Melvin and Howard, stylized as Melvin (and Howard), is a 1980 American comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Paul Le Mat, Jason Robards, and Mary Steenburgen, in a role that gave her the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Also in the cast are Pamela Reed, Michael J. Pollard, Jack Kehoe, Rick Lenz, Dabney Coleman, Charles Napier, and Gloria Grahame.
The film was inspired by real-life Utah service station owner Melvin Dummar, who was listed as the beneficiary of $156 million in a will allegedly handwritten by Howard Hughes that was discovered in the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City.
This film features examples of:
- Forging the Will: The film is based on Melvin Dummar's claim that he had picked up Howard Hughes hitchhiking one day and was given $156 million in a handwritten will, with people afterwards (rather understandably) claiming that it was a forgery. In real life, Hughes died without a will, and several forgeries turned up, this being the most famous one.
- Name and Name: Melvin and Howard. Some releases stylized it as Melvin (and Howard).
- Real-Person Cameo: The real Melvin Dummar has a cameo appearance as a man behind a bus depot counter.
