Top 10 Most Famous Celebrity Spies

Summary

This intriguing script delves into the world of celebrity spies, revealing how famous faces like Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, and Julia Child were surprisingly involved in espionage. From Sinatra's alleged role as a CIA courier to Grant's monitoring of Nazi sympathizers, and even Julia Child's work as an OSS intelligence officer, the video uncovers the covert activities of these stars, challenging the notion that spies can't be in the limelight.

Takeaways

• 🕵️‍♂️ Celebrities have historically been involved in espionage, often using their fame and connections to serve intelligence agencies.
• 🎤 Frank Sinatra was rumored to have acted as a secret courier for the CIA, transporting people without leaving a paper trail.
• 🎬 Cary Grant worked as an operative for the British government during WWII, monitoring suspected Nazi sympathizers in Hollywood.
• 🇩🇪 Marlene Dietrich, a German actress, was suspected of being a spy for both the Allies and the Nazis, but was actually working to support the defeat of the Third Reich.
• 🔄 Harry Houdini, the escape artist, was an operative for Allied forces, using his global tours as cover for intelligence gathering.
• 🎦 Sterling Hayden was a covert operative for the US government, spying on fascist movements in Croatia for the Office of Strategic Services.
• 🤵 Lucky Luciano, a famous mobster, aided the US government by providing informants and connections to help in WWII efforts against the Nazis.
• 👠 Greta Garbo, a renowned actress, is believed to have worked as a British spy during WWII, including a mission to transport Niels Bohr to Britain.
• 🏈 Moe Berg, a professional baseball player, became a spy for the OSS, parachuting into Yugoslavia to evaluate resistance groups and later recruiting physicists for the US.
• 📚 Roald Dahl, a children's writer, was a spy for British Intelligence, tasked with extracting information through intimate relations with influential American women.
• 🍳 Julia Child, the famous chef, worked as an intelligence officer during WWII, organizing and funneling information to the Allies.

Q & A

What is the common misconception about celebrities and espionage?

The common misconception is that celebrities, with their famous faces, would not be suitable for espionage due to their inability to blend into the background unnoticed.

Why might it be advantageous for intelligence agencies to use celebrities as spies?

It can be advantageous because celebrities often have connections and influence, and powerful individuals may be more willing to associate with them, providing opportunities for intelligence gathering.

What role did Frank Sinatra allegedly play for the CIA, according to his daughter Tina?

Frank Sinatra allegedly acted as a secret courier for the CIA, transporting people covertly without leaving a paper trail, utilizing his private chartered jets.

Why was Cary Grant suspected of being a spy?

Cary Grant was suspected because he was seen working as an operative for the British government, monitoring suspected Nazi sympathizers during World War II.

What award did Cary Grant receive for his contributions during World War II?

Cary Grant received the King's Medal for Services in the Cause of Freedom in 1947.

What was Marlene Dietrich's contribution to the war effort, despite being suspected of being a German spy?

Marlene Dietrich performed in USO shows to support the Allied forces and reportedly volunteered for espionage work, contributing to the war effort by keeping troops' spirits high.

How did Harry Houdini's skills as an escape artist contribute to his alleged espionage work?

Houdini allegedly used his skills to impress local law enforcement while secretly collecting valuable information for the US and British governments during his world tours.

What confirmed espionage work did Sterling Hayden do for the United States government?

Sterling Hayden parachuted into Croatia to spy on growing fascist movements for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II.

What was Lucky Luciano's role in 'Operation Underworld' during World War II?

Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky were recruited by the Office of Strategic Services to find informants on the docks in New York City, which were under the control of organized crime families.

Why was Greta Garbo suspected of being a British spy during World War II?

Greta Garbo was suspected of being a spy because she allegedly carried out classified missions for the Allies, including the covert transport of Niels Bohr from Copenhagen to Britain.

What was Moe Berg's educational background before becoming a spy?

