What makes someone a “true legend”? Untold Legends gives legendary status to those who deserve it – and tells their story.
NEW season: You may well have heard of the Austrian-born US actress Hedy Lamarr - a Jewish refugee who escaped the Nazis to become a Hollywood star. However, for most of her life, she didn’t receive proper recognition for her role as an inventor. She was known for starring in dozens of films, including Algiers, Samson and Delilah, Ecstasy, Boom Town and My Favourite Spy. But few people knew Hedy was also a gifted inventor. One of the technologies she co-invented laid a key foundation for future communication systems, including GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi. Presented by inventor and model Andini, and featuring special guest, Hollywood actor, AnnaSophia Robb, Untold Legends: Hedy Lamarr, explores the life of a woman whose intellect was often overshadowed by her image.
Previously, from Untold Legends: Ora Washington was the champion the world ignored. You might know this tennis and basketball star, were it not for the colour of her skin. Former US basketball star and vice president of Atlanta Dream, Renee Montgomery, investigates Ora’s story. Ora dominated black women’s tennis, which was segregated in the 1920s and 1930s.
Untold Legends is from the BBC World Service, Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.
What makes someone a “true legend”? Untold Legends gives legendary status to those who deserve it – and tells their story.
NEW season: You may well have heard of the Austrian-born US actress Hedy Lamarr - a Jewish refugee who escaped the Nazis to become a Hollywood star. However, for most of her life, she didn’t receive proper recognition for her role as an inventor. She was known for starring in dozens of films, including Algiers, Samson and Delilah, Ecstasy, Boom Town and My Favourite Spy. But few people knew Hedy was also a gifted inventor. One of the technologies she co-invented laid a key foundation for future communication systems, including GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi. Presented by inventor and model Andini, and featuring special guest, Hollywood actor, AnnaSophia Robb, Untold Legends: Hedy Lamarr, explores the life of a woman whose intellect was often overshadowed by her image.
Previously, from Untold Legends: Ora Washington was the champion the world ignored. You might know this tennis and basketball star, were it not for the colour of her skin. Former US basketball star and vice president of Atlanta Dream, Renee Montgomery, investigates Ora’s story. Ora dominated black women’s tennis, which was segregated in the 1920s and 1930s.
Untold Legends is from the BBC World Service, Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.
Hedy’s new life in Hollywood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The party lifestyle isn’t for her and she struggles to make her MGM debut. Eventually though, the film offers start rolling in, starting with Algiers - Hedy’s big Hollywood break. But while Hedy’s living the Hollywood highlife, across the Atlantic, Europe is descending into World War II. Hedy’s Jewish mother manages to leave Austria, now under Nazi control. Hedy’s also starting to feel unchallenged by the film roles she’s being cast in, so turns her creative mind to inventing. She meets one of America's richest and most eccentric men, Howard Hughes. Hughes’s interest in Hedy is initially romantic, but he soon realises her innovative mind is even more impressive than her beauty. She has plenty of ideas and the technical expertise to make them work. Then eventually, a chance meeting with a kindred spirit - the composer George Antheil - sets in motion a path for Hedy, far beyond Hollywood. Content warning: This episode contains racist language. What makes someone a “true legend”? Untold Legends gives legendary status to those who deserve it – and tells their story. Untold Legends is from the BBC World Service, Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds .
A Hollywood deal transforms Hedy Kiesler into Hedy Lamarr - her greatest invention yet? After a daring escape from her husband and the advance of Hitler’s Nazis into Austria, Hedy Lamarr arrives in London broke and alone. She still has a plan to hit the big time. After a last-minute dash to France she blags her way onto the Normandie, a luxury liner bound for New York. She’s trying to persuade a fellow passenger - the movie mogul Louis B. Mayer - to sign her up to MGM. It’s a glamorous voyage, complete with Oscar winners and industry insiders, but when Hedy makes her entrance in the dining room, all eyes are on her.
What makes someone a “true legend”? Untold Legends gives legendary status to those who deserve it – and tells their story.
Untold Legends is from the BBC World Service, Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds
A wealthy arms dealer and a world on the brink of war. After the scandal of the Ecstasy movie, Hedy gets married. The threat from the growing influence of the Nazi Party is intensifying in Austria and across Europe. Hedy’s new marriage is soon in trouble, as she becomes a “trophy wife”. As her husband discusses ammunition deals with men like Benito Mussolini, Hedy begins to plot her escape. Untold Legends: Hedy Lamarr is presented by inventor and model Andini, also featuring Hollywood actress and insider AnnaSophia Robb.
