Lamarr


 * "Lamarr has gotten out of her crate again..." - Isaac Kleiner


 * "It's your pet, the freakin' HEAD HUMPER!" - Barney Calhoun

Lamarr is the pet headcrab belonging to Dr. Isaac Kleiner. She is named after the late 1930s actress and inventor, Hedy Lamarr, though her first name is only spoken in the A Red Letter Day and Entanglement chapters. The name 'Hedy' may be a pun on 'Head'. This may also be a reference to a Blazing Saddles movie character, Hedley Lamarr, whose name is often mispronounced 'Hedy.'

Lamarr demonstrates that it is possible to disable a headcrab's capability to couple with and infest a host. Lamarr is said to be "debeaked" by removing the sharp "beaks" surrounding her mouth, removing her ability to cut into a victim's head and assume control. Lamarr's behavior may also be proof of the ability to "tame" a headcrab. Simply being debeaked does not suppress the aggressive, parasitic nature found in all headcrabs. Lamarr does still run around as shown when she is first met: lunging at Barney, then attacking a bird on the rafters, and then escaping into ventilation shafts. Kleiner also states that she may attempt to "couple with [a person's] head...fruitlessly, of course". Lamarr is seen walking beside Dr. Kleiner and peeking curiously around a corner, showing she is tame to an extent. Although Kleiner refers to Lamarr as a female, whether headcrabs actually have a gender remains unknown. He may simply refer to Lamarr as a female simply because of the name he gave it.

The general consensus seems to be that unable to draw nutrients from a host, Lamarr is able to subsist on a diet of fruit – as indicated by a Post-it note posted on a board in Kleiner's laboratory serving as a reminder to buy more watermelon (presumably a favorite for its general resemblance to a human head).

Half-Life 2
Lamarr's first appearance is in the chapter " A Red Letter Day ". Kliener gives Barney Calhoun the honor to give Gordon his famed HEV suit. While Barney is opening the door to the suit, Lamarr jumps down from the holder and walks around, observing the area. She then jumps up on a locker and then into a vent. Kliener remarks that "it will take weeks before I can coax her out of there,". Later, while Gordon is about to teleport to Eli's lab, Lamarr jumps out of the vent and into the teleport, causing you to teleport to various areas around City 17.

Later in the game, Lamarr makes another appearance after you use the teleporter at Nova Prospekt. Dr. Kliener opens the lab door, shotgun in hand, with Lamarr beside him.

The last appearance of Lamarr in Half-Life 2 is at the very end of the credits. She drops down from off-screen and then jumps at you.

Episode One
Lamarr is safe and sound in Episode One, where she makes a brief cameo appearance, causing further mischief to Dr. Kleiner during his live and unedited evacuation broadcast in City 17 (though the question of how she found her way back to Dr. Kleiner is left unanswered). In this cameo, she is wandering aimlessly around Kleiner's lab, while he warns her to stay away from hot lamps. In Episode One it is revealed that many Resistance troops are full of disdain for Lamarr (and Kleiner), as one states: "We're all starving, and Kleiner's headcrab is probably eating grade-A head!".

Episode Two
Sadly, in Half-Life 2: Episode Two Lamarr goes to sleep inside Arne Magnusson's rocket a few minutes before firing. Kleiner notices that the rocket is eight and a half pounds heavier than it should be, but not realizing the significance, he and Magnusson dismiss this as an anomaly and decide to fire anyway, probably sending Lamarr into space.

To accomplish the Little Rocket Man achievement, the gnome found in the first chapter of Episode Two must be placed in the rocket next to Lamarr, so that (according to the Prima guide) "she can have a companion on her voyage."

Trivia
During the A Red Letter Day chapter, it is possible to kill lamarr in Kleiner's lab by entering "impulse 101" in the game console while having cheats enabled, which gives the player all the weapons in the game. The player can then kill Lamarr with one of the weapons. Once killed, Lamarr will collapse like an ordinary headcrab and the characters will continue the scene, and act as though Lamarr is still present. But if you do that then you won't be able to put on the HEV suit and you can't continue on with the game. This also can be circumvented by no-clipping.

In Kleiner's lab, if one looks at the notes on one of the walls, one says "Find more watermelon for Lamarr.", which not only states Lamarr's diet but also indicates that Headcrabs are omnivores.

Hedy Lamarr