As a pretty rabid student of canadian history, the story of the canadian caper has long been one of my favourite tales of canadian international secret service involvement. The secret cia tactics that helped america win the cold war was again coauthored by his wife and released few months after his death in 2019. A classic case of deception mendez on the background of the canadian caper, studies in intelligence, winter 19992000 tony mendez, clandestine cia hero of ben afflecks argo, reveals the real story behind film smash. How roger zelaznys lord of light transformed into the cias argo covert op. Central intelligence agency operative tony mendez, the master of disguise, and the 2007 wired article by joshuah bearman, the great escape. A black ops is a covert operation by a government, a government agency, or a military organization. Mar 18, 20 the account of the americans absconding from iran appeared as a canadianamerican coproduction madefortelevision movie cryptically called escape from iran. Part c the film argo directed by ben affleck takes us within operation canadian caper. Ken taylor and the canadian caper the canadian encyclopedia. Professionalismcanadian caper wikibooks, open books for an. The escape was engineered by the canadian government and the central intelligence agency cia. Screenwriter chris terrio adapted the screenplay from the book by the u. The canadian caper in 1981, and argo in 2012 were based on this.
He presents an overview of the years that followed, during which they repeatedly lied to hide the cia s participation. He received an academy honorary award from the academy of motion picture arts and sciences in 1968. Canadian caper, escape of six americans from tehran during the iranian revolution of 197879. Professionalismcanadian caper wikibooks, open books for. How roger zelaznys lord of light transformed into the cias.
Six american diplomats, however, managed to escape and took shelter in the canadian embassy. Newser the cia mastermind behind the socalled canadian caper which got six us diplomats out of iran during the 197980 hostage crisisdied saturday the age of 78, the washington post. Jan 20, 2019 former cia deputy director michael morell also tweeted that mendez was one of the best officers to ever serve at cia. Peggys point lighthouse in peggys cove, nova scotia is a very popular tourist site operated by the canadian coast guard. Cia specialistsunder the guise of a studio six productions team scouting for a suitable filming location in tehrantraveled to iran to complete necessary travel documents and make final arrangements with the six americans and their canadian. The canadian caper mission was the high point of his career. Cia specialistsunder the guise of a studio six productions team scouting for a suitable filming location in tehrantraveled to iran to complete necessary travel documents and make final arrangements with the six americans and their canadian hosts. Tony mendez, the former cia technical operations officer who orchestrated the 1980 rescue of six american diplomats from iran and who was portrayed by ben affleck in the academy award winning film.
How the cia used a fake scifi flick to rescue americans from tehran illustration. Oct 16, 2012 how roger zelaznys lord of light transformed into the cia s argo covert op. The movie is about how the production of a fake scifi movie was used to rescue 6 americans from the canadian ambassadors house in teheran in 1980 after they were able to flee from the american embassy when iranian militants stormed it. A memoir of canadian courage and cia sorcery lijek, mark on. The lies of locke lamora by scott lynch, six of crows by leigh bardugo, red seas under red skies by scott lynch, heist society by. The incident brought about an outpouring of pro canadian sentiment in the united states. Tony mendez was assigned the task to go to iran and rescue these six. Canadian caper, cia exfiltration, ben afflecks argo and. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. In cooperation with the cia who used the cover story of a film project, two cia agents and the six american diplomats boarded a swissair flight to zurich, switzerland, on january 28, 1980.
The canadians, he wrote later in a book on the subject, were involved. Oct 24, 2012 the canadian caper as it is known is the rescue effort by the canadian government and the central intelligence agency of six american diplomats who evaded capture during the seizure and hostage taking of the united states embassy in tehran, iran on november 4, 1979. Ken taylor, hero of 1979 canadian caper in iran, embodied. Argo and the canadian caper canadian culture thing. The true story behind operation argo to rescue americans.
Footage, photos provide last word on canadian caper, with. Below i have compiled a list of a few ops using whatever details is availa. And canadian wannabe heroes didnt try to grab a spotlight that properly belonged to the u. The canadian caper was the joint covert rescue by the canadian government and the cia of six american diplomats who had evaded capture during the seizure of the united states embassy in tehran, iran, on november 4, 1979, after the iranian revolution, when islamist students took most of the american embassy personnel hostage, demanding the return of the usbacked shah for trial. Still, argo gave new life to a cloakanddagger episode that was until then known as the canadian caper, ironically helping to pave the way for the production of our man in tehran, a comprehensive. Antonio joseph mendez november 15, 1940 january 19, 2019 was an american technical operations officer for the central intelligence agency cia, who specialized in support of clandestine and covert cia operations.
