Tony Mendez
| Tony Mendez | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Antonio Joseph Mendez |
| Born | 1940 Eureka, Nevada[1] |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | Central Intelligence Agency 1963-1990 |
| Rank | SIS-2 |
| Unit | Graphics and Authentication Division |
| Battles/wars | Iran hostage crisis, Cold War |
| Awards | Intelligence Star (1980) CIA Trailblazer Award (1997) Order of the Sphinx (2000) |
Antonio Joseph "Tony" Mendez (born 1940) is an American CIA technical operations officer, now retired, who specialized in support of clandestine and covert CIA operations. He has written three memoirs about his CIA experiences.
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Overview [edit]
Mendez was decorated, and is now widely known, for his on-the-scene management of the "Canadian Caper" during the Iran hostage crisis, in which he exfiltrated six American diplomats from Iran in January 1980. Posing as a Canadian film crew, they were accompanied by Dennis Packer, a CBC cameraman. As part of their cover, the diplomats carried passports issued by the Canadian government to document them as Canadian citizens.
After declassification of records, the full details of the operation were reported in a 2007 article by Joshuah Bearman in Wired magazine.[2] This was loosely adapted for the screenplay and development of the Best Picture Academy Award winning 2012 American film Argo, directed by Ben Affleck, who also starred as Mendez. Mendez also attended the Golden Globes to give a speech, where the film was nominated (and later won) for Best Dramatic Motion Picture.[3]
Early life and education [edit]
Mendez, who is of Mexican, Italian, and Irish ancestry,[4][5][6][7][8] was born in Eureka, Nevada, in 1940, where he attended local schools. Mendez was interviewed in Open Your Eyes magazine, and he explained that he never learned to speak Spanish, since his father died when he was quite young.[9] "I think of myself as a person who grew up in the desert" he claimed, and saw no problem with Ben Affleck portraying him on screen.[4][5] He moved with his family to Colorado as a teen. After graduating from high school, he went on to study at the University of Colorado.[10]
Career [edit]
Mendez continued to work as an artist after college. He supported himself by working as an illustrator and tool designer for Martin Marietta.[10]
In 1965 Mendez answered a blind advertisement for a graphic artist. He was hired by the Central Intelligence Agency in 1965, becoming an espionage artist for the Technical Services Division.[8][10]
Mendez worked as a CIA officer in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. His work in the agency frequently dealt with forging documents, creating disguises and handling other graphical work related to espionage. He served in the CIA for 25 years. He was awarded the Intelligence Star on 12 March 1980.[8][10]
Marriage and family [edit]
Mendez and his first wife, Karen, had three children: Ian (who died of colon cancer in 2010),[11] Amanda, and sculptor Antonio Tobias Mendez.[12] Karen Mendez died of cancer in 1986.[13]
In the mid-1980s, Mendez worked with Jonna Goeser, also a CIA officer, on rebuilding the US security organization in the Soviet Union and later Russia. They married following Mendez's retirement in 1990.[13]
Later years [edit]
Since retiring from the CIA in 1990, Mendez and his wife Jonna, herself a 27-year veteran of the CIA,[10] have served on the Board of Directors for the International Spy Museum. He works full-time as an artist.
Mendez has written three non-fiction books:
- 2000, Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA, memoir of his CIA experiences[14]
- 2003, with Jonna Mendez and Bruce B. Henderson, Spy Dust: Two Masters of Disguise Reveal the Tools and Operations that Helped Win the Cold War
- 2012, with Matt Baglio, Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History (2012), more lengthy account of the Canadian Caper.
His first work was lauded in 2002 as one of three "landmark memoirs"[14] by John Hollister Hedley, former Chairman of the CIA's Publications Review Board.[15]
Some photos of his works as a CIA chief of disguises were featured in the January 2005 issue of FHM magazine. Mendez was interviewed by Errol Morris in the First Person TV series in the season one episode "The Little Gray Man."
He is played by Ben Affleck in the film Argo.
References [edit]
- ^ "Antonio J. Mendez". The Best Reviews. 2002-09-17. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ^ Bearman, Joshuah (24 April 2007). "How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans From Tehran". Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ Rosenwald, Michael S. (January 14, 2013). "Golden Globes: A big night for the real Tony Mendez". Washington Post. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
- ^ a b Rico, Jack. "Exclusive! Argo's real Tony Mendez: "I'm not Hispanic"". ShowBizCafe.com. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ a b Rico, Jack. "Argo’s real Tony Mendez: “I’m not Hispanic”". ShowBizCafe.com. NBC Latino. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ Esparza, Moctesuma. "Ben Affleck’s Argo and the whitewashing of the Mexican-American". Al Día (Philadelphia). Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ Esparza, Moctezuma. "Ben Affleck’s Argo and Whitewashing Mexican-Americans". Al Día (Philadelphia). News Taco. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ a b c Carswell, Simon. "The agent behind the 'Argo' mask". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ Melendez, Victor. "Tony Mendez: The Real Life James Bond". Open Your Eyes (magazine). Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Antonio Mendez: Author of the Master of Disguise and Spy Dust". Themasterofdisguise.com. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ^ "‘Argo,’ new movie based on Mendez book, opens today". Frederick News-Post. October 12, 2012.
- ^ Jensen, Brennen (2012-07-31). "Heavy Metal Man - News and Features". Baltimore City Paper. Retrieved 2012-11-05.
- ^ a b Gardner, Karen (December 11, 2011). "Undercover no more". Frederick News-Post. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Three Memoirs from Former CIA Officers". CIA. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ^ "John Hollister Hedley". Missouri Southern State University. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
External links [edit]
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Wikisource has original works written by or about: |
- "Review of Master of Disguise", Studies in Intelligence v. 46 #1 (2002)
- A Classic Case of Deception Menedez on the background of the Canadian Caper, Studies in Intelligence Winter 1999-2000
- "Tony Mendez, clandestine CIA hero of Ben Affleck’s ‘Argo,’ reveals the real story behind film smash". The Washington Times. October 10, 2012.
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