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Interview with Jack Huyler
RJ with Jack Huyler at Thacher School
We drove to Ojai, California to interview Jack Huyler at the Thacher School where
John Myers went to school as a child. John Myers and Howard Hughes graduated
in the same class at Thacher. Jack was a life long friend of John Myers. We interviewed
Jack for my new documentary "Flying Man: Life and Times of John Myers."
To learn more about this documentary, go to www.flyingmandocumentary.com
Warren Christopher with Director RJ McHatton
It was a sunny day in Century City. I was there at the headquarters of the famous law firm O’Melveny & Myers to interview Warren Christopher for my documentary “Flying Man: Life and Times of Johnny Myers.” Warren Christopher is the former Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton, and a man who has dedicated his life to service. Warren Christopher knew Johnny Myers for many years. They both were members of the Sunset Club and both had worked for O’Melveny & Myers. Warren told me some great stories about Johnny Myers. Warren felt that Johnny Myers represented the Walter Mitty in every attorney because he lived such an adventurous life, even though he started as an attorney. Warren told me the history of the O’Melveny and Myers law firm. He told me about how Johnny Myers’ father was Supreme Court Justice in California who went partners with O’Melveny to create one of the nation’s most successful and prestigious law firms. Warren Christopher told me the story about how John Myers became the nation’s first entertainment attorney, representing many famous Hollywood actors including George Murphy and Bing Crosby. He talked about how Johnny’s passion for flying led him to become the Chief Test Pilot for Lockheed, then going over to Northrop for the P-61 and the Flying Wing. Johnny Myers was one of the only test pilots who worked for both Lockheed and Northrop at the same time. Warren talked about how he and Johnny Myers enjoyed great friendship and experiences as members of the Sunset Club. He talked about how Johnny Myers had such a contagious laugh. In the later years, Johnny Myers would still come by the office sometimes. One time John Myers did a slideshow of his flying exploits for the O’Melveny & Myers team. Warren talked about how even today new hire attorneys are told about the history of the firm, about the two founders and their values and integrity, and also about the fun and exciting adventures of Johnny Myers. Warren talked about the courage and character of his friend John Myers. Warren talked about how John Myers was a man with strong values, like his father. Warren talked about the sense of humor or John Myers. He told the story about John Myers was flying once with this very heavy set lawyer and they were flying from the East Coast to the West Coast. Evidently the plane was having trouble making it over the Rocky Mountains with such a heavy load, so John Myers dropped off the lawyer and had him take a train or bus to the other side of the Rockies where he picked him up and on they went on their journey. I really enjoyed meeting Warren Christopher and appreciate him taking the time to talk about John Myers.
Director RJ McHatton with Peter Mullin
It was a warm day in Brentwood. I was driving to meet Peter Mullin, CEO of MullinTBG, to interview him for my documentary “Flying Man: Life and Times of Johnny Myers.” Peter is a great guy. He is a car lover. My dad was a car lover and I think I am a car lover, too. I saw a show on the SPEED channel last year that showed Peter Mullin and his car collection. Peter has one of the world’s greatest collections of French classic automobiles. From Bugatis to Delahayes, Peter has one. He is also a great race driver himself. Trophies and ribbons and placques are everywhere. Peter is a successful businessman, but I could tell the race car trophies mean a lot. Peter did an excellent job in the interview. We discussed his friendship with Johnny Myers. Peter talked about John’s integrity and his love for automobiles. He said that John used to come over and look under the hood of these incredible cars. Peter talked about the incredible character in the man John Myers. He said that he was a rare man indeed. I really enjoyed my time with Peter Mullin. He seemed like a good man. It is interesting to me how so many of the successful business people I am meeting all have a similar focus on the importance of values and character and integrity. I told Peter about how much my Dad loved Model A Fords and had restored many. Peter said, “they were a great car.” As I looked around at the incredible high end French classic cars, I thought how Model As would compete against such beauty and grace. Peter talked about how the French auto makers used aviation design to enhance the aerodynamics of these French automobiles so many years ago. As you look at the smooth lines of these cars you can see a lot of aviation in those cars. Maybe John Myers could see that too.
