FORMER Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor, whose role in rescuing US diplomats in a covert operation in 1979 during the Iran hostage crisis was featured in the movie Argo, died on Thursday, his son told CBC television. He was 81.
Taylor was Canada’s envoy in Tehran in November 1979 when students stormed the US embassy, taking dozens of Americans hostage. In the chaos six diplomats escaped and took refuge with Taylor and another Canadian official for more than two months.
In what became known unofficially as “The Canadian Caper”, Canada and the US conspired to smuggle the six out of Tehran on genuine Canadian passports with forged Iranian visas.
The group, pretending to be a Hollywood crew who had been scouting locations for a science fiction movie called Argo, successfully caught a plane to Switzerland in January 1980.
The story of the escape was retold in the 2012 movie Argo featuring actor Ben Affleck in the role of real-life Central Intelligence Agency operative Tony Mendez, who helped concoct the cover story and provide disguises for the diplomats.
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