Jean pelletiers book, canadian caper, published in 1980, mentions that canadawhose diplomats in tehran had hidden and cared for the six. This crossword clue belongs to crosswords with friends august 22 2018. The group would remain guests of the canadian diplomats for almost three months until a cia extraction operation lead by tony mendez, made famous by the movie argo, allowed them to escape iran on january 28, 1980 by posing as a film production team. There were books, englishlanguage newspapers, and plenty of. Tony mendez, cia master of disguise who was the real argo. The true story behind the new movie argo about how cia operatives posing as a hollywood production team rescued six americans hiding in iran during the 1979 embassy crisis. What are the most daring covert operations undertaken by the. A childrens illustrated book about the event was written by 20 eric hoffer awardwinner laura scandiffio and stephen maceachern, entitled.
Oct 15, 2015 ken taylor, hero of 1979 canadian caper in iran, embodied canadian selfimage of ironwilled bravery taylor, who has died aged 81, was a canadian ambassador who became an american hero in the. Those americans who were rescued by canada through the canadian embassy in tehran. Best actionadventure novels, best spy novels, best nonfiction war books, conspiracy fiction, best gay mystery, best violent action novels. What are the most daring covert operations undertaken by. Intelligence officers bookshelf central intelligence agency. Factbook photos obtained from a variety of sources are in the public domain and are free. The canadian caper, and were also described in a book by. Book 1 cia covert operations by jerry crouso overdrive. Iran hostage canadian caper 1979 rescue no secret to some. Cia internal history of argothe canadian caper spy culture. The book published in 2012 gives a comprehensive account of the famous rescue mission, canadian caper.
Jan 18, 2017 it was almost four decades ago that staff of the canadian embassy in tehran, with the help of the cia and canadian government back home, smuggled halfadozen american diplomats out of. Sogar anzeigen in zeitschriften wurden gedruckt, um dem unterfangen glaubhaftigkeit zu verleihen. These special activities include covert political influence and paramilitary operations. This book was a fascinating look behind the scenes of the cia in the 60s through 80s, a world of dead drops, micro dots. The film is based on the true story of the cia and canadian governments joint initiative to rescue 6 stranded american diplomats in iran, who managed to escape being. Canadian caper, escape of six americans from tehran during the iranian revolution.
Find information about the actuarial profession, or the canadian institute of actuaries. The hollywood option escape from iran commemorates the 25th anniversary of the canadian caper, taking us back to this startling affair through the direct testimony of the americans who found sanctuary at the canadian embassy in tehran, and the canadians who risked their own safety to shelter their closest neighbors. He is best known for creating the pointed ears of spock in the television series star trek, and for his groundbreaking prosthetic makeup work on the planet of the apes film franchise. Chambers was awarded cias intelligence medal of merit for his involvement in the canadian caper, in which six a. In 2012, ben affleck produced and starred in a movie titled argo, which is based on the book. Tony mendez, the cia agent whose rescue of six americans from iran was turned into the movie argo, has died aged 79. Spy exhibit unveils reallife props used in cia op the script for fake cia movie argo was actually from an unmade adaptation of roger zelaznys scifi novel lord of light. In 1979, when iran was engulfed in turmoil, revolutionaries broke in the us embassy and held 66 people as hostages. Eventually, anders rang john sheardown, a friend at the canadian embassy.
Yes, but in researching the argo true story, we discovered that unlike what is shown in the film, tony mendez did not act as the interrogator. How the cia used a fake scifi flick to rescue americans from. The events of the film had been dramatized earlier in a 1981 television movie, escape from iran. The readings cover history, technology, opinion, and some of the key personalities associated with intelligence. Before the cia changed the name of the film for the canadian caper the film studio behind the lord of light put out a special binderring book featuring jack kirbys artwork to help drum up interest for the project. Former cia deputy director michael morell also tweeted that mendez was one of the best officers to ever serve at cia. Tim burgard november 4, 1979, began like any other day at the us embassy in tehran. Jean pelletiers book, canadian caper, published in 1980, mentions that canadawhose diplomats in tehran had hidden and cared for the six american houseguests after iranian militants seized the us embassyhad received cia help in the form of forged entries in canadian passports to enable canadian ambassador to iran kenneth taylor to engineer the escape of. How the cia used a fake scifi flick to rescue americans from tehran. Ken taylor and the canadian caper, last edited january 25, 2019, s. May 12, 20 cia agent antonio mendez and matt baglios 2012 book argo is subtitled how the cia and hollywood pulled off the most audacious rescue in history. The canadian caper was the popular name given to the joint covert rescue by the canadian government and the central intelligence agency cia of six american diplomats who had evaded capture during the seizure of the united states embassy in tehran, iran, and taking of embassy personnel as hostages by islamist students and militants on november 4, 1979. Intelligence literature central intelligence agency.
