by Larry Loftis
delirious with joy… dinner at Le Grand Vefour: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 122–23.
April 9, 1946: As with all of her books, Aline’s dates in The Spy Went Dancing are wholly unreliable, some as far off as a year. In Chapter 16, for example, she records a date of April 1947 (p. 122). She writes that she is twenty-three at the time (p. 124), and that Luis has not yet proposed (p. 130). Aline was born on May 22, 1920, which means that she was twenty-six; she’s off on her own age by three years. Similarly, in The End of an Epoch (pp. 49–50) she writes that in April 1947 she was twenty-four—two years off from her actual age. And as for Luis, he had proposed no less than four months earlier, as the engagement was announced by United Press on December 12, 1946, and published in the New York Times the following day. “Aline Griffith Engaged: Former OSS Madrid Aide Fiancee of Ex-Premier’s Grandson,” New York Times, December 13, 1946. April 9, 1946, was a Tuesday and is the most likely date for the planned rendezvous.
Chapter 21: La Tienta
Hans Czernin: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 48. Aline writes that Czernin was a former OSS agent, although his name does not appear in the OSS personnel directory. It’s possible that he could have been an MI6 agent, or simply a source for the OSS.
Eric Erickson: Erickson was the OSS’s most successful agent in Stockholm. See, e.g., George Axelsson, “Swedish ‘Pro-Nazi’ Duped Foe 3 Years,” New York Times, June 3, 1945; William Casey, The Secret War Against Hitler, 40; Farago, Game of the Foxes, 606.
Bauer au Lac—It’s obvious to me: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 123. Interestingly, the Bauer-au-Lac was the hotel where British double agent Dusko Popov holed up immediately after the war while he was looking for Johnny Jebsen (his best friend and German case officer, who was never heard from again after being abducted from Lisbon and cashiered to Berlin on April 30, 1944).
Helga Nehring… Benito Llambí… father: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 70.
They decided she could go in June: Aline’s correspondence (on her personal stationery, showing her address as Marqués del Riscal, 11, Bajo 2, Madrid) to George White on June 3, 1946, confirms the June date. RG 226, Entry A1 224, OSS Personnel Files 1941–1945, Box 294, NARA. On June 26, R. G. Read of the War Department wrote to Aline at the same Madrid address, indicating that she was still in the city. Ibid.
Hendaye… conditions: For excellent summaries of the Franco-Hitler meeting at Hendaye, see Dear and Foot, eds., Oxford Companion to World War II, 1034; Baudot, et al., eds., Historical Encyclopedia of World War II, 431; and Shirer, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, 814.
Franco’s ploy and actions: For details on Franco’s ploy, actions, and true intentions, see Hayes, Wartime Mission in Spain, 297–309; and Eccles, By Safe Hand, 417–18.
rather have had three or four teeth: Malcolm Muggeridge, ed., Ciano’s Diplomatic Papers, 402, cited in Shirer, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, 814.
Spain has refused: Winston Churchill, The Second World War, vol. 3, The Grand Alliance, 11–12.
I was wondering… That’s what you: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 126–27.
tienta …Count of Mayalde: Romanones, History of Pascualete, 10; Spy Went Dancing, 127–28; End of an Epoch, 53. For a general background on the tienta, see Conrad, La Fiesta Brava, 18–19, and Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon, 114, 116.
The bravery of the bull: Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon, 113.
size from his father… heart from his mother: Conrad, La Fiesta Brava, 18; Conrad, Fun While It Lasted, 128.
heifers… trickier to fight: Conrad, La Fiesta Brava, 19.
Manolete: His real name was Manuel Rodríguez: Ibid., 4; Conrad, Matador, 229.
undriven nail: Conrad, Matador, 61.
face was long: Manolete’s gaunt face, melancholy eyes, and deep scars are perhaps best seen on Barnaby Conrad’s excellent drawing of him in Fun While It Lasted, 111.
Would you like: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 128. In all cases of Aline’s retelling of the story, she wrote that her tienta exhibition was with a bull calf (History of Pascualete, 10; Spy Went Dancing, 129; End of an Epoch, 53), but this would not have been the case, as explained in the text (males never saw a cape or man on foot until their fight in the bull ring).
A bullfighter is a dancer: Conrad, La Fiesta Brava, 48–49.
