Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr (9 November 1914 – 19 January 2000)^[1] was an Austro-Hungarian-born American film actress and inventor. She was a film star during Hollywood's golden age.^[2]

After a brief film career in Europe, including Ecstasy (1933), Lamar moved to the United States. She became a film star with her performance in Algiers (1938).^[3] Her MGM films include Lady of the Tropics (1939), Boom Town (1940), H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), and White Cargo (1942). Her greatest success was as Delilah in Samson and Delilah (1949).^[4] She also acted on television before the release of her final film, The Female Animal (1958). She was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

At the beginning of World War II, she and avant-garde composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers.^[5]

1. ↑ Shearer, Stephen Michael (2010). Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 8, 339. ISBN 978-0312550981.
2. ↑ Sterling, Christopher H. (2008). Military Communications: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century. ISBN 9781851097326.
3. ↑ Severo, Richard (January 20, 2000). "Hedy Lamarr, Sultry Star Who Reigned in Hollywood of 30s and 40s, Dies at 86". The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
4. ↑ Haskell, Molly (December 10, 2010). "European Exotic". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
5. ↑ "Movie Legend Hedy Lamarr to be Given Special Award at EFF's Sixth Annual Pioneer Awards" (Press release). Electronic Frontier Foundation. March 11, 1997. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved February 1, 2014.