12 Stars Who Secretly Worked as Spies
Celebrities often look for a second career and a lucrative side hustle in the modern world. Actors may attempt to release records, while those on the slide can always aim for an appearance in a reality TV show.
In years gone by, stars of the past didn’t have those opportunities, so some enjoyed a less obvious second career in the world of espionage.
1. Cary Grant
Actor Cary Grant once turned down the role of James Bond. He was a perfect fit for the part in many ways, but perhaps he’d experienced enough of a spy’s life in the real world.
The British government tasked Grant with monitoring German sympathizers in Hollywood. Fellow actor Errol Flynn was one of the men on his radar.
2. Roald Dahl
Before starting his writing career, Dahl played a vital role in the Second World War. As a fighter pilot for the Royal Air Force, his flying days were halted abruptly due to a horrific accident.
After his transfer to the British Embassy in Washington, Dahl’s popularity with the ladies led to British intelligence assigning him the fascinating task of seducing high society women to promote the nation’s interests in America.
3. Julia Child
Julia Child, one of the most unlikely celebrity spies, would later enjoy a career as one of the first TV chefs. Before that breakthrough, she worked undercover for the Office of Strategic Services in Ceylon and China.
Child also helped develop a shark repellent, an innovation for which Batman would later become grateful.
4. Moe Berg
A catcher for five MLB teams, including the Washington Senators and the Boston Red Sox, Moe Berg wasn’t your average baseball player. He held a Princeton degree and spoke eight languages — qualities that made him a perfect fit to work behind enemy lines in World War II.
His efforts led to one of the best book titles ever when Nicholas Dawidoff named his 1994 biography The Catcher Was a Spy.
5. Frank Sinatra
Could the song “Strangers in the Night” have a secondary meeting? Was “Ol’ Blue Eyes” liaising with contacts after dark?
The role of Frank Sinatra, the spy, is widely acknowledged, although his exact role is debated. He was undoubtedly a courier for the CIA, who were interested in his extensive list of Mafia contacts.
6. Marlene Dietrich
German-born performer Marlene Dietrich famously ignored Hitler’s orders to return to Germany after the outbreak of World War II. Instead, she became a U.S. citizen and undertook many vital roles.
She entertained United States troops and became the Allies’ answer to Germany’s Lord Haw-Haw, broadcasting songs to German troops that were intended to reduce morale and encourage defection.
7. John Ford
Film Director John Ford’s move into espionage also began in World War II. Having joined the naval field photography unit, his excellence attracted the attention of OSS Director William Donovan.
Ford produced training films, but his most significant work was the documentary The Battle of Midway. Risking his life to go behind enemy lines, Ford was wounded and subsequently received the Purple Heart.
8. Harry Houdini
The master escapologist Harry Houdini was an expert in getting himself out of tight situations. Perhaps that was why he was targeted by both the British and the U.S. Secret Services in World War I.
Houdini’s primary role was to spy on Russian anarchists, and it’s also alleged that he volunteered to perform some of his tricks in appreciative police stations around the world while secretly collecting data.
9. Harpo Marx
A member of the famous Marx brothers, Harpo played a silent clown, but there was nothing dumb about his secondary line of work. The United States began diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1933, but there was little trust between the two sides.
Harpo Marx embarked on a goodwill tour of Moscow but was doubling as a courier, carrying an envelope containing secret messages taped to his leg.
10. Christopher Lee
If you weren’t previously aware of Christopher Lee’s spying activities, look out for the 2024 film release entitled The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. This was the nickname of Churchill’s British unit responsible for espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance.
While not an active commando, Lee liaisoned with the unit, among others. He was featured in The Lord of the Rings films and was a giant of the horror genre.
11. Josephine Baker
Singer and actress Josephine Baker was born in St. Louis but emigrated to France in the 1930s. She became a success in Paris, where her fame attracted the interest of French military intelligence.
The Deuxieme Bureau recruited Baker, and she began to report on German, Japanese, and Italian persons of interest. Ingeniously, she smuggled messages back to the Allies in invisible ink on sheet music.
12. Ian Fleming
The creator of the most famous spy novels must have taken his inspiration from the real world of espionage. Author Ian Fleming gave us James Bond after beginning his British Naval Intelligence Division career.
During the tense standoff of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy reportedly wished he could call on James Bond.
