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{{short description|Danish newspaper reporter and gossip columnist}}
{{short description|Danish newspaper reporter and gossip columnist (1913–1973)}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Inga Arvad
| name = Inga Arvad
| image = File:IngaArvad.jpeg
| image = File:IngaArvad.jpeg
| caption =
| caption =
| birth_name = Inga Marie Arvad Petersen
| birth_name = Inga Marie Arvad Petersen
| birth_date = 6 October 1913<ref name="nat">Inga Marie Arvad in ''California, Federal Naturalization Records, 1843-1999''</ref>
| birth_date = 6 October 1913<ref name="nat">Inga Marie Arvad in ''California, Federal Naturalization Records, 1843-1999''</ref>
| birth_place = [[Copenhagen, Denmark]]
| birth_place = [[Copenhagen, Denmark]]
| death_date = {{dda|1973|12|12|1913|10|6|df=y}}
| death_date = {{dda|1973|12|12|1913|10|6|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Nogales, Arizona]], U.S.
| death_place = [[Nogales, Arizona]], U.S.
| spouse = {{marriage|Kamal Abdel Nabi|1931|end=divorced}}<br>{{marriage|[[Paul Fejos]]|1936|1942|end=divorce}}<br/>{{marriage|[[Tim McCoy]]|1946}}
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Kamal Abdel Nabi|1931|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Paul Fejos]]|1936|1942|end=divorce}}
* {{marriage|[[Tim McCoy]]|1947}}
}}
| partner = Robert Boothby (1945&ndash;1945)
| children = 2
| children = 2
}}
}}


'''Inga Marie Arvad Petersen''' (6 October 1913 &ndash; 12 December 1973) was a Danish-American journalist noted for being a guest of [[Adolf Hitler]] at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] and for her romantic relationship with [[John F. Kennedy]] from 1941 and 1942. The juxtaposition of these facts led to suspicions during [[World War II]] that she was a Nazi spy. Secret U.S. investigations uncovered no such evidence, and her past did not harm her professional life or social standing in the United States. She was a motion picture writer for [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] in 1945<ref name=interview/> and a Hollywood gossip columnist,<ref name=three/> and from the late 1940s until her death she was the wife of wealthy cowboy actor and military officer [[Tim McCoy]].
'''Inga Marie Arvad Petersen''' (6 October 1913 &ndash; 12 December 1973) was a [[Danish-American]] [[journalist]] who was a guest of [[Adolf Hitler]] at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] and also had a romantic relationship with [[John F. Kennedy]] in 1941 and 1942. The juxtaposition of these facts led to suspicions during [[World War II]] that she was a Nazi spy. Secret U.S. investigations uncovered no such evidence, and her past did not harm her professional life or social standing in the United States. She was a motion picture writer for [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] in 1945<ref name=interview/> and a Hollywood gossip columnist,<ref name=three/> and from the late 1940s until her death, she was the wife of wealthy cowboy actor and military officer [[Tim McCoy]].


==Career==
==Career==
Arvad was the 1931 beauty queen selected by the Danish newspaper ''[[B.T. (tabloid)|Berlingske Tidende]]''.<ref name="BT">{{cite news|author=Bjørn Westergaard|title=B.T. fandt de smukke piger|url=http://www.bt.dk/nyheder/artikel:aid=456954:fid=100300536|publisher=[[B.T. (tabloid)|B.T.]]|date=2006-06-24|accessdate=2006-11-03|language=Danish}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Arvad attended the [[Columbia School of Journalism]] in New York, and then moved to Washington D.C., where she worked as a columnist at the Washington Times-Herald. She met John F. Kennedy in Washington through his sister [[Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington|Kathleen]], who was a reporter at the same newspaper. Arvad was said to have a good "intuitive style of writing" by her editor.<ref>Dallek, Robert (2003), ''An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963'', p. 83</ref>
Arvad was the 1931 beauty queen selected by the Danish newspaper ''[[B.T. (tabloid)|Berlingske Tidende]]''.<ref name="BT">{{cite news|author=Bjørn Westergaard|title=B.T. fandt de smukke piger|url=http://www.bt.dk/nyheder/artikel:aid=456954:fid=100300536|publisher=[[B.T. (tabloid)|B.T.]]|date=2006-06-24|accessdate=2006-11-03|language=Danish}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Arvad attended the [[Columbia School of Journalism]] in New York and then moved to Washington D.C., where she worked as a columnist at the Washington Times-Herald. She met John F. Kennedy in Washington through his sister [[Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington|Kathleen]], who was a reporter at the same newspaper. Arvad was said to have a good "intuitive style of writing" by her editor.<ref>Dallek, Robert (2003), ''An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963'', p. 83</ref>


