In April of 1959 famed actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr found herself in Judge Hunt’s court suing her husband Houston oilman W. Howard Lee for divorce.
This from the Houston Chronicle April 15, 1959:
Miss Lamarr’s three appearances in Judge (Wilmer) Hunt’s courtroom Tuesday constituted an impromptu fashion show that was dictated in part by climatic conditions.
When she first came to the courtroom at 9 a.m. for the docket call, Miss Lamarr wore a bright red wool suit, thong sandals and a black scarf tied under the chin and worn like a babushka.
Returning shortly before 11 a.m. for the actual start of the hearing, she wore a tailored black suit with white beads and a yellow coolie straw hat over the babushka.
After the noon recess of court, she returned with an orange-red sweater under the suit coat and a salmon scarf in place of the coolie hat and black babushka.
The next day, Hunt awarded Lamarr $3,000 a month in temporary support, far less than she had originally sought.
The Houston Post reported
Within minutes after Judge Hunt announced his decision in the packed courtroom, Miss Lamarr walked over, smiled and chatted with Lee.
Asked by bystanders if she did not think a handshake was in order, she replied: “Why not? No hard feelings!”
Lee, apparently abashed, smiled and shook her gloved hand gingerly.
The niceties didn’t really end their legal squabbles, which continued off and on for at least the next 10 years.
Note: Here’s the source blog:
