Today is International Women’s Day, and as we discussed in a post last year about Helen Reddy and “I Am Woman,” the day’s history goes back to 1911. Speaking of the special day, you may not know that a famous woman played a key part in the technology you likely are using right now to access the Internet. This week on CBS Sunday Morning, the show profiled a side activity of famous movie actress Hedy Lamarr. Although she was known for her beauty and her stardom, she had a room set aside to study engineering and work on ideas for new inventions. Richard Rhodes recently wrote about Lamarr and her roles in real life in Hedy’s Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World.
One of Lamarr’s ideas later formed the basis for wi-fi technology. She had developed the idea as a way to help defend against German torpedoes as World War II approached. At the time, though, the Navy dismissed her idea and instead asked her to use her beauty instead of her brains to sell war bonds, which she did. If you only know her for her acting roles such as in Samson and Delilah (1949), or even if you only know her name from the references to her in Blazing Saddles (1974) by Harvey Korman’s character Hedley Lamarr.” (which prompted the real Lamarr to sue Mel Brooks), check out this story below.
The little-known hobby of the actress shows that Lamarr was more complicated than many knew at the time. While her beauty gave her a great career, fame, and money, one sees a touch of tragedy in her search for something more.
What is your favorite Hedy Lamarr film? Leave your two cents in the comments.
