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86 – Otto in the Attic & Hedy Lamarr (Replay Episode)
39 Plays1 month ago
This week’s episode is a replay featuring two unforgettable stories from the archives.
Jeff revisits the chilling case of Otto in the Attic from Episode 57 — a disturbing and tragic story that explores isolation, secrecy, and the darker corners of human behavior hidden in plain sight.
Sam replays her story from Episode 73 about Hedy Lamarr, the glamorous Hollywood star whose brilliance extended far beyond the silver screen. Behind the fame was a groundbreaking inventor whose work helped lay the foundation for modern wireless communication.
Two wildly different stories, one episode — fear and genius, darkness and brilliance.
Visit us on Linktree for the collection of links, Instagram, or email us at jeffandsamshow@gmail.com.
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Transcript
Taking a Break for Mental Health
00:00:01
Speaker
Hello, hello, hello. Welcome to the Jeff and Sam show. So it's just me this week, only me. And the reason is we got back from Egypt and we had an amazing time.
00:00:15
Speaker
Incredible. Met some incredible people, saw some incredible stuff. It was like the amazing race without the competition. It was an insane two weeks, but fantastic. But now we're both a little bit under the weather and exhausted. So we're taking the week off for mental health purposes.
Tales of Otto and Hedy Lamarr
00:00:36
Speaker
And we will be back next Thursday with the same show we always have given you. It'll be two stories this time back to normal. um Until then, I asked Alan, our producer,
00:00:52
Speaker
<unk> stories that he like two that he really enjoyed and put them together for us so he chose the one i did about otto the man that was stuck in the attic for years an insane story what a crazy story that was and then he chose one from sam about hedy lamar the super badass woman who was amazing. And you know, I love a story about a badass woman.
00:01:21
Speaker
So enjoy the two that he picked. They're great. um And we will be better and be ready for next week with a brand new show for you.
00:01:33
Speaker
Thanks, everybody. Bye.
A Murder Mystery Unfolds
00:01:36
Speaker
In 1922, police were called to the home and to a home in Los Angeles after there were reports of gunshots. When the police arrived, they found a young man, or a man, lying dead in the living room with multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the back of the head.
00:01:52
Speaker
The dead man's wife was found alive. The wife told the police that there was a robbery. And she couldn't have done it. And any evidence that there was said that she couldn't have done it.
00:02:05
Speaker
But the police were really suspicious of her. And they were really suspicious of her story. She told the detective that she and her husband never fought.
00:02:16
Speaker
Not even one time. And she was really adamant about it. And the intensity of that denial made the detective really skeptical. i mean, wouldn't you be? Absolutely. What married couple doesn't fight? Exactly.
00:02:29
Speaker
Plus, her husband was killed with a.25 caliber pistol. A very small caliber. Caliber. Generally considered a woman's gun. ah Back in the day. What kind of robber carries a woman's gun?
00:02:43
Speaker
Could it have been her? But the police couldn't figure it out because, like I said, the evidence said it could not have been her. And they would later learn that there was much more to this L.A. housewife than anyone could have expected. You ready for this?
00:03:00
Speaker
I'm so ready. Okay.
Dolly and Fred's Troubled Marriage
00:03:03
Speaker
Walburga Korshell, nicknamed Dolly, that's what I'm going to call her from this point on, was born in 1880-ish to German immigrant parents. It's really unclear whether she was born in Germany or if she was born in Wisconsin after they immigrated here.
00:03:20
Speaker
um She moved into, or they moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where there was a community of German immigrants. At the age of 12, Dolly worked at a textile mill owned by Fred Strike.
00:03:32
Speaker
another German immigrant who had become successful and frequently hired fellow immigrants in his factories. Dolly was by all accounts attractive, and she was charismatic, she had a lot of friends, and she was really friends with the factory workers. They really liked her.
00:03:48
Speaker
What lady named Dolly is not charismatic? Abso-fucking-lutely. Find me one. Yep. She got married when she was 17 to the owner of the factory. His name was Fred, like I said.
00:03:59
Speaker
Fred was worth a lot of money because he owned the factories. And Dolly, from the beginning, from the very beginning, it was suspected that she had a lot of affairs. um Both of them were considered really good-looking.
00:04:14
Speaker
Fred was always stressed out and angry, Because word on the street was that he was a little bit of an alcoholic, okay? Word on the street. Because of Fred's booze issue or alcoholism, Dolly wasn't getting sex as much as she wanted, so they would argue. get it girl.
00:04:31
Speaker
Dolly was now a stay-at-home wife while Fred was out yelling at his employees at the factory, work harder, work harder. Why couldn't she go to work? He's worth a lot of money. She's going to stay home.
Otto's Attic Affair
00:04:43
Speaker
Maybe that's what she wanted to do.
00:04:45
Speaker
But everybody at the factory loved Dolly, and Dolly tried to take care of them. Fred was like sort of the asshole, and Dolly was the intermediary. She would speak up for people that worked there.
00:04:56
Speaker
One day when Dolly was 26, she went to the factory and 17-year-old young man caught her attention. The young man was one of the sewing machine repairmen who worked there. His name was Otto Sandhauber.
