Today is International Women’s Day, and as we discussed in a post last year about Helen Reddy and “I Am Woman,” the day’s history goes back to 1911. Speaking of the special day, you may not know that a famous woman played a key part in the technology you likely are using right now to access the Internet. This week on CBS Sunday Morning, the show profiled a side activity of famous movie actress Hedy Lamarr. Although she was known for her beauty and her stardom, she had a room set aside to study engineering and work on ideas for new inventions. Richard Rhodes recently wrote about Lamarr and her roles in real life in Hedy’s Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World.
One of Lamarr’s ideas later formed the basis for wi-fi technology. She had developed the idea as a way to help defend against German torpedoes as World War II approached. At the time, though, the Navy dismissed her idea and instead asked her to use her beauty instead of her brains to sell war bonds, which she did. If you only know her for her acting roles such as in Samson and Delilah (1949), or even if you only know her name from the references to her in Blazing Saddles (1974) by Harvey Korman’s character Hedley Lamarr.” (which prompted the real Lamarr to sue Mel Brooks), check out this story below.
The little-known hobby of the actress shows that Lamarr was more complicated than many knew at the time. While her beauty gave her a great career, fame, and money, one sees a touch of tragedy in her search for something more.
What is your favorite Hedy Lamarr film? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On a cold day on this date of January 26 in 1945 in France during a World War II battle, Audie Murphy earned the Medal of Honor when he engaged in a single-handed battle with Germans. His heroic actions would save many of his fellow soldiers, and it eventually garnered Murphy attention from Jimmy Cagney and Hollywood, helping launch a film career.
Murphy’s Act of Heroism
In the January 1945 battle, Murphy saw his unit reduced from 128 men to 19. So, he ordered the remaining men to fall back while he fought the Germans by himself for a period. He eventually climbed up on an abandoned tank and used its machine gun to enable his comrades to return and organize a counter-attack.
The counter-attack won back the town of Holtzwihr, France for the Allies. When he later was asked why he took on an entire company of German infantry, Murphy explained “They were killing my friends.”
After the decorations led to a profile in Life magazine, Hollywood came calling. The attention eventually led to a film based on Murphy’s war service.
The movie was called To Hell and Back (1955). And it starred . . . Audie Murphy.
Upon seeing a trailer for the exploits of a war hero with the war hero playing himself based on a co-written autobiography, one might conclude that Murphy had a big ego and thought of himself as a great hero. But Murphy originally did not want to play himself.
The film is largely a tribute to Murphy’s fallen comrades. The movie highlights the deaths of the fallen, including the dead soldiers haunting Murphy’s award ceremony.
My favorite film with Murphy is Destry (1954), a remake of the also good Destry Rides Again (1939), which starred Jimmy Stewart. He also appeared in a number of television shows, including a Western, Whispering Smith (1961).
Murphy’s War Experience
Murphy was humble about his exploits and realistic about war, as shown by this 1963 radio interview. In the interview, he explains that the highlight of the war for him was the day he heard the war was over.
Murphy also became a hero when he helped veterans of the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam by breaking taboos to speak about his own post-war struggles. He was open about his personal battles, including post-traumatic stress syndrome and addiction to sleeping pills.
You may see how unassuming he is in this clip from the TV show What’s My Line?, recorded before To Hell and Back hit theaters.
Murphy the Songwriter
It was not until I started writing this post that I discovered that Murphy also co-wrote a number of country songs. His songs were recorded by singers such as Dean Martin and Porter Wagoner.
Below is one of Murphy’s biggest hits, “When the Wind Blows in Chicago,” sung here by Roy Clark.
Murphy’s Death and Confusion About His Age
Murphy died in a plane crash on May 28, 1971. His widow, Pam Murphy, continued to work for veterans until she died in 2010.
Audie Murphy had been 21 when he risked his life and earned the Medal of Honor. When he died, he was only 45, although many sources like Wikipedia and even his tombstone in Arlington National Cemetery claim he was 46.
The age confusion was created because this honorable and talented man did lie once. Several months after his mother died, with some help from his sister, the teenaged Murphy falsified his birth certificate. He lied so he could serve his country when he was only seventeen. What is your favorite Audie Murphy film? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In the middle of holiday celebrations, many may have missed that Geraldine Hoff Doyle, the inspiration for the famous poster of “Rosie the Riveter,” died on December 26 in Michigan. Doyle’s memorial service will be held this weekend on January 8, 2011. [2018 Update: See update at end of article about another woman credited with inspiring the famous poster.]
When Doyle was 17, a photographer took a photo that was apparently of her working at a metal-stamping machine in Ann Arbor. Artist J. Howard Miller used the United Press photo as the basis for a famous World War II poster that praised contributions made by working women. The poster, encouraging women to enter the work force, featured a strong independent woman flexing her muscle saying “We Can Do It!” Others named the woman in the poster “Rosie the Riveter,” after a popular song about women contributing to the war effort.
Norman Rockwell also created his own painting of Rosie the Riveter used for a 1943 cover of the Saturday Evening Post. The Four Vagabonds sang the song “Rosie the Riveter.”
A little-known fact about the woman in the poster is that Doyle only worked at the plant for a couple of weeks. She quit the job after she learned that her predecessor injured her hand in the metal press machine. So, the woman who inspired the poster with the flexing muscle was not flexing her muscle in the job for long.
Still, her brief work at the plant inspired other women to do the work. She contributed to the continuing long journey toward obtaining equal rights for women as well as to helping defeat the Nazis. And that’s pretty cool. “Making history, working for victory,” just like in the song. Thanks Rosie, and thanks Geraldine. Rest in peace.
2018 Update: New research indicates that it probably was not Doyle in that original photo that inspired the Rosie the Riveter poster. A researcher concluded that the woman in the original photo was Naomi Parker Fraley. Fraley died at the age of 96 in January 2018. Either way, Fraley and Doyle both did important work for the war effort and womens’ rights.
Bonus Song Information: Although Doyle became associated with “Rosie the Riveter,” another woman, Rosalind P. Walter, inspired the song. Walter worked a night shift building fighter planes. Another woman, Rose Will Monroe, who worked as a riveter in Michigan during WWII, appeared in a promotional film during the war. Many at the time saw Monroe as the real Rosie the Riveter icon.
Bonus New Video: Pink’s new video for her song, “Raise Your Glass,” features her impression of the Geraldine Doyle poster.
Today is International Women’s Day, and as we discussed in a post last year about Helen Reddy and “I Am Woman,” the day’s history goes back to 1911. Speaking of the special day, you may not know that a famous woman played a key part in the technology you likely are using right now to access the Internet. This week on CBS Sunday Morning, the show profiled a side activity of famous movie actress Hedy Lamarr. Although she was known for her beauty and her stardom, she had a room set aside to study engineering and work on ideas for new inventions. Richard Rhodes recently wrote about Lamarr and her roles in real life in Hedy’s Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World.