In 1935, as a freelance reporter,<ref name="Matthews, Jack Kennedy">Matthews, Chris. ''Jack Kennedy'' (2011) p. 44, {{ISBN|978-1-4516-3508-9}}</ref> she interviewed Hitler, and this connection would color the rest of her life. She is thought to be among the few Scandinavians who interviewed Hitler.<ref name=interview>''British Conference Delegate Woos and Wins Film Writer'', [[Los Angeles Times]], May 22, 1945, p. A3.</ref> He granted her two<ref name=arvad/> or, perhaps, three interviews.<ref name=three>''Kennedy Affair With Spy Suspect Reported'', Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1976, p. B8.</ref> Arvad had scooped her colleagues earlier by reporting that [[Hermann Göring]] was soon to marry German actress [[Emmy Göring|Emmy Sonnemann]].<ref name="Matthews, Jack Kennedy"/>
In 1935, as a freelance reporter,<ref name="Matthews, Jack Kennedy">Matthews, Chris. ''Jack Kennedy'' (2011) p. 44, {{ISBN|978-1-4516-3508-9}}</ref> she interviewed Hitler, and this connection would color the rest of her life. She is thought to be among the few Scandinavians who interviewed Hitler.<ref name=interview>''British Conference Delegate Woos and Wins Film Writer'', [[Los Angeles Times]], May 22, 1945, p. A3.</ref> He granted her two<ref name=arvad/> or, perhaps, three interviews.<ref name=three>''Kennedy Affair With Spy Suspect Reported'', Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1976, p. B8.</ref> Arvad had scooped her colleagues earlier by reporting that [[Hermann Göring]] was soon to marry German actress [[Emmy Göring|Emmy Sonnemann]].<ref name="Matthews, Jack Kennedy"/>


She was invited to the wedding and met important Nazis. Through [[Joseph Goebbels]] she secured an interview with Hitler.<ref name="McCoy 1973">''Wife of Actor Tim McCoy Dies of Cancer'', Los Angeles Times, December 14, 1973, p. OCA4.</ref> In her article, a description of Hitler was later translated into English as: "You immediately like him. He seems lonely. The eyes, showing a kind heart, stare right at you. They sparkle with force."<ref name="BT"/> Arvad was Hitler's guest at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]], which led to her being investigated by the FBI in America as a potential spy.<ref name="Matthews, Jack Kennedy"/> Hitler had told her that she was a perfect example of Nordic beauty. A photograph of her with Hitler surfaced and the FBI followed her, finding out that she was dating an American ensign, John F. Kennedy, son of the former U.S. ambassador to Britain. Kennedy's prominence led only to greater scrutiny of Arvad and suspicions about her that were never substantiated. Though she wrote only society news and never embraced Hitler's politics, the connection to him shadowed her professional life.
She was invited to the wedding and met important Nazis. Through [[Joseph Goebbels]], she secured an interview with Hitler.<ref name="McCoy 1973">''Wife of Actor Tim McCoy Dies of Cancer'', Los Angeles Times, December 14, 1973, p. OCA4.</ref> In her article, a description of Hitler was later translated into English: "You immediately like him. He seems lonely. The eyes, showing a kind heart, stare right at you. They sparkle with force."<ref name="BT"/> Arvad was Hitler's guest at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]], which led to her being investigated by the FBI in America as a potential spy.<ref name="Matthews, Jack Kennedy"/> Hitler had told her that she was a perfect example of Nordic beauty. A photograph of her with Hitler surfaced, and the FBI followed her, finding out that she was dating an American ensign, John F. Kennedy, son of the former U.S. ambassador to Britain. Kennedy's prominence led only to greater scrutiny of Arvad and suspicions about her that were never substantiated. Though she wrote only society news and never embraced Hitler's politics, the connection to him shadowed her professional life.