You can see a nice inteview with Peter from the SPEED channel by clicking here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m8kdJVQsms
H. Russell Smith with Director RJ McHatton
It was a little bit smokey over in Pasadena this afternoon. There was a 120,000 acre fire up in the foothills. But it was pretty nice down in Pasadena. I was there to interview H. Russell Smith, former CEO of Avery Dennison and good friend of Johnny Myers for over 75 years. Russ had agreed to be interviewed for my new documentary “Flying Man: Life and Times of Johnny Myers.” Russ was originally from Ohio and his family settled into the Whittier area in the 1920s. Russ had some great stories about his youth and his family history. His family were Quaker farmers who raised Russ with tremendous values and integrity. Russ went to high school with Richard Nixon. Russ always had interest in economics and political science so he won a scholarship to Pomona College where he was the captain of the track team. After college Russ went to work for Kidder Peabody investment banking in New York City. This was in the middle of the Great Depression. He spent a year working in Switzerland during the late 1930s. Upon returning to the US, he worked for a year with Blue Diamond until the war started. He served in the US Navy during WWII. After the war he took a leadership role in Avery Adhesives (later Avery Dennison) where he rose to CEO. He first met John Myers through John’s lovely wife Lucia. Over the years John Myers and Russ Smith became close friends. They were in a lot of clubs together including the California Club and the very exclusive Sunset Club. Russ told me some great stories about his friendship with John Myers, including some of his fun flying adventures together. Russ talked about Lucia Myers and her terrific personality and wisdom. Russ did a fantastic interview and I really appreciate having the opportunity to meet him. Russ talked about how John Myers was a handshake type of man. I could see that Russ Smith was that type of man, too. Russ and I talked about family history and biography. He showed me two books he had written, one about his life and one about the letters he wrote to his mother throughout his life. Russ signed his autobiography book and gave it to me. I am grateful for his generosity. As I started reading his book I learned how many charities and important causes that Russ has helped over the years and the list is long. Pomona College. Childrens Hospital. Philharmonic. Psoriasis Research. The list goes on. Russ is an inspiring man in many ways.
Roy Wolford with Director RJ McHatton
It was a warm day in Southern California. The news had headlines about the terrible fires all across the hilltops of the Ranchos Palos Verdes area where I was headed and I didn’t know what to expect. Luckily the fires had been mostly put out and the actual fires were about two miles over the hill from where I was going. I was there to interview Roy Wolford, the official photographer for Northrop during those incredible test pilot years when Johnny Myers was risking his life on first flights. Roy had worked over 60 years for Northrop. Hard to believe these days that anyone could work one place for so long. Over the years Roy had worn many hats in many departments. He was the first photographer for Jack Northrop when he was pioneering the Black Widow and Flying Wing technologies. Eventually Roy led a whole department of photographers with high tech still and motion picture cameras. We talked for a long time about the different kinds of cameras and equipment he used to capture the test flights. Then we talked about John Myers. Roy was a good friend with John Myers since Myers first day with Northrop. Roy talked about the character, will, and integrity of John Myers. He talked about the leadership skills John had when he eventually became the VP of Northrop. Then we talked about the crash. Roy was there that day that John Myers had a terrible crash that nearly killed him. Roy told me about how he ran up to the wreckage and he screamed to John several times, only to see Myers totally quiet. Roy feared the worst but he kept screaming to John and finally he saw John’s eye twitch some movement and Roy realized John was alive. This was a very emotional moment of the interview. Roy is a great guy. He talked about how he first learned to fly and how much he loved aviation. Roy showed me several books on Northrop history and a lot of the photos from the test pilot days. In one book he showed me tons of photos of John Myers and the test pilots. All the photos had a credit to Roy Wolford. In one photo it showed several of the pilots all together with Roy in his flight suit. Roy flew in the planes being tested and outside the planes and in front of the planes and behind the planes. Roy’s photos were a tremendous help to the engineers working to test these aircraft. In the early days, the test pilots would have a small notebooks taped to their legs so they could make notes during a flight. Roy had the idea that photos would really help the engineers learn what really was happening during those flights. He was right. Thanks to Roy we have lots of photos of those early test flights and early planes. Roy has donated all of his photos and materials to several museums in the area. I am hoping to get access to them there and also through Northrop, who has kindly donated access to their archives for this project. Roy and I hit it off. I enjoyed talking to Roy very much. He lived during some of the most fantastic times in Aviation history and he was right there. He talked about flying with John Myers in the P61 and about his meeting Howard Hughes. Roy’s wife of over 59 years died a few years ago and now Roy lives in a nice assisted living place. But I don’t think he’s ready for much assistance yet. We went out to lunch and Roy showed me where the Western Aviation Museum is located at Torrance. Roy talked about how at the age of 94 he still feels strong and wants to keep active. At his apartment he showed me boxes where he has over 30,000 slides. Through his work at Northrop he was able to travel all around the world, including time during the Vietnam War in Southeast Asia. All the time, in every continent of the world, Roy Wolford took photos. I kept asking him how he could hand hold a camera and get perfect focus on those test flights. He said he had a steady hand and good eyes. As a lover of photography myself, I was in awe of the incredible skills of Roy Wolford. Meeting him was a true joy.
