FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about Famous People Who Spied on the Side
Quiz about Famous People Who Spied on the Side

Famous People Who Spied on the Side Quiz


Each of these famous people was very successful in his/her career. Each was also very successful at something else...espionage. I'll give a brief description of each famous person and see if you can figure out who that person is.

A multiple-choice quiz by nmerr. Estimated time: 5 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. World Trivia
  6. »
  7. Global Trivia
  8. »
  9. Espionage & Codebreaking

Author
nmerr
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
339,769
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
738
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: ramses22 (9/10), genoveva (7/10), Kabdanis (9/10).
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. The world knows her as a successful chef. She wrote a book about the art of French cooking and had her own cooking show on television. She was also a spy long before she became a chef. Who is she? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The author of the children's book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was first a fighter pilot for the British Royal Air Force during World War II. He was later sent to the U.S. and charmed his way into high society to spy for the British Intelligence. Name this spy turned author. Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. As head of the Genovese crime family, this "lucky" mobster managed to turn organized crime into a well-oiled crime machine. He aided the government at a time when it needed him the most, and in turn received special favors while serving time in prison. What is his name? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Mention James Bond and this author should come to mind. Although his life wasn't quite as exciting as his fictional creation, he did work for the British Naval Intelligence during World War II. Who is he? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. He was a successful landscape painter and followed Prince Charles on royal tours. He later painted the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2009, he was invited to become artist in residence of M16, Britain's elite Secret Intelligence Service. Name this artist. Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. He founded the Boy Scouts and made a name for himself during the Second Boer War. He was also a British agent. Who is he? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. This famous magician was born Erik Weisz on March 24, 1874. He performed dazzling feats such as dangling upside down in a water tank. He also did some moonlighting on the side ... espionage. By what name is he better known? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. He was called "the brainiest man in baseball." He started his baseball career with the Brooklyn Dodgers until he was traded to the Chicago White Sox and later other professional teams. Recruited by the U.S. government to spy on the Japanese prior to World War II and the Germans during World War II, name this brainy ballplayer. Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. During World War II, the U.S. operated a second spy agency besides the OSS. It was known as the Pond and dealt with unsavory characters. One of these characters was a Parisian doctor who worked for the Pond as a source for Nazi intelligence. He was actually a serial killer and used his doctor's office to murder his victims. Do you know his name? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. This flamboyant playwright was already a huge success by the time World War II started. His plays such as "Easy Virtue" and "Private Lives" were very successful. When the war broke out, however, he abandoned his theater interests and set up a propaganda bureau for the British Secret Intelligence Service. Name this playwright whose vapid playboy image hid a formidable memory. Hint



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Most Recent Scores
Today : ramses22: 9/10
Mar 03 2024 : genoveva: 7/10
Mar 01 2024 : Kabdanis: 9/10
Feb 26 2024 : Guest 1: 8/10
Feb 14 2024 : Guest 85: 7/10
Feb 13 2024 : GoodwinPD: 10/10
Jan 31 2024 : Guest 98: 9/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The world knows her as a successful chef. She wrote a book about the art of French cooking and had her own cooking show on television. She was also a spy long before she became a chef. Who is she?

Answer: Julia Child

Julia Child joined the OSS, forerunner of the CIA, in 1942 after discovering that, at 6'2" tall, she was too tall for the Women's Army Corps. One of her earliest assignments was to cook up a shark repellent that would protect underwater explosives from being accidentally set off by curious sea creatures. Later she was sent to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and then to China where she worked as Chief of the OSS Registry.

The CIA remains mum about what Julia did in that capacity. It was in Ceylon that she met her husband Paul Child, a fellow OSS officer.

After they married, Julia quit her job but her husband continued to work for the government. After he was transferred to to the U.S. State Department in Paris, Julia took up cooking to occupy her time.

The rest is culinary history.
2. The author of the children's book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was first a fighter pilot for the British Royal Air Force during World War II. He was later sent to the U.S. and charmed his way into high society to spy for the British Intelligence. Name this spy turned author.

Answer: Roald Dahl

After Dahl sustained serious injuries while working as a fighter pilot, he was transferred to a desk job at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. His success with the ladies was not lost on British Intelligence. They came up with a plan to have Dahl seduce powerful women and use them to promote Britain's interests in America.

The plan worked. Not only did Dahl rally support for the British cause, he was able to pass stolen documents to the British Government. Incidentally, it was during his work writing propaganda for American newspapers that he discovered his talent for writing.
3. As head of the Genovese crime family, this "lucky" mobster managed to turn organized crime into a well-oiled crime machine. He aided the government at a time when it needed him the most, and in turn received special favors while serving time in prison. What is his name?

Answer: Charles "Lucky" Luciano

In 1936 Lucky Luciano was sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison for prostitution. When the French ocean liner Normandie caught fire and sank in 1942, American government officials suspected sabotage. The dockworkers wouldn't talk because they were all under the control of mobsters. Luciano, who was born in Sicily, had an affinity for America since it was where he had earned his millions and where he had lived since he was ten years old.

He persuaded the dockworkers to reveal their information. For his help, Luciano was released from prison in 1946 having served only ten years.

He continued to aid America in the war efforts by using the dockworkers to supply information to U.S. Naval Intelligence. When the Allies were planning to invade Italy, Luciano offered valuable information on where to counterattack.

As part of the agreement when he was released from prison early, he returned to Sicily and never stepped foot on U.S. soil again.
4. Mention James Bond and this author should come to mind. Although his life wasn't quite as exciting as his fictional creation, he did work for the British Naval Intelligence during World War II. Who is he?