== Romance with John F. Kennedy and FBI investigation ==
== Romance with John F. Kennedy and FBI investigation ==
In November 1941, while John F. Kennedy served as an ensign in the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Intelligence, he and Arvad began a romantic relationship.<ref name="BT"/> Arvad was already being followed by the FBI because she was a resident alien. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had concerns that she was a German spy given her personal contact with Adolf Hitler. When the FBI discovered that the "Ensign Jack" who had been visiting Arvad was, in fact, Jack Kennedy, they extended their investigation through wiretaps.<ref name="Matthews, Jack Kennedy"/> There was no evidence found to show Arvad, who was still married to [[Paul Fejos]], guilty of "any wrongdoing". But that did not deter Hoover's FBI from the continued use of listening devices when Arvad and Kennedy were together.<ref>Hersh, Seymour (1997), ''The Dark Side of Camelot'', p. 83</ref>
In November 1941, while John F. Kennedy served as an ensign in the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Intelligence, he and Arvad began a romantic relationship.<ref name="BT"/> The FBI was already following Arvad because she was a resident alien. FBI Director [[J. Edgar Hoover]] expressed concerns that she was a German spy, given her contact with Adolf Hitler. When the FBI discovered that the "Ensign Jack" who had been visiting Arvad was, in fact, John F. Kennedy, they extended their investigation through wiretaps.<ref name="Matthews, Jack Kennedy"/> No evidence was found to show Arvad, who was still married to [[Paul Fejos]], was guilty of "any wrongdoing". However, that did not deter Hoover's FBI from using listening devices when Arvad and Kennedy were together.<ref>Hersh, Seymour (1997), ''[[The Dark Side of Camelot]]'', p. 83</ref>


Kennedy's superior officer at the time, Captain Seymour A. D. Hunter, was quoted as saying that the U.S. Navy looked at Arvad as similar to [[Mata Hari]]. They thought she was using Kennedy to find out all she could about what was going on in the Navy Department. Captain Howard Klingman, then assistant director of the Office of Naval Intelligence, called Hunter into his office. Hunter was told that Kennedy needed to be put out of the Navy. Hunter pointed out that the situation was delicate because of [[Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.|Joseph P. Kennedy]]'s having been United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. However, he believed the young naval intelligence officer was not privy to information that would be "more than a bit embarrassing". Hunter advised that Kennedy be transferred to a seagoing unit.<ref name=three/>
Kennedy's superior officer, Captain Seymour A. D. Hunter, said that the U.S. Navy viewed Arvad as similar to [[Mata Hari]]. They thought she was using Kennedy to find out all she could about what was happening in the Navy Department. Captain Howard Klingman, then assistant director of the Office of Naval Intelligence, called Hunter into his office. Hunter was told that Kennedy needed to be put out of the Navy. Hunter pointed out that the situation was delicate because of Kennedy's father, [[Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.|Joseph P. Kennedy]], having been United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. However, he believed the young naval intelligence officer was not privy to information that would be "more than a bit embarrassing". Hunter advised that Kennedy be transferred to a seagoing unit.<ref name=three/>


