Book Cover - Stephen Michael Shearer

(continued on front flap)
PRAISE FOR
PATRICIA NEAL:
AN UNQUIET LIFE
“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.” —N E W YO R K DA I LY N E WS

“This impressively researched biography of
film actress Patricia Neal covers an immensity
of material.” — D E S E R E T N E WS

“There is sincerity and dedication behind this
work—it’s vibrant and accomplished.”
— PAU L N E W M A N
STEPHEN MICHAEL SHEARER
is the author of Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life. He has
written for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and is also
a former model and actor, having appeared on stage,
television, and in film. Shearer currently resides in
Minnesota and New York City.
J ac k e t
J ac k e t
p h oto g r a p h
Author
d e s i g n by
Steve Snider
© G e o r g e H u r r e l l / m p t v i m ag e s . co m
© Craig VanDerSchaegen
P h oto g r a p h y , M i n n e a p o l i s
p h oto g r a p h
www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.stmartins.com
St. Martin’s Press
1 7 5 F ifth A venue , N e w Y ork , N . Y. 1 0 0 1 0
distributed in canada by h . b . fenn and company , ltd .
printed in the united states of america

“Digs into the amazing first eighty 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,
BEAUTIFUL
demonstrated a creativity and an intelligence she had
always possessed.
Stephen Michael Shearer’s in-depth and meticulously researched biography, written with the
cooperation of Hedy’s children, intimate friends, and
colleagues, separates the truths from the rumors, the
facts from the fables, about Hedy Lamarr, to reveal
the life and character of one of classic Hollywood’s
most beautiful and remarkable women.
BEAUTIFUL
The Life of Hedy Lamarr
and triumphs.” —R E U T E R S

“Screen legend Neal’s life was filled with tragedies and triumphs, and Shearer unveils an
impressive portrait of the actress.”
—P U B L I S H E R S W E E K LY
STEPHEN
MICHAEL
SHEARER
ST. MARTIN’S
PRESS
$29.99 / $35.99 Can.
The Surprising Story of Hedy
Lamarr, “The Most Beautiful
Girl in the World”

AS A TEENAGE ACTRESS IN 1920s AUSTRIA,
The
Life
of
Hedy
Lamarr
T H O M A S
D
U N N E
B
O O K S
ISBN 978 - 0 - 312 - 55098 - 1 STEPHEN MICHAEL SHEARER
performing on the stage and in film in light comedies
and musicals, Hedy Kiesler, with her exotic beauty,
was heralded across Europe by her mentor, Max
Reinhardt. However, it was her nude scene, and surprising dramatic ability, in Ecstasy that made her a
star. Ecstasy’s notoriety followed her for the rest of her
life. She married one of Austria’s most successful and
wealthy munitions barons, giving up her career for
what seemed at first a fairy-tale existence. Instead, as
war clouds loomed in the mid-1930s, Hedy discovered that she was trapped in a loveless marriage to
a controlling, ruthless man who befriended Mussolini,
sold armaments to Hitler, yet hid his own Jewish heritage to become an “honorary Aryan.”
She fled her husband and escaped to Hollywood,
where M-G-M changed her name to Hedy Lamarr
and she became one of film’s most glamorous stars.
She worked with such renowned directors as King
Vidor, Victor Fleming, and Cecil B. DeMille, and
appeared opposite such respected actors as Clark
Gable, Spencer Tracy, John Garfield, and James
Stewart. But as her career waned, her personal problems and legal wranglings cast lingering shadows
over her former image. It wasn’t until decades later
that the world was stunned to learn of her unexpected
role as the inventor of a technology that has become
an essential part of everything from military weaponry
to cell phones—proof that Hedy Lamarr was far more
than merely Delilah to Victor Mature’s Samson. She
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