From Celluloid to Cell Phone. (Hedy Lamarr, 1940s actress, designed a jam-proof torpedo system)

ABC News Tech ^ | Apr 21, 2003 | Kris Kosach,

[Diddley]

She was considered one of the most beautiful women ever to grace the silver screen, but Hedy Lamarr never wanted to be known as just a pretty face.
. . . . .
She is credited for patenting a technology that is used every day. Hers is a story that is something right out of … well … Hollywood.

A Kept Woman Finds Freedom

Upon the insistence of her parents, Hedy wed a prominent Austrian munitions tycoon by the name of Fritz Mandl. Mandl took his teenage bride everywhere, including prominent business meetings with his biggest client, the Nazi Party. Despite their Jewish heritage, Mandl was a Nazi sympathizer. Lamarr, on the other hand, could not have loathed the regime more.

Still, Lamarr, on the arm of her husband, would attend Nazi business meetings. There she absorbed the knowledge that would later inspire her own ideas about technology.

Meanwhile, Lamarr was sensitive to the changes in her environment and felt there was no future for Jews in Europe. One night, while Fritz entertained clients, Hedy slipped her personal maid a sleeping pill and silently slipped out a window never to return.
. . . . .
Lamarr flourished in Hollywood. The raven-haired beauty starred in several films and became a fixture on the social scene.

Mother of Invention

It was at a party at Janet Gaynor's house, Lamarr met composer George Antheil. The two got to talking about the ongoing war and their own ideas about how to support the allied troops against Germany.

On April 11, 1942 Antheil and Lamarr, using her married name Hedwig Markey, submitted what they called their Secret Communications System to the U.S. Patent office.

The system was designed to keep radio-controlled torpedoes from being jammed and steered off course by the enemy. The idea employed a pattern of random frequencies set by a torpedo transmitter and picked up by a corresponding receiver. The device was impossible to jam because even if the enemy could intercept part of the message, they had no way of knowing what the next part would be.

Hedy utilized her personal knowledge of Nazi technologies while the composer Antheil used his expertise in player piano methods. In fact, the code used to program the torpedos was based on the same idea of paper rolls used in player pianos.
. . . . .

[Diddley]

Contrasted with many of todays actors, Lamarr - being foreign born - saw the righteousness of the Allies, and she strongly supported them.
She used her knowledge of Nazi technologies to design a system for jam-proofing allied torpedos, and preventing them from going off-course.
A wireless technology innovator.

[dfwgator]

That's Hedley!

[T Lady]

Today's Hollywood: All Style, No Substance. Pure Ego.

-Regards, T.

[Miss Marple]

For those who don't know the name:

[Diddley]

Exactly. There is nothing for them except "me".

[Diddley]

That's a heady Hedley.

[Diddley]

Thanks for posting the picture of her.

[jude24]

I knew someone would make that comment before I clicked the link....

[T Lady]

Thanks for the photo. Miss Lamarr was an extraordinary beauty, ranking with the likes of Lena Horne, Lana Turner, and Claudette Colbert. Truly lovely ladies with talent to match.

-Regards, T.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

Lamarr also co-invented spread-spectrum technology. The folks at the late, lamented Ricochet.net (wonderful wireless network that died a couple years ago) flew her out for an award ceremony to honor her for her contributions to technology.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

On second reading, this article seems to be talking about spread-spectrum.

D'oh!

[SunkenCiv]

This topic was posted 4/22/2003, thanks Diddley.

• Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story [03/08/2018]
• Actress Hedy Lamarr laid the groundwork for some of today's wireless tech [11/26/2017]
• Hollywood starlet was a secret inventor who paved the way for Wi-Fi [11/12/2017]
• New film remembers amazing life of Hollywood screen siren Hedy Lamarr (TR) [11/12/2017]
• Orgasms, Nazis and Inventing WiFi: Hedy Lamarr's Life Story Is Grander Than Any Hollywood Movie [11/13/2015]
• Happy 100th birthday, Hedy Lamarr, movie star who paved way for Wi-Fi [11/10/2014]
• Honorary grave for Hollywood pin-up -- Hedy Lamarr [11/08/2014]
• The woman who made your WiFi work. (RF tech trivia) [08/02/2012]
• Hedy Lamarr's World War II Adventure [12/20/2011]
• The FReeper Foxhole Remembers When Hollywood Went to War (1942-1945) - Apr. 15th, 2003 [04/15/2003]

[Red Badger]

[jimtorr]

No, it’s frequency-hopping technology. A technique still used today.