Hedy Lamarr

In 1932, Hedy Lamarr appeared in a German film (under the name Hedy Kiesler) called "Ecstasy" (1933) and had made the gutsy move to be nude. It's the story of a young girl who is married to a gentleman much older than she, but she winds up falling in love with a young soldier. The film's nude scenes created a sensation all over the world. The scenes, very tame by today's standards, caused the film to be banned by the US government at the time. Hedy soon married Fritz Mandl, a munitions manufacturer and a prominent Austrofascist (not the same as Nazi). He attempted to buy up all the prints of "Ecstasy" he could lay his hands on (Italy's dictator, Benito Mussolini, had a copy but refused to sell it to Mandl), but to no avail (there are prints floating around the world today).

The notoriety of the film brought Hollywood to her door. She was brought to the attention of MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer, who signed her to a contract (a notorious prude when it came to his studio's films, Mayer signed her against his better judgment, but the money he knew her notoriety would bring in to the studio overrode any "moral" concerns he may have had). However, he insisted she change her name (to Lamarr in honor of silent film star Barbara La Marr) and make good, wholesome films. Lamarr made her American film debut as Gaby in "Algiers" (1938).

Would a Bible story be considered good and wholesome enough? For most, perhaps.

Eleven years later, Lamarr appeared as Delilah in "Samson and Delilah" (1949, below). Lamarr considered this her personal favorite among her films and her best performance. Christopher Young, one of her biographers, wrote, "Her performance was definitely the main asset of the film, one for which she deserved an Academy Award nomination."In a newspaper advertisement of the time, Lamarr's performance was considered Oscar-worthy: "One of the most glamorous women ever to step before a movie camera, Hedy proves in her most important role to date - that of Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's Technicolor production for Paramount, 'Samson and Delilah' - that Academy Awards for emoting are also within her scope."

Although Lamarr had no formal training and was primarily self-taught, she worked in her spare time on various hobbies and inventions, which included an improved traffic stoplight and a tablet that would dissolve in water to create a carbonated drink. The beverage was unsuccessful; Lamarr herself said it tasted like Alka-Seltzer. Among the few who knew of Lamarr's inventiveness was aviation tycoon Howard Hughes. She suggested he change the rather square design of his planes (which she thought looked too slow) to a more streamlined shape, based on pictures of the fastest birds and fish she could find. Lamarr discussed her relationship with Hughes during an interview, saying that while they dated, he actively supported her inventive "tinkering" hobbies. He put his team of scientists and engineers at her disposal, saying they would do or make anything she asked for.

Inspired by an early Philco wireless radio remote and player piano rolls, Lamarr worked with composer George Antheil (who created a symphony played by eight synchronized player pianos) she invented a frequency-hopping system for remotely controlling torpedoes during World War II. (The frequency hopping concept appeared as early as 1903 in a U.S. Patent by Nikola Tesla). The invention was examined superficially and filed away. At the time, Allied torpedoes, as well as those of the Axis powers, were unguided. Input for depth, speed, and direction were made moments before launch but once leaving the submarine the torpedo received no further input. In 1959, it was developed for controlling drones that would later be used in Viet Nam. Frequency hopping radio became a Navy standard by 1960. Due to the expiration of the patent and Lamarr's unawareness of time limits for filing claims, she was never compensated. Her invention is used today for WiFi, Bluetooth, and even top secret military defense satellites. While the current estimate of the value of the invention is approximately $30 billion, during her final years she was getting by on SAG and social security checks totaling only $300 a month.

Happy Birthday, Hedy Lamarr!