Moe Berg was an exceptionally well-educated man, having attended Princeton for his undergraduate degree and Columbia for his law degree.

What unusual method did Roald Dahl reportedly use to gather intelligence for British Intelligence?

Roald Dahl reportedly used seduction to gather intelligence from the wives of oil tycoons and a congresswoman named Clare Boothe Luce.

What is the surprising espionage background of Julia Child, known for her cooking show?

Julia Child worked as an intelligence officer for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, organizing and funneling information to the Allies.

What recognition did Julia Child receive for her work with the OSS?

Julia Child earned awards for her efforts with the OSS and was recognized for her resourcefulness.

Outlines

00:00

🕵️ Celebrity Spies: Uncovering the Espionage Roles of the Famous

This paragraph introduces the intriguing concept of celebrities involved in espionage, challenging the traditional image of spies as inconspicuous individuals. It highlights the strategic use of celebrities' fame and connections by intelligence agencies. The paragraph lists ten celebrities, starting with Frank Sinatra, rumored to have acted as a secret courier for the CIA, transporting people without leaving a trace. It also mentions Cary Grant's role as an operative for the British government during WWII, monitoring Nazi sympathizers in Hollywood, and Marlene Dietrich's alleged espionage work for the Office of Strategic Services, despite initial suspicions of her being a German spy.

05:01

🎭 The Daring Exploits of Celebrity Spies in Wartime

The second paragraph delves deeper into the espionage activities of various celebrities during times of conflict. It discusses Harry Houdini's alleged work as a spy, using his fame as an escape artist to gather intelligence. Sterling Hayden's confirmed role as a covert operative for the US government, spying on fascist movements, is also highlighted. The paragraph further reveals Lucky Luciano's and Meyer Lansky's involvement in 'Operation Underworld,' providing informants to the US government during WWII. It also touches upon Greta Garbo's suspected role as a British spy, Moe Berg's transformation from a baseball player to a spy with the OSS, and Roald Dahl's secret intelligence work, which involved unconventional methods of extracting information.

Keywords

💡Spies

Spies are individuals who secretly gather information on others, typically for political or military purposes. In the video's context, the term is used to describe the covert activities of celebrities who were allegedly involved in espionage, emphasizing their ability to blend in and collect information without drawing attention. The video script discusses various celebrities who were rumored or confirmed to have been involved in spying activities, such as Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant.

💡Espionage

Espionage refers to the practice of spying or using spies to obtain secret or confidential information. The video's theme revolves around the surprising connection between the glamorous world of celebrities and the secretive world of espionage. The script mentions Frank Sinatra's alleged role as a 'secret courier' for the CIA, which is an example of espionage activity.

💡Mafia

The Mafia is an Italian-American criminal organization involved in various illegal activities. In the script, it is mentioned in relation to Frank Sinatra, who was rumored to have connections with the Mafia, highlighting the complex and sometimes clandestine nature of his life that went beyond his public persona as a celebrity.

💡CIA

The CIA, or Central Intelligence Agency, is the civilian foreign intelligence service of the United States. The script discusses the alleged involvement of celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant with the CIA, suggesting that they used their fame and connections to assist in intelligence operations.

💡USO Shows

USO shows are entertainment programs performed for military personnel by civilian artists, typically during times of war. Marlene Dietrich, mentioned in the script, performed in USO shows to support the Allied forces during World War II, demonstrating her patriotism and contribution to the war effort beyond her acting career.

💡Office of Strategic Services (OSS)

The OSS was a wartime intelligence agency during World War II, which later became the CIA. Several celebrities mentioned in the script, such as Sterling Hayden and Lucky Luciano, were involved with the OSS, indicating their participation in intelligence and espionage activities during the war.

💡Human Trafficker

While typically a negative term, in the context of the script, 'human trafficker' is used to describe Frank Sinatra's alleged role in covertly transporting individuals for the CIA without leaving a paper trail. This usage illustrates the unconventional ways in which celebrities were utilized in intelligence operations.