Kennedy was reassigned to a desk job in South Carolina in January 1942, and the relationship with Arvad ended after a few brief encounters. Kennedy later stated he thought Hoover might have had something to do with his transfer.<ref>Matthews, Chris. ''Jack Kennedy'' (2011) pp. 44, 45</ref> Kennedy and Arvad knew they were being followed, and in the FBI transcripts of their encounters they sometimes spoke to "whoever is listening".{{citation needed|date=October 2012}} In the end, Inga reflected on her time with Kennedy as a "passing affair".<ref>Dallek, Robert (2003), ''An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963'', pp. 83, 84</ref>
Kennedy was reassigned to a desk job in South Carolina in January 1942, and the relationship with Arvad ended after a few brief encounters. Kennedy later stated he thought Hoover might have had something to do with his transfer.<ref>Matthews, Chris. ''Jack Kennedy'' (2011) pp. 44, 45</ref> Arvad later reflected on her time with Kennedy as a "passing affair".<ref>Dallek, Robert (2003), ''An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963'', pp. 83, 84</ref>


==Personal life==
== Marriages and romances ==
⚫
Arvad's first husband was Kamal Abdel Nabi, whom she married in 1931 when she was 17. Her second marriage was to Hungarian film director [[Paul Fejos]], whom she married on 28 January 1936 in Copenhagen, Denmark.<ref>Naturalization Record 123123. California, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1888-1991. Petitioner: Inga Marie Arvad, Petition Number: 123123, Petition Date: 5 Mar 1945, Petition Place: Los Angeles, California, USA. National Archives at Riverside; Riverside, California; Petitions For Naturalization, U.S. District Court For the Central District of California (Los Angeles), 1940-1991; NAI Number: 594890; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21.</ref> She appeared in two Danish films, ''Storm Varsel'' and a Fejos-directed 1934 film ''[[Flight from the Millions]]''. She was still married to Fejos when she traveled to the United States and during her affair with Kennedy. She obtained a divorce from Fejos in June 1942.<ref>Hersh, Seymour (1997), ''The Dark Side of Camelot'', p. 84</ref>


Arvad became a naturalized citizen of the United States on 5 March 1945.<ref> Naturalization Record 123123</ref>
⚫
Arvad's first husband was Kamal Abdel Nabi, whom she married in 1931, when she was 17. Her second husband was Hungarian film director [[Paul Fejos]]. She appeared in two Danish films, ''Storm Varsel'' and a Fejos-directed 1934 film she starred in, ''[[Flight from the Millions]]''. She was still married to Fejos when she traveled to the United States, as well as during her affair with Kennedy. She obtained a divorce from Fejos in June 1942.<ref>Hersh, Seymour (1997), ''The Dark Side of Camelot'', p. 84</ref>


She became engaged to [[Robert Boothby]], a British member of Parliament in May 1945. He met Arvad in Los Angeles while he was with a British delegation to a conference in San Francisco, California.<ref name=interview/> Boothby sent her a 20-page letter pleading with her to marry him after he returned to England. Arvad accepted, but then broke off the engagement because of a compliment Hitler once paid her as being "the perfect [[Nordic theory|Nordic]] beauty" and the effect it might have on Boothby's political career. Arvad commented that she despised Hitler's policies and only saw him on the two occasions of her interviews. However, the English press made much of her audience with him and Boothby was soon to be seeking re-election.<ref name=arvad>''Compliment By Hitler Ends Romance With M.P.'', Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1945, p. 1.</ref> Arvad was suspected of being the mistress of [[Axel Wenner-Gren]], a Swedish industrialist on the U.S. State Department blacklist. No proof of such a relationship has surfaced.<ref name=three/>
She became engaged to [[Robert Boothby]], a British member of Parliament, in May 1945. He met Arvad in Los Angeles while he was with a British delegation to a conference in San Francisco, California.<ref name=interview/> Boothby sent her a 20-page letter pleading with her to marry him after he returned to England. Arvad accepted but then broke off the engagement because of a compliment Hitler once paid her as being "the perfect [[Nordic theory|Nordic]] beauty" and the effect it might have on Boothby's political career. Arvad commented that she despised Hitler's policies and only saw him on the two occasions of her interviews; however, the English press made much of her audience with him and Boothby was soon to be seeking re-election.<ref name=arvad>'' Compliment By Hitler Ends Romance With M.P.'', Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1945, p. 1.</ref> Arvad was suspected of being the mistress of [[Axel Wenner-Gren]], a Swedish industrialist on the U.S. State Department blocklist. No proof of such a relationship has surfaced.<ref name=three/>


