In the New York Times article "The Playboy Was a Spy," Stephen Koch discusses Noël Coward's behind-the-scenes work during World War II. Here's a brief excerpt:
"'Celebrity was wonderful cover,' Noël Coward said near the end of his life. 'My disguise would be my own reputation as a bit of an idiot … a merry playboy.'
"In 1973, a month before he died, the epitome of flippant British sophistication decided to permit himself a few clipped words about one last secret. In a filmed interview with the biographer of Sir William Stephenson, the spymaster code-named 'Intrepid,' Coward made his sole public statement about his wartime espionage work. A scrupulous public servant, he got clearance before discussing how he had been a spy for England, trained (with his friend Ian Fleming) in covert action in the secret headquarters of Bletchley Park, which, as he tossed off with characteristic offhandedness, 'I should have thought would be fairly easy to find by any German agent with the faintest enterprise.' Working with Stephenson (among others), he had toured three continents
singing, being amusing, acting as a courier, filing eyes-only reports on influential people and probably meeting covert British contacts. 'I learned a lot from the technical people,' Coward said, and 'could have made a career in espionage' - except, he sighed, 'my life's been full enough of intrigue as it is.'"
***
The fey, effete Noël Coward's spy work surprises me less than his being described as a "playboy."
Note: The most interesting section of Koch's highly readable article features not the unappetizing Coward, but the freakish, Nazi-sympathizing Duke of Windsor and his even more Nazi friendly wife.
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