💡Nazi Sympathizers

Nazi sympathizers are individuals who supported or aligned themselves with the ideologies or policies of the Nazi party. Cary Grant is mentioned in the script as having monitored suspected Nazi sympathizers during WWII, showing his involvement in counter-espionage activities within Hollywood.

💡Allied Forces

The Allied Forces refers to the countries that fought against the Axis powers during World War II. The script discusses celebrities like Marlene Dietrich and Sterling Hayden who supported the Allied forces, either through their actions or by participating in espionage activities.

💡Covert Agent

A covert agent is an individual who operates secretly, often under a false identity, to gather information. The script describes Harry Houdini's alleged role as a covert agent for various intelligence agencies, using his fame as an escape artist to travel and collect information without arousing suspicion.

💡Medal of Freedom

The Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award in the United States, honoring individuals who have made significant contributions to the security or national interests of the country. Moe Berg, mentioned in the script, was awarded this honor for his espionage activities during WWII, although he initially rejected it.

Highlights

Celebrities can be spies, using their fame and connections to gather information discreetly.

Frank Sinatra allegedly acted as a secret courier for the CIA, transporting people without a paper trail.

Cary Grant worked as an operative for the British government, monitoring suspected Nazi sympathizers in Hollywood.

Marlene Dietrich, a German actress, volunteered for espionage work against the Nazi regime during WWII.

Harry Houdini was an operative for Allied forces, using his escape artistry to collect information worldwide.

Sterling Hayden, a classic movie actor, was a covert operative for the US government, spying on fascist movements.

Lucky Luciano, a famous mobster, helped the US government by providing informants and aiding in military operations.

Greta Garbo, a renowned actress, is believed to have worked as a British spy during WWII, including a mission to transport Niels Bohr.

Moe Berg, a professional baseball player, became a spy for the OSS, parachuting into Yugoslavia to evaluate resistance groups.

Roald Dahl, a children's author, was a spy for British Intelligence, even seducing influential figures to gather information.

Julia Child, famous chef, worked as an intelligence officer for the OSS during WWII, organizing and funneling information.

Celebrity spies used unconventional methods, such as Sinatra's private jets and Houdini's escape artistry, for espionage.

Cary Grant was honored with the King's Medal for Services in the Cause of Freedom for his contributions during WWII.

Marlene Dietrich performed in USO shows to support the Allied forces while secretly working against the Nazis.

Lucky Luciano's cooperation with the OSS during WWII included preventing sniper attacks during the invasion of Italy.

Greta Garbo's alleged espionage work involved high-risk missions, such as smuggling a key scientist into Britain.

Moe Berg's intelligence work was recognized with the Medal of Freedom, which he initially rejected.

Roald Dahl's espionage involved intimate relations to extract information from influential Americans.

Julia Child's meticulous work as a spy earned her awards and recognition for her resourcefulness and attention to detail.

Transcripts

When you think about spies, you think about people who can blend into any situation like

a chameleon, and can go unnoticed while collecting invaluable information.

What you probably don’t think of is a celebrity, considering a famous face is not exactly going

to drop into the background.

At the same time, it kind of makes sense to enlist the services of the famous and powerful

in order to take advantage of their connections, along with the desire of other powerful people

to hobnob with them.

With that in mind, here are some of our favorite celebrity spies.

10.

Frank Sinatra

We should make one thing clear before we dive into the sort of espionage Frank Sinatra allegedly

partook in: nothing has ever been officially confirmed.

However, rumors have persisted for years about Old Blue Eyes’ involvement with both the

mafia and, believe it or not, the CIA.

While the mafia rumors are pretty much “truth” and not rumors, his involvement with the CIA

is something that’s just kind of percolated in the background.

According to his daughter, Tina, Sinatra often did favors for the CIA.

He was not a spy in the traditional sense, but he did act as a secret courier for them.

What was he delivering?

