Who were the 6 hostages in Argo?

Robert Anders, Cora Amburn-Lijek, Mark Lijek, Joseph Stafford, Kathleen Stafford and Lee Schatz were the six American diplomats who were harboured by Canadian diplomats Ken Taylor and John Sheardown and exfiltrated from Tehran in 1980.

Who was the real Argo?

agent Tony Mendez
Ex-CIA agent Tony Mendez, who inspired the Oscar-winning film Argo, has died at the age of 78. He had been suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. At the CIA, Mendez specialised in disguises, forgery and rescues.

Is Argo a true story?

Argo is based on the “Canadian Caper” that took place during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 and 1980. Chris Terrio wrote the screenplay based on Joshuah Bearman’s 2007 article “How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran,” which was published in Wired.

Who was the guy in the movie Argo?

The actual guy who ran the mission, played by Ben Affleck in the movie. Movie aficionados — and historians — know that the movie sticks pretty close to what really happened during the Iranian Revolution. In 1980, a CIA agent named Tony Mendez sneaked into Iran and spirited away six American diplomats who were hiding with Canadians.

Who are the escapees from the embassy in Argo?

It is after the six Americans slip away from the embassy that Argo becomes a masterclass in reshaping reality into a Hollywood hit. The screenplay has the escapees – Mark and Cora Lijek, Bob Anders, Lee Schatz and Joe and Kathy Stafford – settling down to enforced cohabitation at the residence of the Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor.

How many Americans left Iran in the movie Argo?

Still, Mendez and one of the American diplomats say those hours at the airport were plenty tense. There were actually eight Americans leaving Iran that day — the six diplomats, plus Mendez and his partner, who didn’t even get a mention in the movie. The Americans had been holed up at Canadian diplomats’ homes for 80-odd days.

Why was there a cover story in Argo?

In retrospect, Mark Lijek thinks the value of the cover story was to give the escapees the confidence to get through the ordeal at the airport. Argo’s final scenes are superbly tense, as the six make it onto the plane by the skin of their teeth.