In the recent fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. military touted a wealth of new battlefield hardware. Among the more prominent innovations were remotely piloted planes, such as the Predator and Global Hawk, that were prized for surveillance work; some could even fire missiles at enemy targets.

Because of the vehicles' ever increasing capabilities and low cost-both in money and in pilots' lives-their emergence is taken by many as a glimpse into the future of warfare. But unmanned aerial vehicles, like piloted airplanes, have a history that stretches back more than a century and includes many independent inventors and hobbyists. One such pioneer was Reginald Denny. Though he was instrumental in bringing unmanned craft to the military, Denny was better known for his achievements on the silver screen: the British-born actor's name appears in old Hollywood film titles ranging from Anna Karenina to Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.