[1][2] 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, William A. Patterson, Jack Frye, C.R.

That same year, he bought an OX-5-powered Travel Air biplane from Walter Beech and established the Valley Flying Service.

The carrier moved its headquarters to Denver, Colorado, which served as the airline's central hub for the next 45 years.

[1] Under Robert Six's leadership in the 1940s and 1950s, Continental Airlines expanded its aircraft fleet using profits from World War II.

Six served as a lieutenant colonel during the war in the United States Army Air Corps and later as a reserve officer in charge of his airline's bomber modification center.

[1][4] In 1951, Six met actress and singer Ethel Merman; they married in 1953, and settled in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado.

According to Levitt, he and his mother, sister, and elderly grandparents suffered emotional and physical violence from a regularly explosive Six,[6][7] who was called "Big Meanie" by his stepchildren.

[2] In 1961, Six married Hollywood star Audrey Meadows of The Honeymooners television fame after meeting her in Honolulu, who became an advisory board member and exerted some influence on Continental's in-flight and ground services.