The Master of Disguise

Antonio Joseph Mendez was born in Eureka, Nevada on November 15, 1940. He attended the University of Colorado at Boulder for one year before dropping out because he had no money. He worked on technical drawings of the wiring harnesses for missiles for Martin Marietta during the day and hired himself out at night as an artist, painting murals and other items on commission. He was hired by the Central Intelligence Agency in 1965 as a counterfeiter and forger.

He became a technical operations officer and was promoted to deputy chief of authentication in December 1979. He orchestrated the rescue of six American diplomats from Iran in January 1980. This mission became the basis of the 2012 Oscar winning movie Argo. Mendez spent 25 years undercover and retired in 1990.

He wrote several books including The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA written with Malcolm McConnell, Spy Dust: Two Masters of Disguise Reveal the Tools and Operations That Helped Win the Cold War written with Jonna Mendez and Bruce Henderson, Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History written with Matt Baglio, and The Moscow Rules: The Secret CIA Tactics That Helped America Win the Cold War written with Jonna Mendez. He died of Parkinson's disease on January 19, 2019 at the age of 78.

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