Hawks' friend John Ford called him "The Grey Fox" of Hollywood for his womanizing ways (regardless of whether he was married or not at the time).
Hawks' wife saw Lauren Bacall on the cover of a magazine and persuaded him to put her in the movies. Bacall was only 20 when she made her screen debut in To Have and Have Not (1944).
He never got over the plane crash death of his brother Kenneth Hawks of whom, Howard later said, probably had the potential to be an even greater filmmaker than himself. Nonetheless, he continued to fly after his brother's death and went on to shoot many films about pilots.
He was an infamous teller of tall tales, usually ones where he exagggerated his already considerable involvement in the making of his films and ones where he sounded like a tough guy (punching producers, etc.)
He was presented with an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement by his friend John Wayne at the 1974 Academy Awards ceremony.
His son, Peter John Ward Hawks, was born to wife Athole on July 31, 1924, and adopted by Howard in 1928. Son David Winchester Hawks was born October 9, 1929. Daughter Barbara born May 20, 1936. Daughter Kitty Stephen Hawks born February 11, 1946. Son Gregg born October 22, 1954.
His uncredited voice is used during the opening credits of Monkey Business (1952). The off-screen voice twice says, "Not yet, Cary," when Barnaby (Cary Grant) opens his front door to come outside.
Interviewed in Peter Bogdanovich's "Who the Devil Made It: Conversations With Robert Aldrich, George Cukor, Allan Dwan, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Chuck Jones, Fritz Lang, Joseph H. Lewis, Sidney Lumet, Leo McCarey, Otto Preminger, Don Siegel, Josef von Sternberg, Frank Tashlin, Edgar G. Ulmer, Raoul Walsh." NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997.
Is portrayed by Ivan Bonar in Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess (1983) (TV)
Is portrayed by Ross Elliott in Bogie (1980) (TV), by Howard Platt in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996) (TV) and by Adam Roarke in Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell (1978)
Is portrayed by James Cahill in Will There Really Be a Morning? (1983) (TV)
Many aspects of Lauren Bacall's screen persona in To Have and Have Not (1944), her film debut, were based on Hawks' wife at that time, Slim, including her glamorous dresses, long blonde hair, smoky voice and demure, mysterious demeanor. Humphrey Bogart's character also refer to Bacall by the nickname "Slim" in the movie.
Of all the famous actresses he directed, he considered Frances Farmer the best he ever worked with. He directed her in Come and Get It (1936). Hawks was also very fond of Barbara Stanwyck, Carole Lombard and Rosalind Russell.
One of his distant cousins, Elizabeth Ellen Robinson, was the mother of Mary Gish and grandmother of Lillian Gish and Dorothy Gish.
Second cousin of actress Carole Lombard.
Served in the US Army Signal Corps during World War I.
To build their New England-style home, Hawks' wife Slim used the set plans from his film Bringing Up Baby (1938).
Was voted the 4th greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. (April, 1996)
While Hawks worked frequently with some of the industry's leading men on multiple occasions (Cary Grant 5 times; James Cagney 2 times; Gary Cooper 3 times; John Wayne 5 times; Humphrey Bogart 2 times), 'Ann Dvorak' and Lauren Bacall were the only two leading ladies to appear in more than one of Hawks' films (2 each).
Worked in a plethora of genres over the course of his career, including westerns, screwball comedies, film noirs, action/adventures, period epics, war dramas, racing films, science-fiction, and gangster pictures.