Aline, what are you: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 129.
horn ripped through her jacket… airborne: Ibid.; End of an Epoch, 53. In Aline’s telling of the story in The History of Pascualete (p. 10), she was not thrown by the calf, but trampled. In addition, in this version of the story she had kneeled for the second pass, imitating the pases de rodilla that she had seen bullfighters perform.
Chapter 22: The Bookkeeper
What a silly thing… You’d better stop: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 129–30; History of Pascualete, 10; End of an Epoch, 53.
A week went by… golf: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 53.
next post would be in Prague: Romanones, “The OSS in Spain,” 127; Spy Went Dancing, 133 (“Czechoslovakia”).
This time my work: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 133.
Why is Angustias… tonight: Ibid., 134.
Raimundo Lanza: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 54; Spy Went Dancing, 135.
But I thought… No, I prefer: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 135.
Aline, I would like… No, I told him: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 54; Spy Went Dancing, 135–36.
My son says… I cannot afford: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 136.
the home on the Castellana: In The Spy Went Dancing (p. 137) Aline states that the Romanones palace was “along the Castellana… number 36.” However, the correct address appears to be closer to Calle Rafael Calvo, 39, which sits on the corner of Rafael Calvo and Castellana, and is directly across from the American embassy, as Aline described in The End of an Epoch (p. 55). See Chapter 8 and accompanying notes.
Do not be frightened… My grandfather is accustomed: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 55–57; Spy Went Dancing, 137–38.
Don’t worry: Ibid.
Quien es… Bueno …Now give me: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 139; End of an Epoch, 57.
Luis, your marriage… I’m getting married… he’s no kind of: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 140–41.
cabled Frank Ryan in New York: In The End of an Epoch (p. 58), Aline recalled cabling Ryan in Washington, but he was running BACC from New York, and his business address during this time was 36 Wall Street.
Forty-eight hours later… Ryan: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 141; End of an Epoch, 58.
Chapter 23: Cortando la Coleta
I have come here… Here is your ticket: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 59. In Aline’s original quote she has Ryan saying that she had served “three years in wartime activities,” but apparently this was an oversight. Aline’s time with the OSS was from November 1, 1943, to August 15, 1945, or the better part of two years. As such, I have changed her “three” to “two.” Ibid.
Prague: Romanones, “The OSS in Spain,” 127.
cortando la coleta: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 148. For background on the saying, see Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon, 398; Conrad, La Fiesta Brava, 178.
Juanito’s father: Conrad, La Fiesta Brava, 27.
You are unaware: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 60.
Think this over: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 141.
He and Princess Agatha were getting married: In The Spy Went Dancing (second page of photo section, bottom) Aline records that Edmundo and Maria Agatha were married in October 1945, which is off by some ten months. See “Disney Iberian Agent Marries Princess of Ratibor and Corvey,” New York Times, August 3, 1946, indicating that. The Times article erred, however, in declaring that Edmundo’s father had been a foreign minister of Mexico, that Edmundo had received a doctorate, and that he had been an associate professor of history, none of which was true. See Huddleston, Edmundo, 86. Inexplicably, Aline also recorded the wrong date for her own wedding on the following page, citing it as “August 1947,�
�� when her wedding date was June 26, 1947. See “U.S. Girl Weds Count: War Department Employee Bride of Wealthy Spanish Nobleman,” New York Times, June 27, 1947.
They wed at the San Jerónimo: “Disney Iberian Agent Marries Princess of Ratibor and Corvey,” New York Times, August 3, 1946.
Edmundo: Huddleston, Edmundo, 89.
mother… dress… tiara… mother had died… That, you will have: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 142; End of an Epoch, 61–62.
tradition… But Luis… I’d like a ring: Ibid.
Luis, what about the woman’s… Ahhhh, si: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 62–63; Spy Went Dancing, 142–43.
the New York Times made it: “Aline Griffith Engaged: Former OSS Madrid Aide Fiancee of Ex-Premier’s Grandson,” New York Times, December 13, 1946.
Preposterous… You, a spy: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 146.
Balenciaga’s… somebody: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 61–62.
We will decide later: Ibid., 63.
Isabel, the Duchess of Tamames: Ibid., 66; Spy Went Dancing, 146.
My great-grandfather… run-of-the-mill: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 64–66.
June 26, 1947… Church of San Fermín: As reported in the New York Times the following day, February 27.
she was trembling… Bill, she whispered: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 147; End of an Epoch, 68–69.