00:05:09
Speaker
So i'm just going to call him Otto. Otto was sort of nerdy looking and he was really, really shy. Dolly and Otto started to get to know each other more and more.
00:05:21
Speaker
Then Dolly said her sewing machine at home was broken and she needed somebody to come and fix it. So in 1913, Dolly asked Fred to get the sewing machine repairman from work to come and fix it.
00:05:32
Speaker
And in the fall of 1913, Otto went to Dolly's house and of course Dolly answered the door. Soon, the two of them, Dolly and Otto, were having sex every day. god.
00:05:44
Speaker
All day long. Everywhere. All the time. Well, good for her. And that lasted for three years. Dolly even told the neighbors that Otto was her like vagabond half-brother because the neighbors were starting to be like, who is this young man coming in and out of the house?
00:06:01
Speaker
Fred heard about Otto's visit and Fred was pissed. Dolly said Otto had been bothering her and she would put a stop to it. Oh. Fred accepted that. After some time, Otto started to come back over and over, and they started fucking like rabbits again, seven to eight times a day.
00:06:20
Speaker
But those pesky neighbors were a little bit of a problem because he was constantly in and out of the house, right? And Dolly had an idea. ah Jesus. Do you know this story? I do. You do? i know i i know the next part, and I know...
00:06:35
Speaker
Okay. and Yeah. So she had this idea. She got Otto to quit his job and move into the attic. Otto did this. Mind you, it's Fred and Dolly's house. And now Otto is living in the attic.
00:06:48
Speaker
Unaware is the homeowner. all right He's also give up his life to be in that attic and to have sex with Dolly when Fred was working and out being drunk.
00:06:59
Speaker
So it must been really good sex. Can you? I mean, mean know i am listen, quit my job moving to your attic. Absolutely. Now, Otto gave up a lot to continue this. And in the attic, Otto had a chamber pot, a cot and a desk. And the way that you got out of the attic was through a little door above the master bedroom.
00:07:20
Speaker
So Otto put a locker. on the attic door from the inside of the attic, so Fred could never get into the attic. And Otto lived there in the attic. Dolly would signal that Fred was gone, Otto would come down, and they would have sex.
00:07:34
Speaker
Otto never left the property. At night, when Dolly and Fred were out, Otto would go outside and exercise. Nobody ever saw Otto, and Otto was obsessed with Dolly. What did he eat?
00:07:46
Speaker
We'll get to that. Dolly would make sure, literally in the next sentence... Dolly would make sure he had plenty of food, a lot of meat, a lot of milk. So he was getting his protein, right? There you go.
00:07:58
Speaker
And a lot of the time, Otto was in the attic, was in the summertime before AC. And he had one window. He could read a lot of books by candlelight at night, but he wouldn't make a sound because Fred would hear him.
00:08:11
Speaker
he was over his bed. Otto was living over this man's bed. And this went on for five years. For five years, Otto lived in the attic. Otto had other dreams, too. He wanted to be a writer.
00:08:25
Speaker
So while living in the attic, he wrote a lot of fiction, even getting some of it published under a pen name. Fred did notice some of his cigars disappeared and food was going really fast, but he chalked it up to maybe I'm just crazy. i don't know you know. Maybe I'm an alcoholic. He didn't think about that.
00:08:43
Speaker
Dolly did. fred and Fred decided that he and Dolly needed a change, right? Like, fresh start. So Fred picked Los Angeles
The Murder of Fred
00:08:51
Speaker
as their new starting place. Dolly said, sure, I'll go with you, Fred, but I'll go with one condition.
00:08:58
Speaker
do you know what that condition would be? That we have an attic in the house of and the house in Los Angeles. She needed her booty call that badly. Did she drag Tim halfway across country?
00:09:10
Speaker
So houses in LA usually don't come with attics, but by God, they found one. And Dolly sent Otto ahead of them to settle into his new place, the new attic. His new place? In his new attic, Otto had a mattress, a chamber pot, and oil lamps.
00:09:25
Speaker
Fred and Dolly soon arrived at their new home. Otto's hanging out in the attic and sort of continues on like this, like it had been. But now Otto is like cleaning the house. He's making the beds. He's washing the dishes. He's doing the chores, but he still goes up into the attic and hides.
00:09:41
Speaker
So Fred goes to work. Otto comes down from his perch. Cleans. Cleans. Has sex. Cleans. Has sex. Dolly is like doing the most here. living the best life.
00:09:52
Speaker
But the attic in LA was a lot smaller than the attic in Milwaukee where they had moved from. So Otto had to be really, really quiet, right? And also Otto could hear Dolly and Fred having sex. And Otto loved Dolly. So one night Otto begged her to leave him.
00:10:08
Speaker
She told him that Fred has the money. She literally has no skills or money of her own. Arguably, maybe she had like one skill. Like ah sex? Yeah, absolutely. She had a skill.
00:10:22
Speaker
It got a man to move into her attic halfway across the country. I mean, damn. And one night when Dolly and Fred were having sex, Fred heard Otto clear his throat. Fred heard what he heard, right?
00:10:34
Speaker
Dolly was so good, though, that she explained it away. And Fred was still drinking a lot, so it kind of worked. Fred actually noticed the attic door was locked, but Dolly explained it as, that's where I put my fur coat so nobody will take her for a fur coat.
