Remembering Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr is best known as an actress during the 1940s. She was featured in Acadamy Award-nominated movies such as Sampson & Delilah and Algiers. But she was much more than a beautiful face and Hollywood talent. In 1941, Lamarr filed for a patent for frequency-hopping wartime technology that paved the way for our modern era GPS, wifi, and Bluetooth devices. For Women’s History Month, we take a moment to remember Hedy Lamarr.
Early Life
Hedy Lamarr was born to Jewish parents in Vienna, Austria on November 9, 1914. She was married at the age of 19 to a controlling man, a manufacturer of military weaponry, and soon became miserable. Lamarr fled their shared home in the middle of the night on a bicycle. She ended up emigrating to America just as the country was preparing to enter World War II. While on the ship from London to New York City, Lamarr caught the eye of Louis Mayer, the head of Hollywood’s MGM studio. Despite speaking very little English, that chance meeting resulted in her landing a lucrative contract, and she was on her way to acting in several films.
Once in the U.S., Lamarr settled in exclusive Beverly Hills, California. She was accepted into a powerful social circle that included Howard Hughes and John F. Kennedy. Hughes provided Lamarr with scientific equipment that she used to perform experiments in her set trailer during her acting breaks. She was full of ideas that she explained came to her naturally, and her imagination soared in her makeshift science lab.
A Patent to Help the War Effort
Together with her co-inventor, George Antheil, in 1941, Lamarr filed a patent for an invention that sought to allow radio communications to hop from one frequency to another. The purpose of the invention was to protect Allied torpedoes from being detected by the Nazis.
The U.S. military has acknowledged Lamarr’s patent for frequency-hopping technology and its historical contribution, however, neither Lamarr nor her estate, have ever received any money for their invention, despite the multiple billions of dollars industries have earned after springboarding from the idea.
Lack of Recognition
Not only did Lamarr reap no financial recognition, but in keeping with the culture of Hollywood at the time, her inventor status was not publicized. She was valued as an object of glamour, and she was pigeonholed into that specific narrative. People wanted to look at her on the big screen and forget the troubles of the world. The publicity that she was an inventor of wartime technology may take people out of their desired fantasy world.
More darkly, it was said that Louis Mayer, and much of the world at that time, categorized women into only two categories: seductive/beautiful or admirable. The idea that a woman could be both (and possess many other qualities as well) was not something that had widespread acceptance, especially within the world of Hollywood in the 1940s. Multi-dimensional women (alluring AND smart) were seen as threatening, and so were promoted as one-dimensional. This is likely why the name Hedy Lammar is known for her movies and not her groundbreaking invention.
Pushing the Boundaries
Lamarr also sought to produce and direct films, although unsurprisingly, her efforts in that regard were not encouraged. She did go on to start her own production companies and sought to produce movies that told stories from the perspective of a female, a fact for which her daughter, Denise Loder, is extremely proud.
Hedy Lamarr’s accomplishments pushed far beyond the boundaries of how women were perceived in her time.
Watch the YouTube Video: The Brilliant Mind of Hollywood Legend Hedy Lamarr. This PBS video takes a look at some of Lamarr’s lesser-known accomplishments.
Natomas Personal Injury Lawyer
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