People.

That’s right, Frank Sinatra was allegedly a human trafficker for the Central Intelligence

Agency.

Because Sinatra flew around the world on private chartered jets, his daughter says, the CIA

would contact him and have him covertly transport someone when they did not wish to leave a

paper trail.

9.

Cary Grant

If you were going to come up with the ideal real life person to play the part of the dashing

and debonair spy you see in movies, you could not do much better than Cary Grant.

The actor was a suave charmer, and actually appeared in some movies revolving around espionage.

He was even reportedly offered the role of James Bond, but turned it down.

What you probably did not realize was that while Cary Grant was hanging around Hollywood,

he was working as an operative for the British government.

No, he wasn’t trying to steal American secrets or anything.

The US and UK were and remain allies, after all.

So what was he doing?

He was keeping tabs on suspected Nazi sympathizers during World War II, including fellow actors

like Errol Flynn, keeping his eyes and ears open for any sign of trouble in the inner

circles of Hollywood.

Grant was long a supporter of the British cause during the war effort, and actually

donated his salaries for two films to the British forces.

In 1947, Grant received the Kings Medal for Services in the Cause of Freedom.

8.

Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich was one of Germany’s most famous actresses, but by all accounts was

firmly against Hitler and the Nazi regime during World War II.

The actress performed in USO shows to help support the Allied forces, but was still suspected

to be a German spy early in the war, according to the FBI.

However, many believe her role was much closer to the one played by Diane Kruger’s character

in Inglourious Basterds.

That is to say, she was a “traitor” to her homeland and wanted desperately to help

defeat the Third Reich.

Dietrich reportedly volunteered for espionage work for the Office of Strategic Services,

though much of her contributions during the war effort involved keeping the spirits of

the troops high in their fight against the Nazis.

After all, she still had family living in Germany and would be no good as an undercover

operative.

Still, she’s one of the most famous starlets believed to have been working for the government

during World War II, and is the only person on this list to have been suspected of spying

for both sides.

7.

Harry Houdini

If you were ever going to recruit someone to become a spy, wouldn’t it make sense

to recruit the greatest escape artist in history?

Harry Houdini was, according to a recent biography, an operative for Allied forces, Scotland Yard,

and the US Secret Service.

Reportedly, Houdini would travel the world monitoring Russian anarchists and collecting

valuable information for the US and British governments, using his regularly scheduled

tours as cover.

Allegedly, some of what Houdini did for the authorities involved going into police stations

around the world, insisting on being locked up, and using his escape artistry to wow the

local law enforcement.

At the same time, he was collecting valuable information.

One of the connections the biography makes is to William Melville, a British spy who

frequently mentioned Houdini in his journal, and who was working for Scotland Yard when

Houdini allegedly got his start as a covert agent for that agency.

6.

Sterling Hayden

You may not immediately recognize the name Sterling Hayden, but if you’ve ever watched

any classic movies you’ve certainly seen him.

The actor has appeared in films such as Dr. Strangelove and The Godfather, in which he

played the corrupt cop Michael Corleone shoots in the restaurant.

Oops, should have said spoiler alert.

But on top of being a well regarded actor, Hayden was a covert operative for the United

States government.

This one is absolutely confirmed by no less than the US government, as well.

Hayden reportedly parachuted into Croatia – what is it with spies and parachuting

into places, anyway? – in order to spy on growing fascist movements in the area.

This was while he worked for the Office of Strategic Services in World War II, and just

a few years before he went on to star in the film Asphalt Jungle.

5.

Lucky Luciano

Probably the least “celebrity” of all of the people on this list, Lucky Luciano

is arguably the most infamous person we’re going to be talking about.

Luciano, if you are unfamiliar, is one of the most famous American mobsters of all-time.

During World War II, Naval Intelligence suspected that the Nazis were receiving information

on Atlantic Ocean ship movements, and also knew that organized crime families controlled

the docks in New York City.