00:10:50
Speaker
The argument started to turn violent. Their marriage started to fall apart. Fred was drinking more and more. Often Fred was shit-faced, and he noticed but he noticed stuff like the cigars and the leftovers disappearing.
00:11:04
Speaker
Dolly again would say, Fred, honey, you were so drunk. And he would buy it, right? And August 22nd, 1922. An argument between Fred and Dolly was so bad that Otto was afraid that Dolly was going to get really hurt or even like be killed.
00:11:24
Speaker
So Otto came out of the attic and he grabbed Fred's 25 caliber pistol, ran downstairs and confronted Fred. Can you imagine seeing him for the first time in like seven years? That was the sewing machine man in Milwaukee. He's been living in our attic for the past seven
Dolly's Lovers and Otto's Secret
00:11:39
Speaker
years.
00:11:39
Speaker
Yes. pro So pale. He was really, really pale when he came out of the attic. That sounds horrible. Listen, no, you know what? I don't care how, so how good the sex is. I would never do that purely because I need sun.
00:11:51
Speaker
Well, so when Fred saw him, he was like, what are you doing? Like what the fuck? Fred and Otto got into a fight. Shots were fired and one went into the ceiling, two went into the chest and one went right into the head.
00:12:08
Speaker
Fred was shot in the head and now he's dead. You're going to sing something. Nope. No, not. He fired two warning shots into his head.
00:12:20
Speaker
She had it coming. She did it. Dolly and Otto, they were like, oh shit. Fucking Fred is dead, right? What the hell? So they decided to make everything look like the home had just been robbed.
00:12:34
Speaker
They overturned the furniture. They destroyed the inside of the house. Otto locked Dolly in a closet, tossed away the key on the floor, and Otto headed back to the place that he knows, the attic. Jesus Christ. Neighbors heard the gunshots and called the cops. And when the cops arrived, they found Dolly in the closet.
00:12:50
Speaker
She told them that when she got home, she went upstairs and to change, but before she could, she was pushed from behind and shoved into the closet. Detective Klein bought her story, but there were still some confusing things to him.
00:13:03
Speaker
The.25 caliber was a woman's gun. No man would use that gun. Of course not. They used manly guns. Of course. dollar And a woman would never use a manly gun. Dolly would.
00:13:15
Speaker
Goddamn right she would. Dolly also told Detective Klein that she and Fred never fought. That struck Klein as kind of odd. Also, Fred had cash in his pockets and in his wallet. One of the items taken was a diamond watch that Fred was wearing, but the robbers didn't take the cash in his pocket or the cash in his wallet.
00:13:35
Speaker
Detective Klein even went to Wisconsin to investigate the couple. People said they argued a lot, but that was it. And at the end of the day, Dolly couldn't just lock herself in the closet. There was no way.
00:13:46
Speaker
That's the end of it. like yeah Dolly then inherited millions of dollars from Fred. Okay. But Dolly, she bought a new home.
00:13:57
Speaker
And the home had an attic. Fuck off. So Otto moved right up into the new attic. Jesus. This is now the man's third attic.
00:14:08
Speaker
Even though there's no husband. And Fred's murder remained and his murder remained unsolved. At this point, police thought Dolly was a little suspicious. Yeah. They kind of thought she killed Fred, but they were thrown by the simple fact that she was locked in the damn closet. Like it couldn't be her. She could not do herself that, do that to herself. And there was nobody else there.
00:14:29
Speaker
Dolly begins dating an attorney who's working on Fred's estate. His name was Herman Shapiro. Dolly gives Herman a diamond watch. But Herman was like, this is the watch that the robber stole of Fred.
00:14:45
Speaker
Because yeah Herman was working on the estate, right? And that was on the police report of something being stolen. Herman questioned Dolly about this, but she said she actually found it under the cushion on the couch.
00:14:58
Speaker
Dolly then went to her other lover, Roy. Two things here. She had another lover. So she's dating attorney. She's dating Roy.
00:15:08
Speaker
And she's fucking auto living in the attic. She went to her other lover, Roy, and said she found this gun that looks awfully similar to the one used to kill Fred. And if the police saw it, they would think it was her that killed Fred. And she asked Roy to get rid of the gun. He did like Roy went out and threw it in a tar pit, but she had another 25 caliber as well. So she went over to the neighbor's house and told the neighbor the same story and asked him to get rid of that gun.
00:15:36
Speaker
He did sort of but his wife found it and his wife buried it under the rose bush.
00:15:44
Speaker
The next year, Dolly and, uh, Roy's relationship fell apart. Atticus, um, Otto is still in the attic. Atticus. Clom went to the police and told them that Dolly, this was her boyfriend or her lover. Right. And they broke up.
00:16:01
Speaker
He went to the cops and told them that Dolly had given him a diamond watch. No, sorry. This was Herman. They're all so confusing. There's so many. She was given or he was given a diamond watch and he had disposed of the gun or the murder weapon for Dolly.
00:16:17
Speaker
They searched the area for the gun and they were told. but they found the gun. Actually, it was in the tar pit, but it was in the shallow part of the tar pit. So they actually found the gun. They arrested. They arrested Dolly.
