Two old friends were talking. It was the summer of 1940, after France had fallen. Nöel Coward, the internationally famed British actor, playwright, and composer for the stage and motion pictures, was pleading with Prime Minister Winston Churchill to let him join an intelligence service.
"No, no," Churchill replied, jabbing the air with his lighted cigar for emphasis. "You're far too well known to be a spy."
Coward responded, "But Winston, that's the whole point. I'll be so well known nobody will think I'm doing anything special."
Churchill kept shaking his head and emphasizing that a face known around the world could never make a spy. Finally, Coward wore down the British Bulldog's resistance, and the global celebrity was launched into the murky, often lethal field of secret intelligence. He would be a real-life spy.
During the past ten years, Coward had become known for his sparkling dialogue in such sophisticated stage comedies as Hay Fever, Private Lives, Tonight at 8:30, and Blithe Spirit. His best-known songs were "I'll See You Again" and "Someday I'll Find You." His exceptional skills in acting and singing were limited mainly to the leading roles in his own stage plays.
Coward traveled around the world, in South America (a hotbed of Nazi spies), Asia, and what was left of unoccupied Europe. He sang his songs and charmed his hosts. His disguise, he would say, was his reputation as a bit of an idiot.
When it was suggested that Coward send back reports by invisible ink, he quickly shot down that scheme: "I can't even read my own writing when it's visible!"
Just as Coward had insisted to Churchill, his show business celebrity status did indeed provide him with remarkable cover and direct contact with influential figures in neutral countries, few of which were truly neutral.
He shrewdly reported back to his British controllers the opinions of these top foreign leaders and the political climate among the people of their countries, and deftly planted fake rumors as part of a global mosaic of misinformation.
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