⚫
Arvad married American actor [[Tim McCoy]] on 14 Feb 1947 in Yonkers, Westchester County, New York; yet McCoy claimed they were married earlier.<ref>New York State Marriage Index. New York State Department of Health; Albany, New Yor, USA. Certificate Number: 28534, Groom: Timothy J McCoy, Bride: Inga Arvad, Marriage Date: 14 Feb 1947, Marriage Place: Yonkers, New York, USA, New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA.</ref><ref>"Tim McCoy And Danish Beauty 'Married For Quite A While'", The Baltimore Sun, February 25, 1947, p. 13.</ref><ref>''Tim McCoy Tells Of Three-Month Secret Marriage'', Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, February 25, 1947, p. 7.</ref><ref name="McCoy, T. 1988 p. 260">McCoy, T. (1988). ''Tim McCoy Remembers the West''. Bison Books, p. 260. {{ISBN|0-8032-8155-2}}.</ref> They met when McCoy was making a film short shot on a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] reservation. McCoy and Arvad resided on a {{convert|127|acre|km2|adj=on}} estate in [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania]] named Dolington Manor, also known as the Benjamin Taylor Homestead.<ref name="McCoy, T. 1988 p. 260"/> McCoy moved there after selling his Wyoming ranch, the Eagle's Nest,<ref>McCoy, T. (1988). ''Tim McCoy Remembers the West'', p. 224.</ref> where he had lived for 37 years. Arvad and McCoy had two sons, Ronald and Terence. When their first child was born in August 1947, McCoy was 56. He had three children<ref>McCoy, T. (1988). ''Tim McCoy Remembers the West'', p. xiii.</ref> from his previous marriage to Agnes Miller, daughter of actress [[Bijou Heron]].<ref>''Tim McCoy Announces Birth of Son'', Los Angeles Times, August 14, 1947, p. 4.</ref>
Arvad married American actor [[Tim McCoy]] in 1946 and became a U.S. citizen.<ref name="McCoy, T. 1988 p. 260">McCoy, T. (1988). ''Tim McCoy Remembers the West''. Bison Books, p. 260. {{ISBN|0-8032-8155-2}}.</ref>


⚫
In January 1946, [[David O. Selznick]] sent Arvad on a tour of 25 to 30 American cities to promote ''[[Duel in the Sun (film)|Duel in the Sun]]''. She was accompanied by [[Anita Colby]], [[Florence Pritchett]], and Laura Wells.<ref>''Gold Rush Spurs Opus; New Draftee Heroized'', Los Angeles Times, January 18, 1946, p. 9.</ref>
⚫
She and McCoy had two sons, Ronald and Terence. Tim McCoy met Inga Arvad when he was making a film short shot on an [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]] reservation. McCoy and Arvad resided on a {{convert|127|acre|km2|adj=on}} estate in [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania]] named Dolington Manor, also known as the Benjamin Taylor Homestead<ref>[[Benjamin Taylor Homestead]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=January 2018}}.<ref name="McCoy, T. 1988 p. 260"/> McCoy moved there after selling his Wyoming ranch, the Eagle's Nest,<ref>McCoy, T. (1988). ''Tim McCoy Remembers the West'', p. 224.</ref> where he had lived for 37 years. When their first child was born in August 1947, McCoy was 56. He had three children<ref>McCoy, T. (1988). ''Tim McCoy Remembers the West'', p. xiii.</ref> by a previous marriage.<ref>''Tim McCoy Announces Birth of Son'', Los Angeles Times, August 14, 1947, p. 4.</ref>