00:16:30
Speaker
The neighbors heard about this. So they dug up the other gun from under the rose bush and took it into the police station. The gun that Klum told them about had been in the shallow part of the tar pit, so they couldn't test that gun and they couldn't use that gun or determine if it was the gun, right?
00:16:44
Speaker
The rosebush gun was rusted because it had been under the roses for about 11 months. The cops questioned Dolly, but she did not cave. Good for her. She's a fierce woman. I mean, you've got to be when you're playing that many, uh...
00:16:58
Speaker
men. Herman came to visit Dolly and Jill, and while he was there visiting Dolly, she pushed him over to the side and she said, quote, he's there. Herman was like, who is where?
00:17:10
Speaker
Dolly explained that her, quote, vagabond half-brother is in the house and nobody wants to Don't be afraid. Go to the house. Go to my room. Go to the closet and drum on the walls with your fingernails and then he'll appear.
00:17:22
Speaker
Don't be afraid. ah She said, don't be afraid. She told Herman that Otto was innocent and then he would never harm him.
Otto's New Life and Unsolved Mystery
00:17:30
Speaker
Herman goes to the house the house. He didn't tap on the wall, but he kind of whistled.
00:17:35
Speaker
Otto slides out of the attic and sits on the shelf and says, hello, Herman. Don't be afraid of me. Your face is so fucking priceless right now. And just like that, after about 10 years of living in an attic, Otto finally came out and met another human being.
00:17:51
Speaker
I think that Dolly had probably told Otto if something ever happens, Herman will come over and he's a safe person to be around. Right. I think they had that conversation. Okay. But Dolly's like holding this. She's like, good. Keep me in jail. Let Otto free. Okay.
00:18:08
Speaker
Herman made his way into the attic. He found a riding board, a lamp, buckets of water, an electric foot warmer, canned goods, clothes, a razor, and just a few other things. Otto was happy to see Herman. They talked and talked. He told Herman about how long he had been in the attic, about all the sex they had for years. And he even tells Herman about killing Fred.
00:18:30
Speaker
He makes Otto leave the house. Herman was like, okay, Otto, you got to go. And Otto has no idea what to do. Because he's been in an attic for 10 years. He's freaked out because he doesn't want to be charged with murder. He's been in an attic for 10 years.
00:18:44
Speaker
So he fled to Canada. In Canada.
00:18:51
Speaker
I love how you just said, ah, like that would be your next move too. What other options do you have? Yeah, Canada. Oh, Canada. That makes sense. And while he was in Canada, he changed his name to Walter Klein. Klein was the detective, remember? Yes. hated Klein. Yeah.
00:19:08
Speaker
Otto was fucked up though. I mean, he had been living and he had been living in an attic at it for a really long time, but he managed
00:19:21
Speaker
I'm sorry. You're laughing so hard. He even met and married a woman named Matilda while he was living in Canada.
00:19:31
Speaker
ah can't not laugh. No. Back in Los Angeles, the poor cops were still stuck on the fact that Dolly was locked in the damn closet so they couldn't link her and they couldn't link her to the guns.
00:19:43
Speaker
Dolly gets really sick while she's in jail. So she almost died and you never die in jail. So they immediately released her. She didn't die, but Herman, her ex moved back in with her. What the fuck?
00:19:56
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:59
Speaker
Herman had just found her supposed vagabond brother that she is. She vagina, okay? She has a magic vagina, all right? Clearly, that is the only... And for three years, Herman and Dolly lived in Los Angeles, and Otto and Matilda lived in Canada.
00:20:15
Speaker
Until Otto decided that he and his wife should move to Los Angeles. Oh, God, no. autos Otto started working as a janitor.
00:20:27
Speaker
And Herman saw Otto one day and Otto told Herman that he was married and he didn't want Matilda to know anything about his past, especially the addict or anything involving Dolly. But then Otto said to Herman, the very thought of living near Dolly made life worth living for me again.
00:20:45
Speaker
So Dolly hired Otto. Shut up. She hired him to rebuild a cedar closet in her home. For him to live in?
00:20:56
Speaker
And Otto obliged. There was no more sex, though, at least for Dolly and Otto. As for Dolly, she was apparently having sex with a lot of people around town. That was the rumor.
00:21:06
Speaker
Everything took a toll on Herman. Dolly and Herman were fighting a lot. And after seven years together, Herman ended the relationship. Then he went to the district attorney and came clean. He told the DA a about the man who lived in the attic, their murder, and everything else that he knew.
00:21:21
Speaker
So in 1930, Otto, who's now about 43, was arrested. And then Dolly was arrested. When Otto was interrogated, he was putting the blame everywhere. he blamed Herman somehow. He also said that he had amnesia and couldn't remember anything before 1923. It was a circus, and the press ate this story up.
00:21:41
Speaker
Otto explained to the press what had happened. Otto was just concerned that he he didn't want his wife Matilda to find out any of this. The press called this the Batman case after finding out about Otto's cave-like life for in the attic. So now he's being called Batman.
00:21:57
Speaker
Right. As for Dolly, once the case reopened, her attorney basically said she didn't give a fuck because she had nothing to hide. Until the end of the trial of Dolly and Otto, coverage by the press was non-stop.