How roger zelaznys lord of light transformed into the cia. Rescue of the canadian six a classic case of deception. Argo movie true story meet the real tony mendez and the. Operation canadian caper rescued 7 americans using a plot that involved them filming a scifi movie within iran. Did they really hold a trial interrogation the night before they left. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that. This brief bibliography of intelligence literature provides a wide spectrum of views on intelligence and the central intelligence agency. Nov 21, 2012 few cia counterterrorist successes have ever been made public. Given the fact that most of the documents relating to operations of intel agencies are classified, it is difficult to find information relating to most of their operations. Instead, a man named roger lucy, who was housesitting with the four americans staying at the. Jun 27, 2008 jean pelletiers book, canadian caper, published in 1980, mentions that canadawhose diplomats in tehran had hidden and cared for the six american houseguests after iranian militants seized the us embassyhad received cia help in the form of forged entries in canadian passports to enable canadian ambassador to iran kenneth taylor to. Thus, to fill the void, i have recruited my own assets, a bunch of books on the cia itself. The canadian caper, argo, and escape from iran association. Disguising himself as an irish filmmaker, mendez successfully smuggled six state department employees out of tehran during the 19791981 iran hostage crisis, passing them off as a canadian movie crew in a daring mission that.
Jean pelletier and claude adams 1981 book the canadian caper is subtitled the inside story of the canadian rescue of six american diplomats trapped in iran. Adapted from mendezs book the master of disguise and joshuah bermans 2007 wired article the great escape, argo goes behind the scenes of what is known as the canadian caper. The canadian caper was the unofficial name given to the covert rescue by the government of canada of six american diplomat s who evaded capture during the seizure of the united states embassy in tehran, iran, by iranian students on november 4, 1979, precipitating the iran hostage crisis. January 28 2020 the canadian caper was the popular name given to the joint covert rescue by the canadian government and the cia of six american diplomats who had evaded capture during the seizure of the united states embassy in tehran, iran, on november 4, 1979, after the iranian revolution, when islamist students took most of the american embassy. Cia agent antonio mendez and matt baglios 2012 book argo is subtitled how the cia and hollywood pulled off the most audacious rescue in history. In 1980 he orchestrated what would later be called the canadian caper. Nov 12, 2014 given the fact that most of the documents relating to operations of intel agencies are classified, it is difficult to find information relating to most of their operations. Our books are stored in amazon and shipped from their warehouse. However when i opened the book the spine fell apart and all the pages detached. But it wasnt until masterthespian star of daredevil and gigli and now directorunhistorian benjamin geza affleck decided to make a movie about the. Argo is a 2012 american historical drama thriller film directed by ben affleck. The office of public affairs opa is the single point of contact for all inquiries about the central intelligence agency cia.
The idea for the canadian caper, as mendezs mission came to be known, was born out of desperation. The lighthouse, the second one on this site, was built in 1914 and is 15 m 50 ft tall. He ends with the controversy that erupted when the cia announced its role and continues to this day, as what had been the canadian caper became something else, at least in the eyes of many. He presents an overview of the years that followed, during which they repeatedly lied to hide the cias participation. The canadian caper as it is known is the rescue effort by the canadian government and the central intelligence agency of six american diplomats who evaded capture during the seizure and hostage taking of the united states embassy in tehran, iran on november 4. Canadian caper project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The real story behind argo cold war spy culture 2000. Back when the cia used a fake scifi movie called argo to help exfiltrate six americans from tehran, the concept art for the film was drawn by comics legend jack kirby. We read every letter, fax, or email we receive, and we will convey your comments to cia officials outside opa as appropriate. Iran hostage canadian caper 1979 rescue no secret to some canadas role in rescuing six americans during the 1979 iran hostage crisis was always thought to have been carried out in secrecy.
Jean pelletiers book, canadian caper, published in 1980, mentions that canada whose diplomats in tehran had hidden and cared for the six. This book is very collectable and in my adventures i have found them in the wild. This book was a fascinating look behind the scenes of the cia in the 60s through 80s, a world of dead drops, micro dots, double agents, secret codes, fake passports, etc. In the history the story is known as the canadian caper. Jack kirbys art for the fake movie in argo goes up. Find out which details of the 20 best picture winner were true, and which were hollywood fabrications. The socalled canadian caper in iran in 1980 was in fact a cia operation, according to a report on the national it was one of the proudest moments in canadian history, and a highlight of. Canadas role in the canadian caper was revealed three months after they assisted the americans to safety. Described here is one of them, a classic case of deception in which cia technical specialists created a dummy movieproduction company in hollywood and delivered disguises and documents that made possible the escape of six us diplomats from capture in iran in 1980. Canadian caper international diplomatic incident britannica.
John chambers was an american makeup artist and prosthetic makeup expert in both television and film. A classic case of deception central intelligence agency. Mendez was the mastermind of the operation to free american embassy personnel trapped in iran as seen in the movie argo. Dec 24, 2019 before the cia changed the name of the film for the canadian caper the film studio behind the lord of light put out a special binderring book featuring jack kirbys artwork to help drum up interest for the project. In this post you will find 2012 movie based on the cias canadian caper crossword clue answers and solutions. How the cia and hollywood pulled off the most audacious rescue in history antonio mendez.