Tony Mendez
Tony Mendez | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Antonio Joseph Mendez |
| Born | 1940 Eureka, Nevada[1] |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service | 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) |
| Alma mater | University of Colorado |
Tony Mendez, born Antonio Joseph Mendez, is a former CIA technical operations officer specializing in support of clandestine and covert CIA operations.
Mendez is widely known for his role in the Canadian caper during the Iran hostage crisis, where six American diplomats were exfiltrated from Iran by disguising them as a Canadian film crew with team leader CBC cameraman Dennis Packer and passports supplied by the Canadian government. The story formed the basis of the 2012 film Argo, directed by and starring Ben Affleck as Mendez.
CIA
Mendez joined the CIA in 1963 and worked in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Prior to joining the agency, Mendez was an artist (worked as an illustrator and tool designer for Martin Marietta) and now works on art full time. His work in the agency frequently dealt with forging foreign documents, creating disguises and handling other graphical work related to espionage.
Background
Mendez was born in Eureka, Nevada in 1940, moved to Colorado as a teen and went on to study at the University of Colorado.[2] Mendez answered a blind advertisement in 1965, becoming an espionage artist for the Technical Services Division of the Central Intelligence Agency. He served in the CIA for 25 years.[3]
Since retiring from the CIA, Mendez and his wife Jonna, herself a 27 year veteran of the CIA,[3] have served on the Board of Directors for the International Spy Museum. He has authored three books: Master of Disguise (ISBN 0-06-095791-3), Spy Dust (ISBN 0-06-095791-3), and Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History (ISBN 978-0-670-02622-7) about his CIA experiences and lauded as "landmark memoirs"[4] by former Chairman of the CIA's Publications Review Board John Hollister Hedley.[5] Some photos of his works as a CIA chief of disguises were shown in the January 2005 edition of FHM magazine. He was interviewed by Errol Morris in the First Person (TV series) season 1, episode 11 "The Little Gray Man."
Mendez lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Maryland[6] where he has his studios and gallery on a forty acre farm in rural Washington County.[3] His son is sculptor Antonio Tobias Mendez.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "Antonio J. Mendez". The Best Reviews. 2002-09-17. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ^ "Antonio Mendez: Author of the Master of Disguise and Spy Dust". Themasterofdisguise.com. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ^ a b c "Master of Disguise: Antonio". Federal Register May 4, 07 p.25485.
- ^ "Three Memoirs from Former CIA Officers". Cia.gov. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ^ "John Hollister Hedley". .mssu.edu. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ^ "Antonio Mendez: Author of the Master of Disguise and Spy Dust". Themasterofdisguise.com. Retrieved 2012-10-10. and his book Master of Disguise (ISBN 0-06-095791-3)
External links
- Review of Master of Disguise from Studies in Intelligence v.46 #1 (2002)