Hedy Lamarr
She escaped her husband’s prison, became a glamorous, exotic movie star, and gave us Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Once upon a time, an Australian American girl born in the 1900s captivated the entire world with her flawless beauty and charming aura. She grew up to be an epitome of beauty with brains, the original face of Snow White and much more than just a pretty face.
With her time and intelligence, scientific technology also reached the heights of success. It is indeed the sensational story of Hedy Lamarr, who had an unfortunate end in her once-glorious life.
The Birth of a Bold Beauty
Hedy Lamarr (birth name: Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler) was born in 1914, in Vienna, to a Jewish family; Hedy lived a childhood surrounded by art and theatre. Hedy was a natural beauty, which intrigued her to participate in beauty pageants, although secretly. Only at the age of 12 did Hedy win her first beauty contest in Vienna, and by 17, she featured in her first film.
Hedy’s stardom journey began when she got herself a script girl job at Sascha-Film. Later, she bagged a minor role in her first movie in 1930. Amid her school hours, Hedy was secretly rebelling against her parents by slipping fake notes to skip class and putting on makeup to attend movie interviews.
Even though her screen appearance was short, Hedy attracted great movie producers’ eager to cast her in more cinematic works. Within two years of her acting career, Hedy became a centre of attraction in newspaper headlines, quoting her as the most beautiful girl. It was, however, an erotic romance that gave her international fame.
A Merchant of Death Locked Her in A Castle
A Czech film director, Gustav Machaty, signed Hedy to play a young woman in his controversial film Ecstasy in 1932. Hedy’s role called for untamed, nude scenes that gathered much scrutiny for the film. But fortunately, Hedy was on the road toward success.
Apart from America and Germany, where the movie was said to be disgusting, it was credited to be a piece of art throughout Europe. Among all the admirers, everyone sent roses to the aspiring star to appreciate her captivating beauty, but she rejected them all. One man, however, could not handle the rejection. In return, he forced himself into Hedy’s life as a disturbing looming shadow.
Fritz Mandl was a wealthy Hungarian and a fascist sympathiser. With undying ambition, he led an Austrian arms firm during the 1930s, earning the nickname Merchant of Death. Fritz had a nick for smooth-talking people to fulfil his desires, and that is how he married the most beautiful girl of the time.
Hedy’s parents had no choice but to accept the relentless nagging, and by May of 1933, she was married to Fritz Mandl. It was a swift beginning towards the taste of riches, but gradually the luxury took over Hedy’s freedom. The ruthless king locked the princess in a mansion, Villa Fegenberg, 160 miles outside Vienna.
Her Dramatic Escape Towards Freedom
Fritz immediately forced Hedy to quit acting. In truth, he loathed Ecstasy and spent millions of dollars in an unsuccessful attempt to erase all existing prints of the movie. He was a jealous, controlling husband who only wanted to puppet his trophy wife. But, Hedy was not to sit quietly, be locked forever, and tolerate the horrors of the cruel man.
Whether spending large sums on jewellery, displaying toilet seats in the garden during parties or faking a relationship with one of the husband’s colleagues, she had luck with nothing. Finally, while Fritz was out on a trip, Hedy drugged a maidand finally escaped the cursed mansion dressed as the servant. She moved to Europe and, years later, divorced Mandl.
Life as Rapunzel was not entirely negative for Hedy, except for being locked all the time and not continuing her acting career. She enjoyed discussing technical things with Fritz’s friends, especially engineers. Amidst her early stardom and glamorous persona, people had overlooked her intelligence.
Life in Hollywood as an Exotic Beauty
As a child, when Hedy was not preparing for beauty contests, she would break things and put them back together, curious to see how they worked. Life took a better turn in 1937 when Louis B. Myer, head of MGM, decided to sign her for a movie. Then onwards, Hedwig Kissler became Hedy Lamarr.
Initially, being an outcast only got her roles in exotic dramas, but her wonderstruck visuals shocked the audiences. Without surprise, as an enthralling beauty, she modelled for Disney’s Snow White and later inspired DC comic Catwoman. In short, despite only doing stereotypical roles, Hedy had become a living goddess of the era.
However, apart from her looks, nothing about the movies was a success, leaving Hedy to feel lonely most of the time. She even married six men and had three children with different husbands. All the while, she had a few friends who would keep her engaged in her favourite hobby during shooting breaks: inventing things.
The Mastermind Behind Wi-Fi
While sitting in her trailer between takes, Hedy used her engineering equipment kit to reinvent things. Among her projects include a tablet that could turn a glass of water into a cola drink. The mind of this glamorous woman went as far as contributing to World War II.
Together with a friend, pianist George Antheil, Hedy contemplated how to stop the tracking and jamming of torpedoes, the radio-controlled water weapons. They created a frequency-hopping signal by developing a device similar to a piano roll that would switch between frequencies using radio signals. Initially, the US military rejected the invention, only to use it later in 1962.
However, this secret communication system became a fundamental component of wireless communication systems, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Sadly, in both cases, the inventors never got any credit or compensation in their lives.
The Tragic End No One Expected
By 1945, Hedy Lamarr had left MGM and started producing movies, but none were a success. Gradually, her career began to decline, and Hedy could no longer support her extravagant shopping sprees. She was arrested twice for shoplifting — once in 1966 and three decades later in 1991. Both charges were later dismissed.
While the movie star did get numerous scripts through the 1950s, none piqued her interest, and with time she began to lose all her fame. In the last decades of her life, Hedy Lamarr spent her time confined in her flat in Florida. She avoided meeting anyone in person, including her children and preferred communicating through phone calls. Hedy died of heart disease at the age of 85 in 2000.
For her contribution to movies, Hedy was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
posted by Aloyzio Achutti at 3:48 PM
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