Hedy Lamarr, Actress, Inventor, Trailblazer, Mathematician & Musician: Madeline’s Monthly Musical Tips Blog & Radio Show for September 2024
Our blog/article and Radio Show shares the amazing life and work of Hedy Lamarr, Actress, Trailblazer, Inventor, Mathematician & Musician.
The new school year is also a wonderful opportunity to start learning a musical instrument to learn discipline, cooperation, teamwork, motivation, concentration and self-esteem. Studying a musical instrument develops millions of new connections, synapses, between nerve cells in the brain. Many of the world’s inventors, mathematicians, scientists, engineers, medical doctors, researchers, and teachers have studied and played musical instruments since they were children. These eminent individuals have integrated music into their thinking process.
Our article of the month is “Curb Your Spending Habits & Save for Your Emergencies by Madeline Frank, Ph.D.
Feature Question for September 2024: How did Classical music play a part of Hedy Lamarr’s life as an actress, inventor, trailblazer, and mathematician and what musical instrument did she play?
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/one-minute-radio-show-2024/
Our fascinating Radio Show Feature Question for December 2008:
How did classical music play a part in Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil’s invention of their “Secret Communication System”, the early form of spectrum and what musical instrument did they play?
Click the link for Madeline’s Musical One Minute Radio Show
Early years:
Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler (stage name Hedy Lamarr) was born in Vienna, Austria on November 9, 1914 to Jewish parents, Gertrud Lichtwitz Kiesler , and Emil Kiesler. Her father, a Banker, would take her on long walks and explain to her how different machines worked, like streetcars, the printing press and other machines around Vienna. He opened her eyes and mind to science. She was fascinated. At 5 years of age, she took apart her music box and reassembled it to see how it worked!
Hedwig began taking piano lessons when she was very young from her mother, a concert pianist. She also studied ballet. By the age of 10 she spoke 4 languages. She attended private schools and excelled in math, science, and Chemistry.
Actress:
At age 16 in Vienna, Hedwig “trained as an actor under Professor Arndt and began picking up minor roles at the Sascha Film studios. Her first appearance was in Georg Jacoby’s Gold on the Street in 1930, and the following year she worked with Max Reinhardt.”
At age 18 on August 10, 1933, she married millionaire Fritz Mandl, an arms dealer,14 years her senior. He was a Nazi sympathizer who sold arms to Hitler, Mussolini, and others.
He considered her his “Treasure”, locked her up at his Castle and took her out to his “advanced business weaponry meetings.” Mandl “conferred with Nazi scientists involved in military technology. Hitler was interested in remote controlled torpedoes.”
She listened quietly, pretended to not understand what was going on, but write in her diary what she learned at each of these meetings about torpedoes and other weapons.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr
In 1935, Hedwig’s beloved father, Emil Kiesler died.
In 1937, she escaped to London and met Louis B. Mayer who “brought her to the United States” and gave her a Hollywood movie contract and a new name, Hedy Lamarr!” Louis B. Mayer said she had to learn English in 6 months. Her first movie in Hollywood was “Algiers” (1938).
Hedy brought her Mom, Gertrud Kiesler to Hollywood.
She stared in 30 motion pictures at MGM .
“Hedy always felt that people didn’t appreciate her for her intelligence—that her beauty got in the way,” says Richard Rhodes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian who wrote a biography about Hedy.
Hedy Lamarr’s Inventing Table:
At MGM Studios she would work 12 to 15-hours a day and would on most occasions skip Hollywood parties and dating to go home to her inventing table, said Richard Rhodes.
In her home she had a wall of engineering reference books near her drafting table.
“She redesigned her alluring costumes to be more comfortable, invented a new Kleenex box, a dog collar that would light up, a chair that revolved in and out of the shower. She also created “an upgraded stoplight and a tablet that dissolved in water to make a soda similar to Coca-Cola.” (Hedy and Her Amazing Invention (2019) children’s book by Jan Wahl)
She once said, “Improving things comes naturally to me.”