Benito Llambí… revolver: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 69.
Chapter 24: Countess Quintanilla
Luis’s friends… When they spoke to him: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 69–70.
Before we go… Aline, I have attended: Ibid., 70; Spy Went Dancing, 147–48.
Eva Perón… Querida, take my advice: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 148–49; End of an Epoch, 71–72.
What a pleasure: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 74.
When we were children: Ibid., 76–77.
The day the war… I loved my grandfather… Exactly nineteen: Ibid., 120–25.
We were too young… chekas: Ibid., 127.
Manolete… Linares… August 28: Conrad, La Fiesta Brava, 2; Sam Pope Brewer, “Manolete, 30, Dies After Goring by Bull; All Spain Mourns Her Greatest Matador,” New York Times, August 30, 1947; Romanones, End of an Epoch, 77.
Malo—bad… Stay away from this one: Conrad, La Fiesta Brava, 11–12.
The bullfight is sometimes… bullfight fans go: Ibid., 29.
What you are saying… I will make a: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 78.
world-wide coverage: “World Trade Body Ready to Function,” New York Times, September 24, 1947.
Robert Dunev… Philippines… the CIA’s first: Dunev, Spy Reminisces, 71.
Chapter 25: Living the Dream
the New York Times article: See “World Trade Body Ready to Function,” New York Times, September 24, 1947.
Did WCC conduct any type: In Wild Bill Donovan (p. 799), Anthony Cave Brown concludes that World Commerce Corporation was not conducting espionage, but was “enlightened capitalism’s answer to Communist imperialism.”
he met with: Ibid., 797.
In our view the restoration… The financial resources: Correspondence of Frank Ryan to General Lucius Clay, October 16, 1947, cited in Brown, Wild Bill Donovan, 865.
November… Queen Elizabeth: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 79. See also correspondence from Aline’s father, William F. Griffith, to the War Department (which was trying to reach her to finalize Aline’s OSS account) on November 1, 1947, wherein he indicated she would be traveling to New York aboard the Queen Mary, arriving on November 9 or 10. RG 226, Entry A1 224, OSS Personnel Files 1941–1945, Box 294, NARA.
Jack Warner: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 81–82. Aline claims that Elsa Maxwell seated Luis next to Grace Kelly, “the most famous movie star of the moment,” at this first party on November 12, 1947. The meeting here seems unlikely since November 12 was Kelly’s eighteenth birthday, and she would not appear in her first movie, Henry Hathaway’s Fourteen Hours, until 1951.
Duke and Dutchess of Windsor… El Morocco… Stork Club: Ibid., 82.
Americans are always running… You really spent: Ibid., 85–86.
I saw the sign: Ibid., 84.
Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall… June 21: Ibid., 93–94.
Bueno, bueno: Ibid., 99.
father’s green eyes and light brown hair: In Aline’s The Spy Went Dancing (pp. 52, 160), Luis has green eyes. In The End of an Epoch (p. 257), however, he has blue eyes. In all of her books she states that his hair was blond. Color photos of Luis in the Getty Images archives reveals that his eyes were, in fact, green, and that his hair was brown.
Àlvaro… vegetables: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 163.
Archibald Roosevelt… CIA: Ibid., 503. See also note below regarding what she did for the CIA.
The work she did for the CIA: In 2019 I requested from the CIA any and all files on Aline Griffith, Robert Dunev, and Frank Ryan through the Freedom of Information Act. Several months later I received a short letter stating that all OSS records had been turned over to the NARA. I had not requested their “OSS records,” of course, but that was the response. On a prior request for another operative, I was told that I needed to supply a death certificate for the individual before they would look into the matter, notwithstanding that he would have been 115 years old if he had been alive.
World Commerce Corporation… $16.1 million: Brown, Wild Bill Donovan, 799.
1963 article: Bernadine Morris, “A Well-Dressed Countess Takes Fashion Role Lightly,” New York Times, October 22, 1963.
Life magazine: “Madrid’s Best-Dressed U.S. Beauty,” Life, October 9, 1964, 85–86.
I’m so excited… I’ve never been: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 195–96; End of an Epoch, 268–69.
But she had such: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 208.
May 1970… Marsha Gayle… Ryan: Charlotte Curtis, “Now Even in May, There’s Just No Rest for the Partygoer,” New York Times, May 10, 1970.
