hughes: The Hidden Years," gave the country its first real look inside the eccentric billionaire's empire, which included several Las Vegas casinos. The book made the cover of Time magazine.
"Jim's 'The Hidden Years' was the only complete account of the parts of Hughes' life that involved the state of Nevada," SUN Executive Editor Mike O'Callaghan said. "He had several inside sources, including Gordon Margulis, a Hughes caretaker."
O'Callaghan was one of the few outsiders to see the reclusive Hughes in the last 15 years of his life. He met him during a secret rendezvous in London in 1973, while serving as Nevada's governor. Hughes died in 1976.
"The first time Jim interviewed me about my London meeting with Hughes, I knew he was already loaded with solid information," O'Callaghan said.
Born in Alton, Ill., Phelan began his career with his hometown paper, the Alton Evening Telegraph. He later moved to Long Beach, Calif., and worked for newspapers there until he quit and became a freelance journalist.
While working for such magazines as True, Fortune, Time and the old Saturday Evening Post, Phelan helped uncover some of the biggest stories of the last four decades.
He was the first journalist to show that former New Orleans District Attorney James Garrison had no case against Clay Shaw, who was accused of conspiring to kill President Kennedy.
Phelan's latest book, "The Money," which traces the Hughes fortune, is due out next month.
He is survived by his wife Amalie and two daughters, Judith and Janet.
Services are set for Friday in Temecula, Calif., and a memorial service is being planned in Long Beach in a couple of weeks.
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