Howard Hughes: Building the fasted airplanes during WW11
Hedy Lamarr dated Howard Hughes. She was most interested in his Hughes Aircrafts and his desire to build the fastest airplanes during WW11.
“Hughes took her to his airplane factories, showed her how the planes were built, and introduced her to the scientists behind process. Hughes helped to fuel the innovator in Lamarr, giving her a small set of equipment to use in her trailer on set. While she had an inventing table set up in her house, the small set allowed Lamarr to work on inventions between takes.”
She was “inspired to innovate as Hughes wanted to create faster planes that could be sold to the US military. She bought a book of fish and a book of birds and looked at the fastest of each kind. She combined the fins of the fastest fish and the wings of the fastest bird to sketch a new wing design for Hughes’ planes.”
Hedy showed her design to Hughes, and he said to her, “You’re a genius.” (Hedy and Her Amazing Invention (2019) children’s book by Jan Wahl)
Secret Weapon:
Hedy Lamarr was horrified by the sinking of the SS City of Benares on September 17, 1940 with over a 100 children. The ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German sub in the middle of the night. (Worst maritime disaster of WW II.)
Hedy Lamarr “came up with the idea of a secret way of guiding a torpedo to the target, that couldn’t be interrupted, and couldn’t be jammed.”
Lamarr said, “What if we change those frequencies constantly, making the signal leap from frequency to frequency:”
“Frequency hopping” to stop torpedoes from blowing up a ship. Making the signal leap from frequency to frequency.
At a Hollywood dinner party in 1940 she met George Antheil an Avant guard composer / pianist. He too wanted to help win the war. His brother, Henry William Antheil Jr., 27 years old, “was an American diplomat killed in the shootdown of the Aero Flight 1631 the first American casualties of World War II.”
Lamarr and Antheil, both were pianists and knew from their Classical music studies on the piano that the timing, the rhythm, is the most important component of any invention.
She shared her idea of frequency hopping with George. He shared his work with player pianos. “Antheil synchronizing note-hopping in the avant-garde piece written as a score for the film Ballet Mecanique (1923–24) that involved multiple synchronized player pianos . Antheil’s idea in the piece was to synchronize the start time of identical player pianos with identical player piano rolls, so the pianos would be playing in time with one another. Together, they realized that radio frequencies could be changed similarly, using the same kind of mechanism, but miniaturized.” (88 frequencies- 88 keys on the piano)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr
“Secret Communication System Patent:
On August 11, 1942 their “Secret Communication System” (Frequency Hopping) was awarded U.S. Patent Number 2,292,387 “under the name Hedy Kiesler Markey and George Antheil.” They decided to contribute their invention with its new patent to the war effort.
Later the U.S. seized the patent as enemy property saying she was an illegal alien, not an American citizen.
She was dismissed for creating a new Secret Weapon, that would help the military in WWII.
Also, at this time Hedy Lamarr was “offered a position working for Dr. Kettering for his first government “National Inventions Council”. She was very interested in accepting this position. She was told “to stick with her successful acting career and to help the war effort by selling war bonds.”
Hedy Lamarr said, “I was American enough to sell war bonds, but I was an alien when it came to my invention.”
She raised $25 million worth of war bonds, translated to $343 million in today’s dollars.”
Hedy Lemarr became an American citizen in April 1953.
In 1960, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis:
Lamarr and Antheil’s “Secret Communication System” invention was not implemented during World War II instead it came into use “20 years later during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis when it was installed on ships sent to blockade Cuba – three years after the Lamarr-Antheil patent expired.” They never received any compensation for their invention.
The military has used their “Secret Communications System” (Frequency Hopping) extensively in communications. Today, 2024 “their patent also catalyzed the use of Spread Spectrum, which is a highly efficient way of using radio frequencies at the same time, without interfering with each other. This is the basis for the cellular phones, faxes, WiFi and other wireless communications systems in wide spread use today.” Hedy Lamarr is the Mother of WiFi.
