WASHINGTON — Whether it’s Ursula Andress’ famous saunter across the sand to Sean Connery in the James Bond flick “Dr. No,” or the tense train ride scene between Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in “North by Northwest,” one thing is for sure: Sex is synonymous with spying.
At the International Spy Museum in D.C., experts and historians are forgoing the usual Valentine’s Day dinner on Feb. 14. Instead, they’re hosting a tell-all event called “Sexpionage: Spies, Lies and Naked Thighs.”
Led by founding board member Keith Melton, attendees will learn how sex has been used to share secrets since the inception of intelligence gathering. In the early 1900s, for example, the Dutch dancer Mata Hari was recruited to spy on behalf of the Germans and the French during World War I.
“People were just undone by her sensual nature and her gorgeous body,” said Amanda Ohlke, adult education director at the International Spy Museum. “She used her seductive powers on gentlemen throughout Europe, trying to get them to share their secrets.”
Her pillow-talking life as a double agent had a less-than glamorous ending, however. She was killed by a firing squad in France in 1917.
“But she blew a kiss right before she was executed,” Ohlke added.
And then there’s the Soviet spy Dmitri Bystrolyotov, who would routinely go undercover and use his “movie-star handsome” looks to gather intelligence.
“He just assumed these demeanors and got by on his charm, and he was very smart and he could just seduce any woman to the point where on his wedding night, he had to excuse himself from his wife because he had to go sleep with another woman,” Ohlke said.
The museum’s event will also dive into more modern examples of “sexpionage,” including a Czech couple’s success using swinging to swap secrets with members of the CIA in the early 70s.
The hot dose of history is served with a cocktail and some sweet treats. There will be some lock-picking tips, “in case you get stuck in your handcuffs,” Ohlke said.
Tickets are $35; the 18-and-up event starts at 6 p.m.
Editor’s Note: The event is now sold out. However, the museum is offering its “Double Agent Date” package through the rest of February.