00:22:10
Speaker
It was a huge story. Dolly wouldn't say a word to investigators about what happened. She was sort of like pleading the fifth. But old Otto... Oh, yeah? yeah.
00:22:25
Speaker
and now it's the trial autoto pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity the defence said he was controlled by a more older and sophisticated dominant woman but otto was in court now looking like a middle-aged man because he's in his forty s At one point when Otto testified, he told them of how he would keep the house clean, he would make sure the sheets were washed, and he even told them about how he used to get angry with Dolly for having sex with Fred, so he would go on a hunger strike until Dolly would start giving him what he wanted.
00:22:55
Speaker
Dolly was whooping ass. Boy, like you said, she had a magical vagina. A magical vagina. And he was allowed to show the jury. Like, he actually, they took Otto and the jury to the house so they could see the attic.
00:23:08
Speaker
He was literally their tour guide. At the end of the trial, the jury was told by the judge that they could find Otto guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, or not guilty. What do you think their verdict was? Not guilty.
00:23:23
Speaker
Otto was found guilty of manslaughter. Okay. Okay. However, the statute of limitations for manslaughter, the statute of limitations for manslaughter was seven years. The crime had been eight years at this point. Way to go, Otto! So Otto was a free man.
00:23:39
Speaker
And then Dolly's trial started. A lot of cops had to be present to keep the press out of the courtroom. This is madness. Dolly cried on the stand. She talked about how much she loved Fred.
00:23:52
Speaker
Her trial ended in a hung jury. Nine voted for second degree murder, one for manslaughter, and two for not guilty. All of the women voted for second degree murder.
00:24:04
Speaker
Swear to God, those men were like, I think she's got a magic vagina. They were like, I just need to test it out. We're good. She's good. She didn't do anything. i can feel it from here. The vibes. Right? From that magical vagina. So now Otto and Dolly are both free.
00:24:18
Speaker
Dolly and Otto never get back together, though. Oh, no. I kind of thought they would. Dolly did find another lover. of course. Named Ray. They lived together for 30 years and they married in 1961 when Dolly was about 80 years old.
00:24:33
Speaker
She died two weeks later of cancer. So Ray inherited the millions. Because of the press, Otto was now seen as an immoral sexual deviant. He was judged by the public. So Otto took off. He was never seen again. he went to Canada. Absolutely. Absolutely.
00:24:50
Speaker
As for Dolly and Fred's house today, it can be found at 858 North Lafayette Park Place in Silver Lake or Los Angeles. I've looked at it. There has, it is now like um apartments, multifamily dwelling apartments, but none of the exterior has been changed. So is the attic still there? Yes.
00:25:12
Speaker
And that is the story of Dolly, Fred and Otto in the attic. Did you love that story? i loved that story. Incredible, right?
00:25:24
Speaker
i don't know how
Introducing Hedy Lamarr
00:25:25
Speaker
I feel. i don't know how I feel. I mean, damn, Dolly. Magic vagina. Magic vagina. And listen, listen, I understand that. I do. I get that.
00:25:38
Speaker
I would – listen, I don't care how good it is. i would never live in an attic for 10 years. I'm sorry. I wouldn't do it. don't care who you are. It's bananas. but And like when Fred's dead, they move to a different house and he still lives in the attic. Like come on.
00:25:53
Speaker
You were – At least a man in the second bedroom. Right? But there's some suggestion that Fred knew all along. There's some suggestion that he knew all along because, I mean, his cigars were going missing. His house was being cleaned. The food was disappearing. And he heard things coming from the attic. Well, because it was above his bedroom.
00:26:16
Speaker
I kind of think he may have known, but it doesn't matter at this point. i mean, that was so long ago, Do you think he knew? i think he did know. But I think Dolly, she would only have it her way. Yeah, that sounds like that. And she would put Fred in his place. oh Do you know what i mean? yeah, yeah. I can see that happening. She would also put Otto in his place.
00:26:39
Speaker
In the attic. God damn, stay in the attic. What the fuck? Ten Mm-hmm. So, what's the log in here? For Wi-Fi? You know? Like, if I wanted to get on your Wi-Fi.
00:26:52
Speaker
Um... Anyway, yeah how often do you ask that question? When you go to friends' houses, family members' houses, when you're at a doctor's office, a restaurant, it did it happens a lot, right? Yeah.
00:27:07
Speaker
So it makes life and communication easier, obviously. But have you ever stopped to think about how it came to be? No. I mean, maybe. Maybe. But but no But maybe. Maybe.
00:27:18
Speaker
So I would say that not many people know, but somehow I i know just enough weirdos, and weirdos is a very endearing term um because they're actually geniuses, who would know all of the details of the story. So if you do, then right on. That's awesome.
00:27:37
Speaker
But this story is not for you. This is for the people who are kind of like me and don't have obscure historical facts stored in a weird recess of the mind hole um i found out about this woman and i like to uh take deep dive because it's it's just not what you would expect okay november 9th 1940 or 1914
00:28:03
Speaker
Hedy Lamarr born Hedwig Eva Maria Keisler in Vienna, Austria. Okay. But also I know you're not a Harry Potter nerd, but her name was Hedwig. Oh yeah. That's amazing.