“Hedy Lamarr’s frequency-hopping invention is currently estimated to be worth $30 billion, but Hedy never saw a penny from her patent.”
https://www.millernash.com/industry-news/celebrating-women-in-tech-hedy-lamarr-the-mother-of-wi-fi#:~:text=Hedy’s%20frequency%2Dhopping%20invention%20is,and%20Antheil%20the%20Pioneer%20Award.
“My mother was very bright minded,” said her son, Anthony Loder. “She always had solutions. Anytime someone complained about anything, boom, her mind came up with a solution.”
Finally, Recognition and Awards:
* Forbes Magazine (1990), shared the story of her spread-spectrum invention, Lamarr received the satisfaction of belated recognition.
*August 31, 1997, Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil were given the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award and the Bulbie Gnass Spirit of Achievement Bronze Award. (The Oscar of Inventing.)
* In 2014, they were “posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.”
* In 2020, “20 years after Hedy Lamarr’s death, a Satellite was named in her honor and was launched into space.”
https://www.sfchronicle.com/movies/article/Hollywood-star-Hedy-Lamarr-put-her-brains-before-11338484.php
Hedy Lamarr died in Casselberry, Florida January 19, 2000 at the age of 85. She was an actress, inventor, trailblazer, mathematician, pianist, the Mother of WiFi., GPS and Bluetooth.
Curb Your Spending Habits & Save for Your Emergencies by Madeline Frank, Ph.D.Your car just broke down and you don’t have the money to repair it! Don’t you wish you had an emergency fund to pay for it?
What’s your first step?
Gabby and Jay are going to tell us how they did it!
For one-week Gabby and Jay tracked every receipt and purchase they made including the ones for their computers. They kept all their receipts and expenses and wrote them down in a note book. They included every purchase they made even small purchases for sodas, snacks, lunches, dinners, breakfasts, groceries, going to the movies, purchasing snacks, gas for their cars, cigarettes, and any other items they purchased that week. Jay and Gabby also wrote down their weekly spending for pay pal accounts, group on offers, credit cards, game accounts and iTunes accounts on their computers.
Gabby saved all her receipts for one week and totaled all her receipts. She looked at her first couple of receipts and realized she had gone to Starbucks with her friends 5 times that week spending $4 a day for Coffee, a total of $20 for the week. She decided to go to Starbucks with her friends three times the next week, and invites her friends to share coffee at her house two days a week, and puts the $8 she saved into her Piggy Bank to start her $1000 Emergency Fund. In a months’ time Gabby realizes she will save $32 and in 6 months she will save $192 towards her $1000 Emergency Nest Egg Fund.
Gabby continues looking at her receipts and realizes she bought 3 packs of cigarettes a week at $5.50 a package, $16.50 a week. Gabby says, “I spent $66 a month on cigarettes. If I cut down my smoking to a pack a week I can put $11 into my “Piggy Bank” for my Emergency Fund each week and in a month’s time I will have saved a total of $44 in my “Piggy Bank” toward my $1000 Emergency Nest Egg Fund. In 6 months I will have saved $264 toward my $1000 Emergency Nest Egg Fund.”
Gabby says, “If I continue to go through my receipts and eliminate the items I don’t need or cut down other expenses I will have my Emergency Fund in place in less than 6 months. By cutting back on Cigarettes and coffee I’ve already saved $76 this month. I will go through my receipts and look at what else I can eliminate or cut down on. My goal is to have my Emergency Fund in place in 6 months. I am determined to do it!”