⚫
In January 1946 [[David O. Selznick]] sent Arvad on a tour of 25 to 30 American cities to promote ''[[Duel in the Sun (film)|Duel in the Sun]]''. She was accompanied by [[Anita Colby]], [[Florence Pritchett]], and Laura Wells.<ref>''Gold Rush Spurs Opus; New Draftee Heroized'', Los Angeles Times, January 18, 1946, p. 9.</ref>


==Death==
==Death==
Inga Arvad died of cancer on a ranch near Nogales, Arizona in 1973. She was survived by her husband (McCoy) and their two sons.<ref name="McCoy 1973"/> She was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Saginaw, Michigan.
Inga Arvad died of cancer on a ranch near Nogales, Arizona, in 1973. <ref>Obituary: ''Inga McCoy, Wife Of Cowboy Actor'', Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida, USA), December 16, 1973, p. 63.</ref><ref>Obituary: ''Actor Tim McCoy's Wife Cremated Without Rites", Valley News (Van Nuys, California, USA), December 16, 1973, p.49.</ref> Her husband and their two sons survived her.<ref name="McCoy 1973"/> She was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Saginaw, Michigan.


== References ==
== References ==
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* http://historyplace.com/kennedy/warhero.htm
* http://historyplace.com/kennedy/warhero.htm
* http://lists.village.virginia.edu/lists_archive/sixties-l/0562.html
* http://lists.village.virginia.edu/lists_archive/sixties-l/0562.html

==External links==
* {{Find a Grave|22456735}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1973 deaths]]
[[Category:1973 deaths]]
[[Category:Danish women writers]]
[[Category:Danish women journalists]]
[[Category:Danish women journalists]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Arizona]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Arizona]]
[[Category:20th-century Danish journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century Danish journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century Danish women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Danish women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Danish writers]]
[[Category:Danish beauty pageant winners]]
[[Category:Danish beauty pageant winners]]
[[Category:20th-century journalists]]
[[Category:Danish emigrants to the United States]]

Latest revision as of 20:12, 7 September 2024

Inga Arvad
Born
Inga Marie Arvad Petersen

6 October 1913[1]
Copenhagen, Denmark
Died12 December 1973(1973-12-12) (aged 60)
Nogales, Arizona, U.S.
Spouses
Kamal Abdel Nabi
​
​
(m. 1931, divorced)​
​
​
(m. 1936; div. 1942)​
​
(m. 1947)​
Children2

Inga Marie Arvad Petersen (6 October 1913 – 12 December 1973) was a Danish-American journalist who was a guest of Adolf Hitler at the 1936 Summer Olympics and also had a romantic relationship with John F. Kennedy in 1941 and 1942. The juxtaposition of these facts led to suspicions during World War II that she was a Nazi spy. Secret U.S. investigations uncovered no such evidence, and her past did not harm her professional life or social standing in the United States. She was a motion picture writer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1945[2] and a Hollywood gossip columnist,[3] and from the late 1940s until her death, she was the wife of wealthy cowboy actor and military officer Tim McCoy.

Career

[edit]

Arvad was the 1931 beauty queen selected by the Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende.[4] Arvad attended the Columbia School of Journalism in New York and then moved to Washington D.C., where she worked as a columnist at the Washington Times-Herald. She met John F. Kennedy in Washington through his sister Kathleen, who was a reporter at the same newspaper. Arvad was said to have a good "intuitive style of writing" by her editor.[5]

In 1935, as a freelance reporter,[6] she interviewed Hitler, and this connection would color the rest of her life. She is thought to be among the few Scandinavians who interviewed Hitler.[2] He granted her two[7] or, perhaps, three interviews.[3] Arvad had scooped her colleagues earlier by reporting that Hermann Göring was soon to marry German actress Emmy Sonnemann.[6]

