Hedy Lamarr

There are few in my generation, geezers in their eighties
Who would not be aware of Hedy Lamarr
She was a movie actress for over 30 years
And very much a prominent star

Lamarr became a film star from the 1930’s to the 1950’s
She was cast into glamorous parts alongside the leading male actors of yore
These included Charles Boyer, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable
Jimmy Stewart, Robert Young and Victor Mature

Lamarr’s first film, when she was 18, entitled Ecstasy, considered quite racy at that time
Her first husband (she was married six times), Friedrich Mandal
Reportedly bought up as many copies of Ecstasy as possible
Deciding public exposure of the film was more than he could handle

Mandal, an arms dealer, had Lamarr accompany him to business meetings
Where he discussed military technology with various technicians
These meetings were Lamarr’s introduction to applied science
Which ultimately lead to significant inventions in a number of fields, primarily munitions

Mandal was an extremely jealous man, and their marriage became unbearable to Lamarr
Lamarr feared his reaction if she sought to end the marriage via the divorce route
She wore all her jewelry for a dinner with Mandal, then fled to Paris with jewelry intact
Where she met Louis B. Mayer, a major film producer, scouting for talent in Europe

From that time on, her acting career flourished
As did her ability to design scientific innovations
Her earliest inventions included an improved traffic spotlight
And a tablet that would dissolve in water to create a carbonated beverage

With George Antheil, a neighbor in California,
She discussed the jamming of radio controlled torpedoes by a wartime foe
Which caused the torpedo to go off course
To solve the problem they developed the idea to use frequency hopping to avoid such woe

Frequency hopping involved using a piano roll to unpredictably
Change the signal sent between a control center and torpedoes launched by our nation
It was impossible for an enemy to jam all 88 frequencies (Antheil was a musical composer)As they lacked the calculating power to adjust to such extreme variation

In 1942 a patent was issued to Lamarr and Antheil on this device, (later used in Wi-Fi)
Though initially rejected by the Navy, it was adopted during the blockade of Cuba in 1962
In 2014 Lamarr and Antheil were inducted into the Inventor’s Hall of Fame,
Bringing her scientific accomplishments into greater view

Lamarr has a star in the Hollywood Hall of Fame
So she achieved the rare distinction of being an a great inventor as well as a movie star
So a warning to males who may assume a beautiful woman lacks an acute brain
Her mental capacity may exceed yours by far