Answer: Ian Fleming

In reality, Ian Fleming was a desk jockey. He managed communications between the British Admiralty and the branch of intelligence dealing with sabotage behind enemy lines. Fleming was asked to help create an American organization focused on international intelligence gathering.

In 1941 he drew up a detailed chart for the Chief of the OSS. Fleming did manage to witness one actual break-in that became the inspiration for his first Bond novel,"Casino Royale". He watched as British operatives sneaked into the Japanese Consul General's office at Rockefeller Center in New York City.

The operatives cracked a safe and made copies of Japanese codebooks. Now that's worthy of James Bond himself!
5. He was a successful landscape painter and followed Prince Charles on royal tours. He later painted the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2009, he was invited to become artist in residence of M16, Britain's elite Secret Intelligence Service. Name this artist.

Answer: James Hart Dyke

At first Hart Dyke thought it was a joke. He received a mysterious phone call followed by a mysterious meeting in which he was asked to work within M16 as an artist. He took the job and was given complete access to M16 and the lives of its employees. He quietly went about his business, sketching the everyday lives of M16 spies. Hart Dyke wanted to convey the claustrophobic world of M16 spies but also the unglamorous parts, the in-between times of waiting and doing nothing.

His paintings had a dream-like quality even while painting ordinary activities, like a woman carrying a big bag or a hotel room.

He experienced the boredom and anxiety of traveling to shadowy locations while keeping his job secret from everyone but his wife. Exciting as the job was, Hart Dyke returned to civilian life in 2011, glad his job with the M16 was over.
6. He founded the Boy Scouts and made a name for himself during the Second Boer War. He was also a British agent. Who is he?

Answer: Robert Baden-Powell

While stationed in South Africa in 1899, Lieutenant-General Baden-Powell managed to defend his territory with cunning and deception. His small army of soldiers were poorly outfitted but Baden-Powell managed to deceive the opposing forces by pretending to plant fake mines on the edge of town and pretending to avoid barbed-wire to fend off the enemy.

After returning home to England in 1903, he used his notoriety to jump-start the scouting movement, all the while working as a spy in the military. In 1915, after he had retired from military duty, Baden-Powell wrote the book "My Adventures as a Spy." In it he recounted stories such as the one in which he caught three spies all on his own.

He died in 1941 and was buried in Kenya, his home for the last years of his life.
7. This famous magician was born Erik Weisz on March 24, 1874. He performed dazzling feats such as dangling upside down in a water tank. He also did some moonlighting on the side ... espionage. By what name is he better known?

Answer: Harry Houdini

At the beginning of his career, Houdini walked into police stations and demanded they lock him up and cuff him. Naturally, this publicity stunt bolstered Houdini's reputation, so much so that he caught the eye of Scotland Yard and British intelligence agencies.

These agencies recruited him to sneak into jail cells throughout Europe and Russia to gather information for them. Houdini agreed to do this only if the agencies in turn agreed to help him in furthering his career. William Melville, head of Scotland Yard, had to get Houdini auditions with London theater managers before the magician consented to do some spying.
8. He was called "the brainiest man in baseball." He started his baseball career with the Brooklyn Dodgers until he was traded to the Chicago White Sox and later other professional teams. Recruited by the U.S. government to spy on the Japanese prior to World War II and the Germans during World War II, name this brainy ballplayer.

Answer: Moe Berg

Morris(Moe)Berg excelled at just about everything he tried. He spoke twelve languages, having graduated from Princeton University with a degree in modern languages. Not content just to play professional baseball, Moe went on to law school and received a law degree in 1930. All this while still playing ball! Good-looking, intelligent and successful, Moe Berg began to mix with the Washington D.C. elite after being traded to play for the Washington Senators.

A big hit on the bleachers and the social scene, he caught the eye of the U.S. government. Recruited to spy on the Japanese in 1934 as part of the American All-Star team, Moe took home movies of Tokyo Harbor, military installations and industrial areas.

In 1944, he was sent on a somewhat dangerous mission to Germany to collect intelligence on Germany's efforts to build an atom bomb. Berg had orders to shoot the lead physicist, Werner Heisenberg, if he thought the scientist was close to developing nuclear weapons. Fortunately, Berg concluded that the Germans were years away from accomplishing this.
9. During World War II, the U.S. operated a second spy agency besides the OSS. It was known as the Pond and dealt with unsavory characters. One of these characters was a Parisian doctor who worked for the Pond as a source for Nazi intelligence. He was actually a serial killer and used his doctor's office to murder his victims. Do you know his name?

Answer: Marcel Petiot

Petiot was a former mental patient who lured his victims with the promise of safe passage to Argentina in exchange for 25,000 francs. His victims, instead, met a gruesome end. He would inject them with cyanide and incinerate the bodies in a pit of quicklime.

The jig was up when the Gestapo picked him up on suspicion that he was using his office for an escape route, the very thing he pretended to do in the first place. He was held for seven months until the police got wind of the bodies in his basement and arrested him again.

When the war ended, he was convicted and guillotined. Petiot was believed to have murdered as many as 63.
10. This flamboyant playwright was already a huge success by the time World War II started. His plays such as "Easy Virtue" and "Private Lives" were very successful. When the war broke out, however, he abandoned his theater interests and set up a propaganda bureau for the British Secret Intelligence Service. Name this playwright whose vapid playboy image hid a formidable memory.

Answer: Noel Coward

Coward was sent over from England to drum up support for the Allied cause. The playwright used his celebrity status to deliver top-secret information to top levels of government, including President Franklin Roosevelt. He actually did his job so well that he allegedly appeared on the Nazi Black List of individuals Hitler wanted killed once Germany invaded England. Coward himself wrote in his diary that "my disguise would be my own reputation as an idiot".
Source: Author nmerr

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
3/28/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us