About this item
Highlights
- Hedy Lamarr's exotic beauty was heralded across Europe in the early 1930s.
- About the Author: Stephen Michael Shearer is also the author of Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life and Gloria Swanson: The Ultimate Star.
- 512 Pages
- Biography + Autobiography, Entertainment & Performing Arts
Description
About the Book
"Beautiful" separates the truth from the rumors about Hedy Lamarr's life and highlights her astonishing role as an inventor of a technology that has become an essential part of everything from military weaponry to cell phones.Book Synopsis
Hedy Lamarr's exotic beauty was heralded across Europe in the early 1930s. Yet she became infamous for her nude scenes in the scandalous movie Ecstasy. Trapped in a marriage to one of Austria's munitions barons, a friend of Mussolini's who hid his Jewish heritage to become an "honorary Aryan" at the onset of World War II, Lamarr fled Europe for Hollywood, where she was transformed into one of film's most glamorous celebrities, appearing opposite such actors as Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and James Stewart. As her career faded, she went from one husband to the next, her personal troubles and legal woes casting a shadow over her phenomenal intelligence and former image.
Stephen Michael Shearer separates the truth from the rumors regarding the life of Hedy Lamarr, and highlights her astonishing role as inventor of a technology that has become an essential part of everything from military weaponry to today's cell phones.Review Quotes
"Providing probing and detailed coverage of her five marriages, children, various lawsuits, radio roles and shoplifting headlines, Shearer has combined extensive archival research with insightful interview quotes. The result is a fascinating biography that re-creates Hollywood's Golden Age of Glamour." --Publishers Weekly
"Much more than a standard Hollywood biography." --Edge Magazine "In Beautiful, Mr. Shearer writes with humor and has fun with some of the glorious nonsense of Lamarr's movies." --Jeanine Basinger, The Wall Street Journal "Extensively researched and filled with such nuggets, this is the ultimate biography on the screen legend." --Indulge Magazine "Shearer is to be congratulated for this account of Neal's life...Anyone interested in movies as well as U.S. social history will treasure this volume about an extraordinary actress and lady. " --The Daily News on Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life "This impressively researched biography of film actress Patricia Neal covers an immensity of material." --Deseret Morning News on Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life "There is sincerity and dedication behind this work -- it's vibrant and accomplished." --PAUL NEWMAN on Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life "Digs into the amazing first 80 years in the life of one of our national treasures. ... Neal is still a great force of nature, and Shearer's book documents all her ups, downs, traumas and triumphs." --REUTERS on Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life "Shearer delivers an inspiring look at the professional triumphs and personal tragedies that define one of Hollywood's legendary stars." --DES MOINES SUNDAY REGISTER on Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life "Her life has had so many tragic twists it makes for compelling reading." --VARIETY on Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life "Screen legend Neal's life was filled with tragedies and triumphs, and Shearer unveils an impressive portrait of the actress." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY on Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life "A rich record of a life, and of the times and places in which that life was lived." --GLOBE AND MAIL on Patricia Neal: An Unquiet LifeAbout the Author
Stephen Michael Shearer is also the author of Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life and Gloria Swanson: The Ultimate Star. He has written for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and is also an actor, having appeared on stage, television, and in film, and a former model. Shearer currently resides in Minnesota and New York City.