Ms. Lamarr came to this country from Vienna prior to World War II. She left her husband, a munitions factory owner who supplied materials to the Nazis. She was Jewish. Her father, whom she adored, died of a heart attack before he made it out of his country.
After hearing about a German u-boat that attacked a ship in which 83 children were killed, she decided she wanted to do something to contribute to the war effort. She paired up with a composer friend, George Antheil, and together, in 1941, they were granted a patent for a "Secret Communications System." The idea was to change radio frequencies to prevent Nazis from jamming what was essentially the first smart bomb.
She took her idea to the U.S. Government. They patted her on the head and told her to do something useful for the war effort. So she sold war bonds. Over $200,000 in war bonds.
Meanwhile, her patent sat around for years until someone found it and decided to turn it over to an engineer to see if they could make anything of it.
They could. And did.
Naval ships implemented her invention during the Cuban Missile Crisis and later in several military applications. The really cool part is that what is now known as "spread spectrum" technology led to the development of digital communication. So, essentially, Ms. Lamarr's invention was the basis for the creation of cell phones and wireless communication.
But she got no credit. For years.
Finally, in 1997, she and George Anthiel received the EEF (Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award. Also in that year, she received the BULBIE Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award, a prestigious prize for lifetime accomplishments. She was the first woman to receive the award.
At the end of the documentary, I wondered for awhile. Why is it so hard to imagine a woman so beautiful could also be so brilliant?
I thought about male actors and the historical perception we've had of them. Did anyone believe Cary Grant or Clark Gable was an airhead?
As she began to age and her beauty faded, Hedy became obsessed with plastic surgery. She told surgeons where they should cut and how they should graft the skin. The doctors said she was spot on. Other women heard and wanted their surgeries done the same way.
Ms. Lamarr was beautiful and brilliant and a little crazy (thanks, in part, to "Dr. Feelgood," who shot her up for years). She was married a bunch of times, but never found happiness there. She ultimately hid away from everyone, even her family.
I hope that, wherever her spirit resides, she is aware of the impact her invention has had on our little planet.
And that, in the future, we can give her the respect she so richly deserves. She truly was beautiful. All the way through.
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