Enter Lucky Luciano.

Luciano was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services, along with fellow infamous mob boss

Meyer Lansky to find informants on the docks.

The duo supplied thousands of informants to the government’s side under the codename

“Operation Underworld.”

Luciano was not done aiding the US, however, as the OSS once again approached him to use

his contacts in Sicily to find information about Nazi troop movements in Italy.

Luciano’s connections paid off, as the Sicilian mafia stepped in and helped pave the way for

an invasion by Patton by taking out snipers along the roads in Italy

4.

Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo was one of the original bombshells in Hollywood.

The Swedish born actress wasn’t just a pretty face, either.

She was nominated for four Academy Awards before retiring from acting at the age of

35, in 1941.

According to some, her retirement at that time may not have been a coincidence, as many

believe she worked as a British spy during World War II.

Garbo, according to author Charles Higham, was recruited by British intelligence and,

according to the many veterans he claims to have interviewed, carried out several highly

classified missions for the Allies during the war effort.

One of her missions, reportedly, was to help covertly transport a man from Copenhagen to

Britain, which she accomplished successfully at the side of Winston Churchill’s special

envoy and Canadian spy Sir William Stephenson.

Oh, and if you were wondering who the man was she was asked to help smuggle into the

UK?

It was only Niels Bohr, who went on to help develop the atomic bomb.

3.

Moe Berg

Born in 1902, Moe Berg was a professional baseball player, and unlike many of his contemporaries,

he was an exceptionally well educated man as well.

Berg spent his undergraduate years at Princeton before receiving his law degree from Columbia,

and played in the big leagues in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s.

Oh, and then he went and became a spy.

Berg had spent some time in Japan prior to the US becoming involved in World War II,

and provided some footage he shot there to the government, and later became a member

of the Secret Intelligence branch of the OSS.

In this capacity, he was a full on spy, parachuting into Yugoslavia to feel out the resistance

groups in the area, with his evaluations serving to determine how much the United States would

support each of the groups in their efforts.

In 1944 he traveled around Europe recruiting physicists to America.

He was awarded the Medal of Freedom, but actually rejected it.

His sister later accepted it after he died in 1972.

2.

Roald Dahl

If you were ever a kid, and we have to imagine you were at some point in your life, chances

are you’ve read at least one book by legendary children’s writer Roald Dahl.

After all, this is the guy who wrote The Witches and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Of course you might not have realized that at the same time he was churning out classics,

he was spying for British Intelligence.

And who was he spying on?

The United States of America.

Hey, even friends can get nosy and look at someone else’s text messages from time to

time, right?

Anyway, the most entertaining aspect of how Dahl accomplished his undercover tasks was,

well, the fact that it involved getting under actual covers.

Dahl was sent to America to sex his way into information from the wives of oil tycoons

and even a congresswoman named Clare Boothe Luce, whose husband was the publisher of Time

Magazine.

And the story gets even better from here, since Dahl was so worn out by Boothe Luce’s

sexual appetite that he actually pleaded with British Intelligence to let him abandon the

mission only to be told to, basically, take some horny goat weed and get back to boning.

1.

Julia Child

We know what you’re thinking and the answer is yes, that Julia Child.

The same Julia Child who became a famous chef and often seemed a little – or a lot – tipsy

on her very famous cooking show, worked for the Office of Strategic Services during World

War II.

Child worked as an intelligence officer during the war, organizing and funneling information

to the Allies from places like China and Ceylon.

Child was originally a typist in the Office of War Information before putting in for a

transfer to the OSS, where she actually met her husband, Paul.

If you’ve ever watched her cooking show you know that she came off as a bit of a klutz

and a mess in the kitchen, which is what makes it a little surprising that she had such attention

to detail that she actually earned awards for her efforts with the OSS, along with being

recognized for her resourcefulness.

Heck, after working as a spy during WWII, we think she deserved every sip of alcohol

she took during all of those cooking shows.