Canadian envoy who hid Americans in Iran crisis dies

Ken Taylor, Canada’s ambassador to Iran who sheltered Americans at his residence during the 1979 hostage crisis, dies. He was 81.

Taylor’s wife, Pat, says Ken died Thursday after a two-month battle with colon cancer.

Taylor kept the Americans hidden at his residence and at the home of his deputy, John Sheardown, in Tehran for three months. Taylor facilitated their escape by arranging plane tickets and persuading the Ottawa government to issue fake passports.

He was heralded as a hero in both the US and Canada for helping save the Americans in the clandestine operation.

In this Jan. 31, 1980, file photo, Ken Taylor, Canadian Ambassador to Iran, laughs as he answers questions during a meeting with journalists outside the Canadian Embassy in Paris. (AP Photo/File)
Ken Taylor, Canadian ambassador to Iran, laughs as he answers questions during a meeting with journalists outside the Canadian Embassy in Paris, January 31, 1980. (AP/File)

Some of Taylor’s exploits in Iran in 1979 later became the subject of the 2012 Hollywood film, “Argo.” But Taylor and others, including former-US President Jimmy Carter, felt the film downplayed his role and that of Canada in the operation.

Taylor’s wife of more than 50 years says he was diagnosed with cancer in August and that friends from Canada, the US and elsewhere visited him at New York Presbyterian hospital where he was being treated.

— AP

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