00:28:19
Speaker
Brought me so much joy. Anyway, she was the only child of a wealthy Jewish family. Her father doted on her. He was a bank director as his profession, but he never turned away from questions about things around him.
00:28:33
Speaker
Always curious in mathematical and scientific fields, he and Hedy frequently went on long walks together where they would discuss the inner workings of different types of machines. So just kind of piqued your interest. And this started when she was five years old. Okay. Okay.
00:28:48
Speaker
So thanks to these conversations, by the age of five, Hedy was frequently seen taking apart her music box and reassembling it just to see how it worked. as math and science oriented Hedy's father was, her mother was equally successful in the arts and music.
00:29:07
Speaker
She was a concert pianist, and this influenced Hedy to join the ballet and take piano lessons and then like kind of enter into the art scene. So she was taking shit apart, putting it back together. And then she was like doing ballet, doing the thing. Right. So she, she had like two sides of this coin. Right. And in 1914 or third 1920s, like a little girl, you don't see it much. Right. Like girls are supposed to be girls back then. Right.
00:29:33
Speaker
So in addition to her brilliant mind, Hedy was a beautiful girl. Genuinely stunning. If you look at pictures of her, it's it's she's got that classic beauty. Okay? At the age of 16, her looks and talent for the arts caught the attention of director Max Reinhardt.
00:29:51
Speaker
She began acting in Berlin and was in her first film in 1930.
00:29:57
Speaker
By 1932, she gained fame as a star in a very controversial romantic drama film called Ecstasy. Ooh.
Hedy's Escape and Hollywood Stardom
00:30:07
Speaker
In Europe, everywhere except Germany, because, you know, at the time, Germany wasn't great. Yeah. The film was well-received and considered a work of art.
00:30:15
Speaker
It won an award at the Venice Film Festival, but because of its scandalous scenes, there was a little touch of nudity and then also maybe... a close-up of her face in the throes of an orgasm.
00:30:30
Speaker
Okay? And by maybe, I mean definitely. I wonder how much nudity there was. Right? Side boob. Right? Was it side boob? Was it legs? Like, what are we talking? you think it was a nipple? I don't think so. Not in the No. It was probably like knees. Knees.
00:30:47
Speaker
We can't show it. Your knees are showing? Yeah. Sorry. So, America was not thrilled by this. I mean, it it it gained world-renowned, right? But America was like, ugh. The whore, right?
00:31:00
Speaker
So they banned the movie here and also in Germany because it's Germany. um After the negative publicity, she wanted to withdraw from the public eye but she wasn't at all successful in that. Okay.
00:31:14
Speaker
She starred stage productions, received accolades, and started kind of collecting admirers. She tried to avoid them and was like, oh, thanks. Like, that's great, but really wouldn't interact with them much.
00:31:26
Speaker
But by 1933, she married an adoring fan named Friedrich Alexander, a.k.a. a Fritz Mandel. I just love the name Fritz. Right? Me too. Fritz.
00:31:38
Speaker
Did you ever watch The Closer? Uh-uh. Oh, my God. It's got Keira Sedgwick in it. Yeah, I did. Yes. Yes. just love her Also, in Scandal, it's the president's name...
00:31:52
Speaker
Fritz? No. Didn't she call him Fritz? Fitz? I think might have been Fitz. Okay. Sorry. I'll have to look that up. We digress.
00:32:04
Speaker
So Fritz was a successful and wealthy Austrian munitions dealer. oh Lamar was taken by his charm, his charisma, and his exceptional wealth didn't hurt either. He, at the time, was considered the third wealthiest man in the country.
00:32:20
Speaker
Her parents tried to dissuade her. Being of Jewish descent, both her mother and father did not approve of Fritz's close ties with a couple of tough guys, Mussolini and Hitler. Shit.
00:32:34
Speaker
Dun, dun, dun. Shit. Although he was enamored with her, it quickly became obvious that she would not be allowed to continue acting as she wanted to. Fritz made it known that he did not like the role that she had played in Ecstasy,
00:32:49
Speaker
She was once quoted saying, I knew very soon that I could never be an actress while I was his wife. He was the absolute monarch in the marriage. I was like a doll. I was like a thing, some object of art which had to be guarded and imprisoned, having no mind and no life of its own. Hmm.
00:33:08
Speaker
As an arms dealer, Fritz hosted countless dinner parties during which Hedy was made to be the good housewife and the host. She smiled on demand when the guests noticed her, some of whom were these scandalously associated, you know, Italian fascist regime, German Nazi party, et cetera, et cetera.
00:33:28
Speaker
Hedy was even taken into meetings. Some people think that Fritz brought her to these like business meetings, hoping that just her presence and her vibe and her look would sway the people to like, bye from him.
00:33:43
Speaker
Side boob. Bye from me. Your side boob. um So he didn't like think about her brain or the bravery that she had kind of inside of her. right Didn't really think of her as anything when he brought her to these meetings with scientists, politicians, engineers, all the things, all these people who are scheming and doing shit. Right.
