tony mendez wife

His book chronicles many of these covert action and human intelligence collection operations. He died on January 19, 2019 in Frederick, Maryland, United States aged 78.

In 1965 he was recruited in Denver through a blind ad to work as an espionage artist for the Technical Services Division of the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington D.C. Twenty months later he and his family moved to the Far East where they stayed for seven years while Mendez worked in the CIA’s technical operations in South and Southeast Asia.For twenty-five years he worked under cover, often overseas, participating in the shadow conflicts in some of the most important theaters of the Cold War. He had been promoted to SIS-2, the equivalent of a two star General in the military.

They had three children together. He had been promoted to SIS-2, the equivalent of a two star General in the military. They had three children together. His band, Tony Meléndez and the Toe Jam Band, has a busy concert schedule. Mendez was proud to be in the company of Richard Helms, Allen Dulles and other luminaries in the Agency’s history. He appeared on Dan Rather Evening News, Charlie Rose, C-Span, CNN, Fox News Channel, Good Morning America, and Fresh Air, to name a few. Tony Mendez and Jonna Mendez are both founding board members of the International Spy Museum, according to the museum's website.

In September 1997 on the fiftieth anniversary of the CIA, he was one of fifty officers, chosen from the tens of thousands who had worked at CIA over the years, awarded the Trailblazer Medallion.

During the Vietnam War, he helped an Asian diplomat and a black CIA officer escape by masking them as two Caucasian businessmen.In another such daring mission in 1980, he successfully managed to sneak out six American diplomats from Iran by disguising them as members of Canadian film crew.

Two for Travel Channel include “Secrets of the International Spy Museum” and “Washington DC; City of Spies.” Work for Discovery Channel included a one-hour show entitled “The Master of Deception” which chronicled the espionage exploits of Mendez and his wife, Jonna, who was also Chief of Disguise and worked at CIA for twenty-seven years.In 2013 a Hollywood film based on Mendez’s book about the rescue of six diplomats from Tehran in 1980 resulted in the film, titled “Argo,” winning an Academy Award for best film of 2013. This rescue operation involved creating an ostensible Hollywood film production company, complete with personnel, scripts, publicity and real estate.By the time Mendez retired in November 1990, the Cold War was over.

Check out this biography to know more about his life. He moved to Colorado when he was fourteen, attending the University of Colorado, and worked as a plumber and an illustrator/tool designer for Martin Marietta where he was responsible for replicating electronic components for the Titan IIIC ICBM. I will miss him very very much.

After returning to painting full time in 1990 he had scores of exhibits in the U.S. and abroad, won many prizes and was represented by several galleries around the United States. Tony Mendez himself attended the award function and spoke about the film.https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/tony-mendez-47477.php Tony Mendez, the retired CIA agent played by Ben Affleck in the hit movie "Argo,'' has revealed that he is battling Parkinson's disease. Sorry, you have Javascript Disabled!

He was hired to work in the Technical Services Division.He worked as undercover operative abroad and most important areas during the Cold War.He became an expert in exfiltration which meant getting people out of adverse circumstances in foreign countries.

Though, Mendez was not aware of who the employer was, he nonetheless applied as he found the advertisement quite exciting. I was honored to work with Tony Mendez for twenty years and his loving wife Jonna. Tony Méndez. I was honored to work with Tony Mendez for twenty years and his loving wife Jonna. After retiring from the CIA in 1990, Mendez and his wife Jonna, herself a 27-year veteran of the CIA, served on the board of directors of the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. In 1986, Karen succumbed to lung cancer. He had earned the CIA’s Intelligence Medal of Merit as well as the Intelligence Star and two Certificates of Distinction. Tony Mendez was born on 15 November 1940 in Eureka, Nevada. His daughter’s name is Amanda Lynn Mendez. His father, John George Mendez, was of Mexican ancestry and worked as a copper miner. The book published in 2012 gives a comprehensive account of the famous rescue mission, ‘Canadian Caper’.His fourth and final book, ‘The Moscow Rules: The Secret CIA Tactics That Helped America Win the Cold War’ was again co-authored by his wife and released few months after his death in 2019.Apart from writing, he was frequently invited to deliver talks at various prominent organisations in the US like the CIA, Department of Defence and World Affairs Council.He was also associated with the making of many documentaries that were aired on various channels like Discovery, Travel Channel, Canadian History Channel and PBS.The ‘Canadian Caper’ Mission was the high point of his career. He was surrounded with love from his family and will be sorely missed.

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