Hedy Lamarr: An Austrian Beauty and Inventress in the Hollywood Star System
Beata Kosińska-Krippner
kwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.plInstitute of Art, Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland)
Abstract
The author reminds us of the incredible story of an Austrian Hollywood star of the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s, and an inventress (together with George Antheil) of the spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology, which today is considered to be the basis of wireless communication. Using largely co-authored biography of the actress by Jochen Förster and Anthony Loder - Hedy Lamarr’s son, Kosińska-Krippner focuses mainly on how the actress functioned in the Hollywood star system, and how she managed (or not) to deal with all its pitfalls, devotion and criticism, and Hollywood’s impact on her private life. The author gives examples of reactivation of the fallen star as an inventress in the 1990s and shows the inspiring force of her biography, which is today analysed by researchers in various contexts.
Keywords:
Hedy Lamarr, Hollywood, star systemReferences
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Authors
Beata Kosińska-Krippnerkwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
Institute of Art, Polish Academy of Sciences Poland
Pracuje w Zakładzie Antropologii Kultury, Filmu i Sztuki Audiowizualnej w Instytucie Sztuki Polskiej Akademii Nauk; zajmuje się teorią i historią filmu i telewizji; redaktorka “Kwartalnika Filmowego”, w którym w latach 1993-2003 publikowała m.in. doroczną kronikę wydarzeń filmowych, obejmującą lata 1992-2002. Autorka pracy doktorskiej pt. Poetyka polskiej telenoweli dokumentalnej (2008), napisanej pod kierunkiem prof. Marka Hendrykowskiego.
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Copyright (c) 2016 Beata Kosińska-Krippner
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