Director RJ McHatton with Tad Devine
It was a warm and beautiful drive down to Corona Del Mar. I was there to interview Tad Devine for my documentary “The Flying Man: Life and Times of Johnny Myers.” Tad is a great guy. He is the oldest son of the famous actor Andy Devine and he knew Johnny Myers ever since he was a little kid. I have always been a fan of Andy Devine. He was in my favorite movie of all time, the John Ford and John Wayne film “Stagecoach.” Andy Devine had worked in Hollywood since the silent days, had tremendous success both in the movies and on television. He had a very successful television show for many years. Tad did a fantastic job in the interview. He told me some fantastic stories about his family history, how his mother’s family raised horses and his father’s family ran a hotel in Kingman, Arizona for many years. He talked about how his father came to Hollywood and got into the movies because of his football playing. Tad told me how his father got that unique voice that became his trademark. Then we talked about Johnny Myers. Tad had met Johnny Myers when he was very young. John Myers was one of the world’s first entertainment attorneys and had worked with many of the most famous movie stars in the 30s, including Bing Crosby and Andy Devine. Over the years John Myers became more famous as a flyer and a test pilot. But he kept in touch with his friends, including Tad Devine. Tad talked about how their friendship endured all the way until Johnny died in his 90s. I asked Tad if he could tell me stories of John Wayne, since John Wayne was always my number one hero. Tad told me some great stories about John Wayne and his memories of his dad. I could tell that Tad was very close to his father. I am very grateful that Tad took the time to let me interview him for my movie about Johnny Myers. It was a great experience.
Cleo & Carroll Shelby with Director RJ McHatton
All you need to do is type in the words “Shelby Cobra” into youtube and you will see first hand the incredible Automotive classic cars that Carroll Shelby has designed and built ever since in the 60s. Cobras and Vipers and more. Carroll has been an aviator since the 1930s when he paid one dollar to fly in a bi-plane. During WWII Carroll was a training flight instructor for the US Army Air Corp. He has been flying all through out his career.
We were there to interview Carroll Shelby and his beautiful wife Cleo for our documentary “The Flying Man: Life and Times of Johnny Myers.” Carroll and Cleo have become great friends of Johnny Myers over the last dozen or so years. They had spent time with John up at his ranch in Merced, California and on several other trips, including one at the giant Oshkosh Aviation Celebration. Cleo told some great stories about how John Myers was very inspirational for her learning how to fly. John was a major influence to her. Carroll talked about his friendship with John Myers and how they really respected each other. He said that John was so humble, that it took a lot to get John Myers to talk about his legendary flying skills. He talked about John Myers’ sense of humor and his always being a gentleman.
I really enjoyed meeting and interviewing Carroll Shelby and his wife Cleo. They both remind me about the importance of appreciation. Carroll talked about how he has some other man’s heart in his chest. He had a heart transplant many years ago. He said he was very appreciative of every moment he has on this earth. Cleo and Carroll talked about how they met. They are a great couple. Carroll told me so awesome stories about his relationship with his father. How his father had encouraged him to go for his dreams. The message for me is to try to be a better “encourager” to others and to be more “appreciative” of life.
Thank you Cleo and Carroll Shelby for a fantastic time together.
To learn more about our new documentary “The Flying Man: Life and Times of Johnny Myers” go to
You can learn more about Carroll Shelby at www.carrollshelby.com
Here is a great artist rendering of Cleo with Carroll Shelby.http://www.kevingearyportraits.com/Gallery/pages/CarrollShelby.htm
Peter Allen with director RJ McHatton
Peter Allen
Over fifteen years ago, Peter Allen became good friends with Lou Myers and his father John. They did a lot of outdoors adventures together. When Lou Myers passed away, it was only natural that Peter Allen would become even closer to John Myers. We met Peter Allen at the California Club in downtown Los Angeles. The California Club has tremendous history and it was a big part of John Myers life. He had a lot of friends there. We were there to interview Peter Allen for our new documentary “The Flying Man” about the Life and Times of Johnny Myers. Peter told us some great stories about John Myers and about his great wisdom and positive outlook on life. John Myers had a genuine charisma about him. People always liked John Myers because he was a gentle giant of a man. Someone with humility, with kindness, with a great instinct about people. Peter Allen told us about some of his great trips with John Myers over the years. About John’s love for his dog Gus, and for aviation. Peter was the last person to see John alive. I really appreciate the hospitality and generosity Peter gave to us during our interview.