00:34:05
Speaker
and this is, 1930s, right? We're coming up. During the dinners and meetings, her mind woke up. I bet it did See? That's her weapon right there because they all were underestimating this woman. Counter out, right?
00:34:21
Speaker
The science she had so loved but had been put aside for the screen started to sp spark her interest again. In 1937, Hedy fled her marriage and his associations.
00:34:32
Speaker
It's semi unclear how she got away. Some accounts claim that she disguised herself as one of her maids and fled. Another story claims that she persuaded Fritz to allow her to wear and show off all of her jewelry. Like she was this shining gem that she wanted to show off, right? And then managed to slip out after dinner and just escaped.
00:34:52
Speaker
We don't know which one. Maybe it was a combination of the two. Who knows? Mm-hmm. She made her way to London through Paris and did some stuff. But with her, she took the knowledge and the information that she had picked up from her dinner table talk with her diabolical husband, his war and weapons friends. Okay. So.
00:35:12
Speaker
That's amazing. Yeah. While in London, she met Louis louis B. Mayer from MGM Studios. With this introduction, she maneuvered her way to Hollywood. And she was, she I mean, she was just so smart. So this man offers her like $250 a week, right?
00:35:31
Speaker
And she's like, no, not interested. And then manages to like end up on the same train with him and strikes up a conversation by the end of the train ride like,
00:35:43
Speaker
she's now offered $500 a week. Yeah. Good for her She did the damn thing. She quickly gained the hearts of her American audience. She had had a rapid and impressive climb into big films that won all types of awards and broke records for profits made.
00:36:02
Speaker
And let me just give you a ah quick little rundown of some of these movies and stuff. Okay. And the people that she worked with, because goddamn, She starred in Algiers, the 1938 movie that people who watch the movie on screen reported that when her face first appeared on screen, the entire audience gasped.
00:36:26
Speaker
Lamar's beauty literally took one's breath away. All right. Boomtown in 1940, which made five. I've heard of the million dollars in 1940. OK.
00:36:42
Speaker
And then White Cargo in 42. And then one of the biggest movies was sit her starring role in the movie Samson and Delilah in 1949, which was the highest grossing film in 1950 and the winner of two Oscars. Wow.
00:36:58
Speaker
Okay. Her roles landed her on the screen or stage with names like Spencer Tracy, the King of Hollywood, Clark Gable, Claudette colburn cole Colbert, Colbert,
00:37:12
Speaker
James Stewart, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Robert Walker from Strangers on a Train. Dear God. Walter Pidgeon from Mrs. Miniver, Robert Young from Father Knows Best, and William Powell from the... And like way so many more.
00:37:28
Speaker
and she's And she's, you know, some of these roles, she's kind of in the background, all that kind of stuff, but... there pictures of her, like, glamorous pictures of her? You know what's crazy? It's like, it's...
00:37:42
Speaker
It's just that she, yes, there is and it's even her non-glamour shots are just stunning. You know? it's that It is that classic beauty, you know? It's also in the 1930s and 40s where even just to outside, perfection.
00:37:59
Speaker
Yeah. So, shortly after extremely successful film in 1950, she started in a few films that kind of flopped, so her acting career kind of started declining. But her time at Hollywood started more than just acting up.
00:38:13
Speaker
It led her to meeting and dating a man named Howard Hughes, which who was a pilot and businessman. business man Hughes woke her mind up even further with his innovation and curiosity.
00:38:24
Speaker
He supplied her with tools and instruments and like a work table set up in her trailer so that she could use the time in between scenes and cuts to experiment and tinker. I think I know who you're talking about.
00:38:39
Speaker
I think. And when you say this, I'm just now thinking, am I going to know this? Because I think I know who you're talking about. Together, the couple visited his airplane factories and learned how planes were built.
00:38:53
Speaker
She met with scientists and engineers.
Hedy's Innovations and Legacy
00:38:56
Speaker
Hughes was motivated at the time to create better planes that would be faster and could be sold to the Hedy was like, let me work on this, okay?
00:39:04
Speaker
So she buys books about birds and fish, uses the information about how those creatures move in the sea and the sky, and she creates a new wing design for Hughes's planes.
00:39:17
Speaker
And he immediately looks at the designs and goes, oh my god, you're a genius. Duh. All right. So she invented little things like a new stoplight design, okay? and then a dissolvable tablet that when dropped in water effervesced to become a coca-cola type soda okay so she's all over the map here right like what um and then as world war ii neared she was introduced to a man named george anthill george was an eccentric and clever man known for writing film scores and music compositions that were a little bit long
00:39:58
Speaker
He and Hedy became fast friends. They shared interests and stories and worries about the coming war. She began to realize that the knowledge she had accumulated from her ex-husband could be useful for finding the Axis powers.
00:40:11
Speaker
The pair began tinkering with inner a va- In- an infinite meatme In-
00:40:22
Speaker
sorry. That was the sound effect. Okay. Sorry. I'm sorry. That was the sound effect.
00:40:34
Speaker
got me. I didn't mean Just caught me off guard there. but That was supposed to be an inside. ah That was the best. wentwork Every time I stumble over a word, I'm just going to start going. aunt my We're going to just leave this in. Alan's leaving this one in we are We are. And you know what? We made it this far.
