When you think of cool Hollywood stars, it's hard not to come up with a list that doesn't include Robert Downey Jr. From portraying billionaire tech-whiz Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, RDJ has been on a high-flying (and well-paying) ride since the early-2000s. In fact, between 2012 and 2015, Forbes magazine named him Hollywood's highest-paid actor. In the 12 months between just June 2014 and 2015 alone, he earned a whopping $80 million!
But it wasn't always big pay days and big blockbuster - for a number of years, Downey was in and out of rehab for addictions to cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. At one point, he even waltzed into a neighbor's home and passed out on one of the beds while under the influence of drugs. Fast forward past that dark time in Downey's life, and you'll find a committed, dedicated, and passionate professional who takes his craft (and his personal disciplines and convictions) very seriously.
When we think of inventors, the image that comes to mind is usually that of a frazzled scientist toiling away in a lab, not celebrities pulled from the pages of Us Weekly. However, a number of well-known public figures hold patents for various innovations. Some are related to the work that made them famous, while others are offshoots of hobbies or just a single great idea.
Part of guitar wizard Eddie Van Halen's signature sound was his two-handed tapping technique, but letting all ten fingers fly while simultaneously holding up the guitar's neck could get a bit tricky. Van Halen came up with a novel way to get around this problem, though; he invented a support (top) that could flip out of the back of his axe's body to raise and stabilize the fretboard so he could tap out searing songs like "Eruption." While Van Halen was obviously interested in improving his guitar work, the patent application he filed in 1985 notes that the device would work with any stringed instrument. Want to tap out a scorching mandolin solo? Find someone selling Eddie's device.
It’s probably not surprising that James Cameron—who designed a submersible to take him to the deepest known part of the ocean—will often invent technology to make his films if what he needs doesn’t exist. He holds a number of patents, including US Patent No. 4996938, “apparatus for propelling a user in an underwater environment,” that he and his brother, Michael, created to film The Abyss and patented in 1989. The device is basically an underwater dolly equipped with propellers that makes it easy for a camera operator to maneuver in the water—and allowed Cameron to capture the shots he wanted for the 1989 film, part of which was filmed in an abandoned nuclear reactor.
In 1987 Jamie Lee Curtis designed and patented a disposable diaper that included a waterproof pocket that held baby wipes. She hasn't profited from her idea yet, though, since she refuses to license the patent until diaper companies make biodegradable products.
You know him as a rock legend, but Neil Young also loves trains—so much that he owns a stake in a model train manufacturing company and has an extensive collection. He also holds seven patents related to model trains, including Patent No. US5441223, "Model train controller using electromagnetic field between track and ground."