The amazing life of . . . Hedy Kiesler

Reading a bio (titled Beautiful by Stephen Michael Shears)
Hedweg Eva Maria Kiesler (born Nov. 9, 1914)
She had a long career as a Hollywood actress
You may have heard of her
But probably not
(The girl at the desk at my public library
Hadn’t)
Most of her film career was in Black & White & some don’t like to watch B & W
But she did a few in Color
Including probably her best known film role
She played Delilah
From the Bible story
Her most notorious film role
Was a nude scene
Ecstasy, 1932
Frequently called the first nude scene in film history
Which it wasn’t
It isn’t always described as the first scene of female orgasm
Which it was
(faked
Including a pin prick by the director, in her leg)
Because I guess he knew the effect he was after
She was 18
And already routinely described as the “most beautiful girl in Europe”
Which no one believed
Until they saw her
Her Hollywood crew
Didn’t like to make her up for the lights
Because her skin was so perfect
She knew how to look glamorous for the camera
“It’s easy to look glamorous. Just stand still and look stupid.”
Which she wasn’t
She registered a patent
In 1942
It was for an invention to help the WWII war effort
“Frequency hopping”
To be used in radio communications in weapons guidance
Especially underwater torpedoes
Which needed help because they often missed
Her innovation is still important in cellular phone broadcasting
But wasn’t recognized as hers until the 1990s
Because she gave the rights to the American military
She was an Austrian Jew
Her first husband was a wealthy arms manufacturer before the Nazis invaded Austria
(Remember The Sound of Music?
In 1965 they used her house for the film)
As a young wife she hosted many dinners where weapons systems were discussed
She was listening
And had a few ideas of her own
People thought because she was so beautiful
She couldn’t also be intelligent
Or interested
Louis B. Mayer was her boss at MGM
He was also a European Jew (born in Ukraine, but raised in Canada)
But he never gave her credit for anything but a pretty face
After her invention was accepted in Washington she offered to give up her film career
And concentrate on weapons development
But the US military asked her to concentrate instead
On sales of War Bonds
Carole Lombard (Mrs. Clark Gable) had died in a plane crash while she was the leading Hollywood fund raiser making appearances all over the country
So Hedy took her place
She could raise $7,000,000 in one day of pledge drives
Because when she spoke she told of family members dead or imprisoned in Nazi Europe
And she also signed photos
On Sept. 4, 1942, she shook hands with all 1000 employee of a York, PA munitions plant
They had pledged $25 each
Hedy’s career floundered a bit after the war years
She was still beautiful and glamorous, but the Hollywood studio system was changing
And they had never known exactly what to do with her anyway
So . . . maybe see if you can find an old film starring Hedy Lamarr
More than just a pretty face