It might be of interest to note here that Ms. Lamarr once claimed that her “emotive” looks were the result of an off-screen director continually poking her in the ass with a safety pin.

Although I have always heard various mentions of her, and this famous oft-banned and censored film, I most remember her name from the infamous “Blazing Saddles” film. Hedy sued Mel Brooks for using her name therein (as well as naming a major character Hedley Lamarr, and then making fun of the name similarity throughout…), but she later settled out of court for about $1000 according to Brooks. The prophetic film even had a line within that predicted she would sue.

My favorite exchange involving the character would be:

Hedley Lamarr: My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought, cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives.
Taggart: God darnit, Mr. Lamarr, you use your tongue prettier than a twenty dollar whore.

The character Hedley Lamarr was probably the first to use the term “bull dyke” in a mainstream film, and likely the first person anywhere ever to utter the phrase: “Gentlemen, please rest your sphincters.”

I doubt that Ms. Lamarr would have prevailed in court, and probably just sued for the publicity. That, and the fact that in those days, her career was on the wane, she was twice accused of shoplifting, and she herself wrote around the time that she couldn’t afford to buy a ready-made sandwich…

~EA