Former Canadian diplomat Ken Taylor, fondly remembered as a hero for his role in sheltering six US citizens during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis in Tehran – a real-life drama known as the Canadian Caper – has died.
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The story inspired the 2012 American film, Argo, with Taylor played by Canadian actor Victor Garber.
Taylor’s wife, Pat, was by his side when he died, said Lean.
Taylor made headlines when he complained about how Canada’s role in the crisis was minimized in Ben Affleck’s Oscar-winning thriller about the hostage-rescue exploits of Central Intelligence Agency agent Tony Mendez. In the chaos six diplomats escaped and took refuge with Taylor and another Canadian official for more than two months.
“I was very sorry to learn just now of the death of Ken Taylor, a star of the Canadian foreign service and courageous soul”, Rae said on Twitter.
NDP leader Tom Mulcair offered his condolences to the Taylor family, and in a tweet called the man “a heroic Canadian diplomat”. Taylor and others, however, contended that the film didn’t give Canada enough credit for helping the Americans, and said the film glorified the CIA’s role in the process.
“He did all sorts of things for everyone without any expectation of something coming back”, she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “There was no second thought about it. He just went ahead and did it. His legacy is that giving is what is important, not receiving”. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He was also made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1980.
Former president Jimmy Carter’s statement that “90 percent of the contributions to the ideas and the consummation of the plan” were Canadian did leave Taylor somewhat mollified. Friends of Taylor were outraged when “Argo” debuted at the Toronto worldwide Film Festival in 2012.
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Taylor endangered his own life to help the Americans.