She was invited to the wedding and met important Nazis. Through Joseph Goebbels, she secured an interview with Hitler.[8] In her article, a description of Hitler was later translated into English: "You immediately like him. He seems lonely. The eyes, showing a kind heart, stare right at you. They sparkle with force."[4] Arvad was Hitler's guest at the 1936 Summer Olympics, which led to her being investigated by the FBI in America as a potential spy.[6] Hitler had told her that she was a perfect example of Nordic beauty. A photograph of her with Hitler surfaced, and the FBI followed her, finding out that she was dating an American ensign, John F. Kennedy, son of the former U.S. ambassador to Britain. Kennedy's prominence led only to greater scrutiny of Arvad and suspicions about her that were never substantiated. Though she wrote only society news and never embraced Hitler's politics, the connection to him shadowed her professional life.

Romance with John F. Kennedy and FBI investigation

[edit]

In November 1941, while John F. Kennedy served as an ensign in the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Intelligence, he and Arvad began a romantic relationship.[4] The FBI was already following Arvad because she was a resident alien. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover expressed concerns that she was a German spy, given her contact with Adolf Hitler. When the FBI discovered that the "Ensign Jack" who had been visiting Arvad was, in fact, John F. Kennedy, they extended their investigation through wiretaps.[6] No evidence was found to show Arvad, who was still married to Paul Fejos, was guilty of "any wrongdoing". However, that did not deter Hoover's FBI from using listening devices when Arvad and Kennedy were together.[9]

Kennedy's superior officer, Captain Seymour A. D. Hunter, said that the U.S. Navy viewed Arvad as similar to Mata Hari. They thought she was using Kennedy to find out all she could about what was happening in the Navy Department. Captain Howard Klingman, then assistant director of the Office of Naval Intelligence, called Hunter into his office. Hunter was told that Kennedy needed to be put out of the Navy. Hunter pointed out that the situation was delicate because of Kennedy's father, Joseph P. Kennedy, having been United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. However, he believed the young naval intelligence officer was not privy to information that would be "more than a bit embarrassing". Hunter advised that Kennedy be transferred to a seagoing unit.[3]

Kennedy was reassigned to a desk job in South Carolina in January 1942, and the relationship with Arvad ended after a few brief encounters. Kennedy later stated he thought Hoover might have had something to do with his transfer.[10] Arvad later reflected on her time with Kennedy as a "passing affair".[11]

Personal life

[edit]

Arvad's first husband was Kamal Abdel Nabi, whom she married in 1931 when she was 17. Her second marriage was to Hungarian film director Paul Fejos, whom she married on 28 January 1936 in Copenhagen, Denmark.[12] She appeared in two Danish films, Storm Varsel and a Fejos-directed 1934 film Flight from the Millions. She was still married to Fejos when she traveled to the United States and during her affair with Kennedy. She obtained a divorce from Fejos in June 1942.[13]

Arvad became a naturalized citizen of the United States on 5 March 1945.[14]

She became engaged to Robert Boothby, a British member of Parliament, in May 1945. He met Arvad in Los Angeles while he was with a British delegation to a conference in San Francisco, California.[2] Boothby sent her a 20-page letter pleading with her to marry him after he returned to England. Arvad accepted but then broke off the engagement because of a compliment Hitler once paid her as being "the perfect Nordic beauty" and the effect it might have on Boothby's political career. Arvad commented that she despised Hitler's policies and only saw him on the two occasions of her interviews; however, the English press made much of her audience with him and Boothby was soon to be seeking re-election.[7] Arvad was suspected of being the mistress of Axel Wenner-Gren, a Swedish industrialist on the U.S. State Department blocklist. No proof of such a relationship has surfaced.[3]