Chapter 26: Twin Souls
Casey… apartments in Washington: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 504.
honorary doctorate: Ibid., 407, photo preceding page 439.
diamond bracelet and wrist watch: Ibid., 514–15.
I felt destroyed: Ibid., 516–17.
If it is for love: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from the Underground, 669.
The great sadness… grandchildren: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 516, 518.
1992 article: Romanones, “The OSS in Spain,” 122–28.
Hemingway’s bullfighters… all the way up: Hemingway, Sun Also Rises, 9.
Epilogue: The Rest of the Story
Juanito Belmonte… married… heart attack: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 43.
It was a sad shock: Ibid.
Barnaby Conrad… It’s rather difficult: Harvey Breit, “Talk with Barnaby Conrad,” New York Times, July 6, 1952.
Steinbeck… Faulkner… I’m sending you: Conrad, Matador, 223, back cover.
Noël dahling… Gored but never: Conrad, Fun While It Lasted, foreword.
Robert Dunev… Manila… Madrid… Lima… Buenos Aires: Dunev, Spy Reminisces, 71, 74, 78–87; interview with Michael Dunev, February 7, 2020.
Gloria von Fürstenberg… penniless: See the questions posed to Gloria by Portuguese authorities on October 3, 1944, and her written responses, at RG 226, Entry 124, Box 14, NARA. See also Charles Grey’s summary report to C. H. van Brink dated September 30, 1944, as well as Gloria’s X-2 file card (“Emphasized that she must join these relatives within the very near future as she is virtually penniless”). Ibid.
Ahmed Fakhry… checked in to the hotel on August 28: See Pacheco, ed., Hotel Palácio, 294–95.
Gemini… $195 million: See Josh Baumgard, “Tour the $195M Manalapan Mansion That Just Publicly Listed for the First Time,” miami.curbed.com, January 25, 2016.
Sotheby’s… $115 million: See the listing at https://www.sothebyshomes.com/palmbeach/sales/0077253.
the Guinness estate in Epalinges, Switzerland: The
estate is called the Villa Zanroc and is located at Chemin de Ballègue 58.
Prince Max… El Quexigal… Sotheby’s… Grupo Eulen: “Los Propietarios de ‘El Quexigal’ Quieren Que el Tesoro Permanezca en España,” El País, May 20, 1979; Jorge Piedrahita, “El Quexigal: Finca de Reyes y Nobles Desde Inmemorial,” July 30, 2010, https://jorgepiedrahita.blogia.com/2010/073001-el-quexigal-finca-de-reyes-y-nobles-desde-inmemorial.php; “El Quexigal,” nuestroincondecebreros.es/pagina/6.html.
Edmundo Lassalle… dying in London in 1966… CIA… KGB: Romanones, Spy Went Dancing, 158, 244, 272–74, 314–15.
August 1, 1974… divorced Emilie… Roy Disney: Huddleston, Edmundo, 84, 90, 94, 106. See also Lassalle’s obituary in the New York Times, August 15, 1974.
Nancy Norman… Patricia Rinehart… International Fund for Monuments: Huddleston, Edmundo, 102–3, 106.
doctors say my condition: Ibid., 105.
Edmundo took his own life: Ibid., 106. See also Lassalle’s obituary in the New York Times, August 15, 1974.
Mellon… cattle ranch… Rimrock: Glenn Fowler, “W. L. Mellon, Humanitarian, Is Dead at 79,” New York Times, August 5, 1989. See also Mellon’s home address on his OSS personnel pay cards at RG 226, Entry 127, Box 1, NARA.
Mellon… Haiti… Albert Schweitzer Hospital: Glenn Fowler, “W. L. Mellon, Humanitarian, Is Dead at 79,” New York Times, August 5, 1989.
1951… ten million units of penicillin: Romanones, End of an Epoch, 164, 167.
Pierre… Francois Ferronière… 333: Romanones, Spy Wore Red, 294.
The man I call: Ibid., ix.
Gregory Thomas… Chanel… Masarkytown: “H. Gregory Thomas, Chanel Executive, 82,” New York Times, October 10, 1990.
Ryan… Stettinius retired… 1950… Alfred V. Du Pont: “A. V. Du Pont in Post Left by Stettinius,” New York Times, January 26, 1950.