Jay has saved all his receipts for one week and totaled all his receipts. He looks at his first set of receipts and realizes he has 5 days of lunches at $8 a lunch for five days and he’s spent $40 on lunches this week. He says, “If I bring a bag lunch to work three days a week, I can save $24 to put in my “Tin Can” to start my $1000 Emergency Nest Egg Fund. In a month’s time I will have saved $96.” Jay then goes to his computer receipts and realizes he’s spend $45 a week on his computer for his PayPal accounts, Groupon offers, credit cards, game accounts and his iTunes account. He says, “Do I really need these accounts, are they going to help me get my Emergency Fund up and running? These purchases are bleeding away my hard earned money. I’m going to close these accounts. That way I can put $180 a month into my “Tin Can” to save for my $1000 Emergency Fund. I will go through my receipts and look at what else I can eliminate or cut down on. My goal is to have my Emergency Fund in place in 6 months. I know I can do it!”
So, what are the three steps for you to save for your $1000 Emergency just like Jay and Gabby?
Track your spending for one week. Keep all your receipts and expenses for the week, writing them down in a note book, and at the end of the week add them together to get your total expenses for the week. Include every purchase you make even small purchases for sodas, snacks, lunches, dinners, breakfasts, groceries, going to the movies, purchasing snacks, gas for your car, cigarettes, and any other items you purchased that week. Also list your weekly spending for pay pal accounts, group on offers, credit cards, game accounts and iTunes accounts on your computer.
- Evaluate each of your receipts, just like Gabby and Jay did, and decide if it is a needed expense or not and start putting your saved money into your Emergency Fund “Piggy Bank or Tin Bank”.
3) Look at your computer receipts like Jay did and decide if your weekly pay pal accounts, group on offers, credit cards, game accounts, and iTunes accounts on your computer can be eliminated or cut back.
Jay turned off his pay pal account, his Groupon offers, his game accounts, his iTunes account and stopped spending his credit card money on things he didn’t need.
Jay said, “These purchases are bleeding away my hard-earned money.”
By following these three steps and being determined and disciplined to do it, you will be like Gabby and Jay, able to set up your $1000 Emergency Fund.
You can also save on gas for your car each week by being aware of which gas station has a special day for saving 5cents for each gallon you purchase. In our City it’s every Thursday. What day is it in your City or town? Every penny you save can go into your $1000 Emergency Nest Egg Fund. The sooner you start the sooner you will have your $1000 Emergency Fund in place.
This article is the second of four articles on teaching you, to take hold of your finances. ©2024, 2019 Madeline Frank
If you need a speaker contact Madeline at: [email protected]
Dr. Madeline Frank’s book “Leadership on a Shoestring Budget: Timeless Principles for Everyday Use, helps businesses stay afloat in times of trouble. She calls her innovative observations, Tuning Up Your Business. For over 25 years she has helped countless people create their great image brand, and communication style that makes them irresistible. Click on the following Amazon.com link to order your copy of “Leadership On A Shoestring Budget”
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“The Secret of Teaching Science & Math Through Music” shares scientific evidence, medical evidence, test results, and true stories of the world’s scientists, medical doctors, and mathematicians who have studied and played musical instruments since they were children by Madeline Frank, Ph.D. Click below:
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“Musical Notes On Math” by Dr. Madeline Frank teaches your child fractions and decimals, the fun easy way, through the rhythm of music, Winner of the Parent To Parent Adding Wisdom Award is available in book form, newly updated as an e-book on Kindle, Nook, or iBook.:
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Wishing you and your family a safe September, Labor Day Holiday, from Your Non-Invasive Medicine Music Expert, Madeline
For over 30 years, Dr. Madeline Frank has helped children and adults overcome problems through Classical music. Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM is an award-winning teacher, author, researcher, speaker, conductor, and concert artist. She has discovered a scientific link between studying a musical instrument and academic and societal success. Madeline Frank earned her Bachelor and Master’s degree from the Juilliard School of Music. Her education has included scholarships at the Juilliard School, Indiana University, and the University of Cincinnati and she has a violin performance diploma from the North Carolina School of the Arts. (C) 2024 Madeline Frank