Born in 1900, in Trenton, New Jersey, George Antheil (pronounced “ANN-tile”) left the States at 22 and had an overnight success in Europe as a concert pianist and avant-garde composer. Antheil became famous for his aggressive style and mechanically inspired works: the Ballet mécanique, the Airplane Sonata, the Death of Machines. Adopted instantly by Erik Satie, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, and the moderns of Paris, Antheil surprised everyone by converting to neo-classicism in 1926 and subsequently moving back to the United States. After a period of writing for Esquire Magazine and travelling around the country, Antheil settled in Hollywood and was hired by Ben Hecht to write film scores. In 1942 he invented and patented a torpedo-control device in conjunction with the actress Hedy Lamarr. Aside from composing prolifically, he managed to also write on topics ranging from endocrinology to music to the German military.
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