00:41:03
Speaker
This is good, this is good. Okay, anyway. Okay, we're good now. So george George and Hetty buddies, they're tinkering, they're building stuff, they're experimenting, creating all sorts of stuff that they think will be able to combat the the Axis power forces. So using concepts that George had previously used in his composing, the pair got to work miniature, miniaturizing the idea and applying the musical theory into technology. What the fuck? What the fuck? Amazing. Exactly. So they created a new communication system that involved something called frequency hopping across radio waves. but The purpose was to implement the system in guiding torpedoes more specifically to targets. The system prevented interception of the transmissions because it involved transmitter and receiver hopping.
00:41:58
Speaker
So it basically like jumbled the whole situation so that nobody could track where this thing was, right? And intercepted. So they applied for a patent and military funding. They were granted patent number really large. I don't even feel like saying it. However, the Navy decided against implementing the system.
00:42:17
Speaker
Hetty continued to support the war efforts, not with her mind, but with her looks. With looks to rival icons like Ava Gardner, Sophia Loren, and Audrey Hepburn, she sold war bonds.
00:42:30
Speaker
She became an American citizen officially in 1953. In 1960, Hedy was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She moved to Florida and became more withdrawn from public interaction. Over the years, she was the plaintiff in numerous cases involving companies using her image and her name to sell products. Mm-hmm.
00:42:54
Speaker
um without her permission. Unfortunately, she was found dead at the age of 85 in January 2000. She had died of complications from heart disease. Wow. 2000. Mm-hmm.
00:43:06
Speaker
Wow. Yeah. Her son, the one who hadn't been estranged and written out of the will, because, you know, fuck that guy, scattered her ashes partially in Austria's Vienna woods, and then the remaining ashes were buried at the memorial that was built for her in the center of Vienna's Central Cemetery.
00:43:24
Speaker
While her original patent had expired many years before her death, the technology unused. In the 1960s, the technology was reintroduced and adapted for worldwide use.
00:43:36
Speaker
So she, i mean, ah she made money as an actress and all that kind of stuff, but she never saw a dime for her invention. wow Finally, in 1997, Lamar and Antheil were recognized for their genius.
00:43:51
Speaker
From the Electronic Frontier Foundation, they received the Pioneer Award. Lamar became the first woman to receive the Invention Convention's... The... The... The...
00:44:02
Speaker
guess ne something spirit of achievement award can't even pronounce it that's weird she years after her death in twenty fourteen hetty lamar was inducted into the national inventors' hall of fame for the development of the frequency hopping technology that is the foundation for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. That's insane.
00:44:25
Speaker
So the actress who was awarded more times than I can count for things like her looks, her talent, and her voice was not just a preface. The innovation and scientific wonder that her father had instilled in her as a child contributed to the systems that we rely on every day.
00:44:43
Speaker
Fucking awesome. Yeah. That was good. See, show a man on a side boob. They forget everything else, you know? True.
00:44:55
Speaker
They forget how smart yeah she was. Yeah. i You know, it's just a shame. i i I was kind of hoping that there was like a better, like yay thing.
00:45:07
Speaker
But, you know. Oh, that good. She was acknowledged after the fact. that was good. but She died in 2000. That's wild. Yeah, but you you should definitely, definitely look at her pictures because...
00:45:21
Speaker
She really is stunning. And you do, you hear people talk about all of like our American actresses from the 30s, 40s, And yeah, they are just gorgeous. yeah And it is, it's it's that beauty that like, it's not fake. It's not, nothing's augmented, nothing's, you know? and ah yeah, she was definitely one of them. You know, the stories kind of like intersected today. And she had these eyes that were like piercing. They were so beautiful. Okay, I'm going to look. But yeah, our stories, when you started telling your story, was like. They intersected. That was cool. Yeah.
00:46:00
Speaker
And we, you know, guys, we have no idea what each of us are going to tell. so i thought that was cool. Yeah. Good show today. That was really cool. And we had a laugh. And we had a laugh when you went, that just got me. It hit the funny bone right there. It's either that sound or meep morp.
00:46:20
Speaker
Right? I like that one too. You text that one a lot. I do. think it expresses a lot. It does. It says everything. Are you ready to go home and like hunker hunker down? Are you going to just sleep are you going to watch TV? I'm going to watch TV. I'm going to watch. I'm going wrap myself in my heated blanket. I'm going to maybe make myself a little hot toddy.
00:46:38
Speaker
um Maybe just some minutes.
00:46:44
Speaker
Words are hard. We say that every show. Words are hard. Words are hard. ah But I just, I want to say, i did it. I made it through the story. And we didn't really get sidetracked. So it was good. That was good. That was really good. We had a good show today. I'm proud of it. I'm very proud of it. High We have shirts with Peach Shreddy Balls. Shreddy Balls.
00:47:10
Speaker
And, ah you know, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for listening. People who listen to this show. it means us a lot. buy out us But it also means a lot to us that you take the time to listen to this show.
00:47:23
Speaker
You say stuff to us that we've said. You tell us that you like the show. That means a lot to us. So thank you very much. And I think that is it for the day, right?
00:47:35
Speaker
It is. And remember, we are only here for a good time. Not a long time. Amen. Goodbye.