Arvad married American actor Tim McCoy on 14 Feb 1947 in Yonkers, Westchester County, New York; yet McCoy claimed they were married earlier.[15][16][17][18] They met when McCoy was making a film short shot on a Native American reservation. McCoy and Arvad resided on a 127-acre (0.51 km2) estate in Bucks County, Pennsylvania named Dolington Manor, also known as the Benjamin Taylor Homestead.[18] McCoy moved there after selling his Wyoming ranch, the Eagle's Nest,[19] where he had lived for 37 years. Arvad and McCoy had two sons, Ronald and Terence. When their first child was born in August 1947, McCoy was 56. He had three children[20] from his previous marriage to Agnes Miller, daughter of actress Bijou Heron.[21]

In January 1946, David O. Selznick sent Arvad on a tour of 25 to 30 American cities to promote Duel in the Sun. She was accompanied by Anita Colby, Florence Pritchett, and Laura Wells.[22]

Death

[edit]

Inga Arvad died of cancer on a ranch near Nogales, Arizona, in 1973. [23][24] Her husband and their two sons survived her.[8] She was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Saginaw, Michigan.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Inga Marie Arvad in California, Federal Naturalization Records, 1843-1999
  2. ^ a b c British Conference Delegate Woos and Wins Film Writer, Los Angeles Times, May 22, 1945, p. A3.
  3. ^ a b c d Kennedy Affair With Spy Suspect Reported, Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1976, p. B8.
  4. ^ a b c Bjørn Westergaard (2006-06-24). "B.T. fandt de smukke piger" (in Danish). B.T. Retrieved 2006-11-03.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ Dallek, Robert (2003), An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963, p. 83
  6. ^ a b c d Matthews, Chris. Jack Kennedy (2011) p. 44, ISBN 978-1-4516-3508-9
  7. ^ a b Compliment By Hitler Ends Romance With M.P., Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1945, p. 1.
  8. ^ a b Wife of Actor Tim McCoy Dies of Cancer, Los Angeles Times, December 14, 1973, p. OCA4.
  9. ^ Hersh, Seymour (1997), The Dark Side of Camelot, p. 83
  10. ^ Matthews, Chris. Jack Kennedy (2011) pp. 44, 45
  11. ^ Dallek, Robert (2003), An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963, pp. 83, 84
  12. ^ Naturalization Record 123123. California, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1888-1991. Petitioner: Inga Marie Arvad, Petition Number: 123123, Petition Date: 5 Mar 1945, Petition Place: Los Angeles, California, USA. National Archives at Riverside; Riverside, California; Petitions For Naturalization, U.S. District Court For the Central District of California (Los Angeles), 1940-1991; NAI Number: 594890; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21.
  13. ^ Hersh, Seymour (1997), The Dark Side of Camelot, p. 84
  14. ^ Naturalization Record 123123
  15. ^ New York State Marriage Index. New York State Department of Health; Albany, New Yor, USA. Certificate Number: 28534, Groom: Timothy J McCoy, Bride: Inga Arvad, Marriage Date: 14 Feb 1947, Marriage Place: Yonkers, New York, USA, New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA.
  16. ^ "Tim McCoy And Danish Beauty 'Married For Quite A While'", The Baltimore Sun, February 25, 1947, p. 13.
  17. ^ Tim McCoy Tells Of Three-Month Secret Marriage, Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, February 25, 1947, p. 7.
  18. ^ a b McCoy, T. (1988). Tim McCoy Remembers the West. Bison Books, p. 260. ISBN 0-8032-8155-2.
  19. ^ McCoy, T. (1988). Tim McCoy Remembers the West, p. 224.
  20. ^ McCoy, T. (1988). Tim McCoy Remembers the West, p. xiii.
  21. ^ Tim McCoy Announces Birth of Son, Los Angeles Times, August 14, 1947, p. 4.
  22. ^ Gold Rush Spurs Opus; New Draftee Heroized, Los Angeles Times, January 18, 1946, p. 9.
  23. ^ Obituary: Inga McCoy, Wife Of Cowboy Actor, Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida, USA), December 16, 1973, p. 63.
  24. ^ Obituary: Actor Tim McCoy's Wife Cremated Without Rites", Valley News (Van Nuys, California, USA), December 16, 1973, p.49.
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