Content warning: this episode contains sexual themes that may offend. What makes someone a “true legend”? Untold Legends gives legendary status to those who deserve it – and tells their story.
Untold Legends is from the BBC World Service, Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds
A scandal in Vienna: Hedy Lamarr’s debut movie is considered so sexual; it is banned in several countries. Hedy has dreams of becoming a star, but are those dreams over before they’ve even really begun? The 1933 film Ecstasy features one of cinema’s first depictions of a female orgasm. However, away from acting, Hedy has another passion. She is curious about how things work – taking apart a music box as a child and then rebuilding it – a fascination that will eventually shape her legacy. Untold Legends: Hedy Lamarr is presented by inventor and model Andini, also featuring special guest, Hollywood actress and insider AnnaSophia Robb.
Content warning: this episode contains sexual themes that may offend.
What makes someone a “true legend”? Untold Legends gives legendary status to those who deserve it – and tells their story.
Untold Legends is from the BBC World Service, Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds
A refugee who escaped the Nazis, a feminist filmmaker and beauty icon, and one of Hollywood’s most famous golden-age stars. You might think you already know her story, but there’s another side to Hedy Lamarr - a genius history overlooked and a true untold legend of invention. This is the amazing story of how one of the most recognisable faces of her time was never seen for who she really was. A story of an Austrian-born entrepreneur and tinsel-town actress who invented the foundations for much of our digital world – the technology behind Bluetooth, GPS and Wifi – but was denied the credit she deserved. From her teenage appearance in a movie considered so sexual it was banned by Hitler, to the fame and fortune that followed, and her breakthrough idea based on “frequency-hopping” during World War Two - this is the story of untold legend Hedy Lamarr. Hosted by Andini, a fellow model and inventor along with special guest, Hollywood actress AnnaSophia Robb. Discover Hedy’s story from 2025.
“Possibly the best female athlete” of her era – why was Ora Washington forgotten? And we meet her family, who are relieved that their Aunt Ora’s achievements are now being acknowledged: “I felt so good that now, even though this is 2022, she's still being recognised”. Please note, this episode contains some outdated language that may offend. #UntoldLegends
Cracks appear after two decades at the top of black tennis. A new generation of elite athletes want her crown. But is Ora ready to retire? Her hair is greying now and she wears glasses on court. Can she pull off one more victory – against future great Althea Gibson - under the hot Alabama sun? Please note, this episode contains some outdated language that may offend. #UntoldLegends
Ora is at the peak of her sports, but off the court, stars are expected to appear “sufficiently feminine”. If you didn’t, you faced prejudice. Please note, this episode contains some outdated language that may offend. This episode was updated on 29 September 2022, to correct some information about the basketball coach, Joe Rainey #UntoldLegends
Basketball beckons. The elite tennis player tries a new sport – and it’s a crowd puller. Ora’s quickness and agility translate to the basketball court, as her career takes off in tandem with tennis. But does America have room for a true queen of two courts? Please note, this episode contains some outdated language that may offend. #UntoldLegends
Can she beat the best? Ora is the underdog against the crowd favourite, the formidable Isadora “Izzy” Channels of Chicago. It’s a brutally hot day in Harlem and the mood is tense. Everything is at stake. If Ora wins, she joins the black tennis elite. Please note, this episode contains some outdated language that may offend. #UntoldLegends
“She loved to compete”: Ora takes her first tennis lesson. But race, sex and class prejudice stand in her way. It’s the 1920s and Ora has gone north to Philadelphia – a city of opportunity and danger. Racial tensions are high in her neighbourhood. What motivates her to start playing the so-called ‘gentleman’s game’? Please note, this episode contains some outdated language that may offend. #UntoldLegends
Who was Ora Washington? The southern farm girl who wanted more. But recognition came too late – why was the guest of honour at a star-studded event missing? Ora was a brilliant tennis and basketball player who fought to make her name in racially segregated America. We find out about her early life in Virginia. Please note, this episode contains some outdated language that may offend. #UntoldLegends
The Queen of two courts. Ora Washington is the star the world ignored. It’s time everyone knew her name. Ora was a black tennis champion in the era of racial segregation in the United States. She was a basketball star too.
Hosted by Renee Montgomery, former basketball player, the co-owner of the WNBA team, Atlanta Dream and a self-described “sports history geek”. Discover Ora’s story from 29 August 2022.
