Robert Forman Six (June 25, 1907 – October 6, 1986) was an American businessman who was the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...

from 1936 to 1980. Beginning his career in the early days of

commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, he became the CEO of Continental Airlines, a major contemporary airline. According to ''Maverick: The Story of Robert F. Six and Continental Airlines,'' "Six was one of the last members of the group of innovators, pioneers, and visionaries (including

Juan Trippe Juan Terry Trippe (June 27, 1899 – April 3, 1981) was an American commercial aviation pioneer, entrepreneur and the founder of Pan American World Airways, one of the iconic airlines of the 20th century. He was involved in the introduction of t ...

, William A. Patterson, Jack Frye, C.R. Smith, and

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker (born Edward Rickenbacher, October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient. During Six's time with the airline, Continental grew from a small, three-stop operation into a major global airline with services spanning the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.

Early years

Six was born in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

, and graduated from Weber Grammar School before dropping out of high school at age 17. He started his business career in sales for a public utility company but was fired for taking flying lessons on company time. Six learned to fly in an Alexander Eaglerock

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

with an OX-5 engine. After about 10 hours of flight time, he received a pilot's license (number 5772) in 1929 at the age of 22. That same year, he bought an OX-5-powered

Travel Air The Travel Air Manufacturing Company was an aircraft manufacturer established in Wichita, Kansas, United States in January 1925 by Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech, and Lloyd Stearman. An early leader in single-engine, light-aircraft manufacturing, ...

biplane from

Walter Beech Walter Herschel Beech (January 30, 1891 – November 29, 1950) was an American aviator and early aviation entrepreneur who co-founded the Beech Aircraft Company (now called Beechcraft) in 1932 with his wife, Olive Ann Beech, and a team of three ...

and established the Valley Flying Service. This service sold scenic rides to passengers and was used to race on weekends. Although many credit Six with founding

Walter Varney Walter Thomas Varney (December 26, 1888 – January 25, 1967) which combined under United Continental Holdings in 2010, long after his death in 1967. Varney was also one of the most prominent airmail contractors of the early 20th century. Varne ...

and Louis Mueller established it in 1934 as Varney Speed Lines. Mueller gained control of the carrier in 1936 and sold 40% of the company to Six. In July 1937, Six changed the name of Varney Speed Lines to Continental Airlines. The carrier moved its headquarters to

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, which served as the airline's central hub for the next 45 years.

World War II and the postwar years

Under Robert Six's leadership in the 1940s and 1950s, Continental Airlines expanded its aircraft fleet using profits from World War II. During this war, Six contracted for the airline to provide air transportation to the military, train aircrews, and perform military aircraft modification work at its Denver maintenance facilities. Six served as a lieutenant colonel during the war in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

and later as a reserve officer in charge of his airline's bomber modification center. He also helped improve routes to ferry American aircraft to the European theater, significantly reducing aircraft losses due to weather. Before the war ended, he returned to Continental and resumed his leadership role. In 1951, Six met actress and singer

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American singer and actress. Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theatre, musical theater,Obituary ''Variety Obitua ...

; they married in 1953, and settled in

Cherry Hills Village, Colorado The City of Cherry Hills Village is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. Just south of Denver, the city population was 6,442 at ...

. Merman's son, Bob Levitt Jr., recounted that life with Six became oppressive. According to Levitt, he and his mother, sister, and elderly grandparents suffered emotional and physical violence from a regularly explosive Six, who was called "Big Meanie" by his stepchildren. Merman found Denver's society rural and limited compared to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Six and Merman divorced in 1960. From Six's perspective, Merman had failed him by not becoming a public relations prop for Continental.

Dramatic expansion and move to Los Angeles

By the end of the 1950s, Continental Airlines had seen a broad expansion of its routes. In 1957, it flew for the first time from Chicago to Los Angeles (both non-stop and via Denver), and from Denver and Los Angeles to Kansas City. Continental was one of the first operators of the

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an early American long-range Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, the initial first flew on Decembe ...

, taking its first delivery of 707s in the spring of 1959. Six, unsatisfied with jet service alone, significantly improved the airline's services, described as "nothing short of luxurious" by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', and "clearly, the finest in the airline industry" by the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. In 1961, Six married Hollywood star

Audrey Meadows Audrey Meadows (born Audrey Cotter; February 8, 1922 – February 3, 1996) was an American actress who portrayed the deadpan housewife Alice Kramden on the 1950s American television comedy ''The Honeymooners''. She was the younger sister of H ...

of ''

The Honeymooners ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It f ...

'' television fame after meeting her in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, who became an advisory board member and exerted some influence on Continental's in-flight and ground services. The Six family was socially prominent in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

, where they lived, and their social circle included various Hollywood stars.

Triumph and loss

After the

Airline Deregulation Act The Airline Deregulation Act is a 1978 United States federal law that deregulated the airline industry in the United States, removing federal control over such areas as fares, routes, and market entry of new airlines. The act gradually phase ...

of 1978, Continental expanded rapidly, along with other U.S. carriers. By the time of Six's death in 1986, the airline he pioneered had become one of the largest airlines in the United States. Six died in his sleep at his home in

, on October 6, 1986.

Legacy and honors

In 1971, Six was nominated and inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame. In June 1974, Six was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

. He was the 1977 recipient of the Tony Jannus Award for his distinguished contributions to commercial aviation. In 1980, he was inducted into the U.S.

National Aviation Hall of Fame The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with ...

at the

National Museum of the United States Air Force The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is ...

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. Six was a key player in the revealed mystery of the third episode of Starlee Kine's

Gimlet Media Gimlet Media LLC was a digital media company and podcast network, focused on producing narrative podcasts and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. The company was founded in 2014 by Alex Blumberg and Matthew Lieber, who served as the company's ...

-produced

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

"'' Mystery Show''". In 2011,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

, which merged with Continental Airlines, named a plane (N77006) after Robert Six.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Six, Robert 1907 births 1986 deaths American airline chief executives United States Army personnel of World War II Aviators from California Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Businesspeople from California National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees People from Stockton, California United Airlines people United States Army Air Forces soldiers 20th-century American businesspeople