Klieg Light

   As the film industry was getting started, so was another industry most useful to both stage and the early motion pictures. It was the klieg light, a light invented by the Kleigl brothers, John H. (1869-1959) and Anton T. (1872-1927), born in Bad Kissingen, Germany. Their invention was a carbon-arc lamp that gave forth such an intense light that it became indispensable to the movie industry.

   The light was so powerful that a person in its glare would find his or her eyes watering. Because these incandescent lights were high in ultraviolet rays, they could cause a form of conjunctivitis. The condition became known as kliegeyes. It therefore became necessary for those exposed to the light to protect their eyes by wearing dark glasses. The dark glasses came to identify cinematic characters, even those "hopefuls" merely aspiring to stardom, so that the "shades" became an important and permanent part of their dress. Not only did the glasses give the stars a certain amount of anonymity, but they also made the wearer look somewhat glamorous because the eyes were hidden from view.

   The lamp was called the klieg light because the brothers' name was hard to pronounce.