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Irving with the typewriter used to
write the Hughes manuscript. His story
was adapted into the film Hoax (1981);
Irving was hired as an adviser but
disliked the end product, and asked for
his name to be cut from the credits.See also: The Affair of the Diamond Necklace 64–65 ■ The Sale of the Eiffel Tower 68–69 ■ Elmyr de Hory 74–77CON ARTISTS
Two lucky breaks
In the course of their research,
Irving and Suskind were shown
an unfinished manuscript about
Hughes’s former business manager,
written by author James Phelan.
Phelan was not aware that Irving
had been given the manuscript,
large parts of which Irving
plundered and claimed as his own.
In late 1971, Irving delivered
a completed manuscript to his
editors at McGraw-Hill, and they
made plans to publish the following
year. Learning this, Hughes’slawyers intervened, expressing
doubts to Irving’s publisher as to
the autobiography’s authenticity.
McGraw-Hill continued to back
Irving after a handwriting firm
inspected writing samples, and
declared them to be authentic.The gamble backfires
Hughes finally came out of
seclusion two months before the
book’s planned release in March
1972 to hold a telephone press
conference with reporters. He
denounced the book as a fake and
McGraw-Hill rescinded its contract.
Time magazine, in a February
1972 issue, named Irving “Con
Man of the Year”.
The police investigated Irving,
and a grand jury convened to
consider charges of mail fraud,
perjury, and forgery. He wasindicted with “conspiracy to
defraud through use of the mails”
but instead of going to trial, he
pleaded guilty, was fined $10,000
(£8,000), ordered to pay back the
advance, and sentenced to 30
months in a federal penitentiary.
Irving filed for bankruptcy the same
year. Edith was sentenced to two
months’ imprisonment and Suskind
was given six months in jail for
theft and conspiracy.
Irving’s remarkable story was
published in 1977, and a major film
adaptation followed in 2006. ■Irving’s hoax worked because
the base on which he built
was largely genuine.
Time magazineThe art of the hoax
Hoaxers often go to great lengths
to make a scam appear plausible.
Clifford Irving did not simply
make up the interviews with
Hughes in the book, he acted
them out with Suskind, with
Irving playing Hughes and
Suskind playing Irving.
The material that Irving had
lifted from author James Phelan
appeared plausible because
it was genuine, based on real
experiences with someone who
knew Hughes well. This combined
with Irving’s undeniable literaryskill – he had enjoyed success
in 1969 with his biography of
forger Elmyr de Hory (see pp.
74–77) – to make the book a
compelling read. The timing
of the book was also perfect,
because there was an
international appetite to learn
the truth about the eccentric,
reclusive billionaire.
Irving later admitted his
secret: he was taken in by his
own lies. The only thing he
misjudged was Hughes himself,
who, contrary to Irving’s
prediction, finally broke his
silence to decry Irving.Edith Irving played a crucial role in
the hoax, and effected a disguise to
conceal her identity when depositing
Hughes’s cheques into the new bank
account she opened.088-089_Clifford_Irving.indd 89 13/01/2017 15:10