Historical Characters Murder Mystery Party

October 14, 2000

Cast of Characters (from guests' RSVPs)

  1. Harry S Truman   During his few weeks as Vice President, Harry S Truman scarcely saw President Roosevelt, and received no briefing on the development of the atomic bomb or the unfolding difficulties with Soviet Russia. Suddenly these and a host of other wartime problems became Truman's to solve when, on April 12, 1945, he became President. He told reporters, "I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me." He went to France during World War I as a captain in the Field Artillery. Returning, he married Elizabeth Virginia Wallace, and opened a haberdashery in Kansas City.

  2. Tokyo Rose   Though probably the most listened-to disc jockey in history, hardly anyone remembers her as such today, in spite of, or perhaps because of, the lingering infamous legend surrounding her. Brought up by her immigrant Methodist parents to think of herself as an American, Iva Ikuko Toguri, a first generation Japanese-American ("Nisei") was forced to broadcast propaganda for Japan during World War II, after her native U.S. abandoned her there mere days before the Pearl Harbor attack, and despite her continual efforts throughout the war to return home.

  3. Josef V. Stalin   Flushed with the success of the previous conference at Yalta, Comrade Stalin is excited to attend the auspicious Berlin conference on July 17th, 1945 at the Cecielienhoff near Potsdam. He looks forward to meeting with the new leader of our friends in America and celebrating his peoples' victory over the imperialist fascist Nazi regime. Comrade Stalin may be bringing two other comrades, and continuing the spirit of friendship between our countries, perhaps he will also bring some excellent mixed drinks made from Foreign Minister Molotov's secret recipes. They should have quite a kick to them.

  4. James Dean   Despite the fact that he did extensive work on the stage and on TV, this famous actor was the lead in only three movies: East of Eden, Giant, and Rebel Without A Cause. He doesn't know this yet, but he will die in a car crash at the end of the filming of Giant (it's rumored that he was speeding at the time, but he wasn't). A quote: "Studying cows, pigs and chickens can help an actor develop his character. There are a lot of things I learned from animals. One was that they couldn't hiss or boo me. I also became close to nature, and am now able to appreciate the beauty with which this world is endowed."

  5. Marilyn Monroe   Two of this actress's famous quotes make added verbiage superfluous. 1. "That's the trouble, a sex symbol becomes a thing. But if I'm going to be a symbol of something, I'd rather have it sex than some other things we've got symbols of." 2. "I am invariably late for appointments--sometimes as much as two hours. I've tried to change my ways but the things that make me late are too strong, and too pleasing."

  6. Mr. and Mrs. Remington   This American couple owns several steel foundries and steel distribution means in the Pittsburgh area and are at the conference to sell their steel to rebuild Germany. The name of the company is Remington Steel.

  7. Lise Meitner   This scientist worked as an X-ray technician in a field hospital during WWI. She was at the heart of the discovery of nuclear fission, providing the theoretical explanation of how it could be possible when Otto Hahn et al (who were chemists) knew it was true but couldn't understand how it would be. Unlike them, however, she did not work on the a-bomb in WWII. As another interesting fact, Lise discovered the 91st element, protactinium, along with Otto Hahn.

  8. Margarete Bohr   Tolerant, sardonic, and emphatically down to earth, the wife of Niels Bohr was recently featured in the award winning play "Copenhagen." Though her husband's work on the Manhattan Project contributed to thousands of deaths in Nagasaki, she is herself a very moral and upright woman. (The play is about a hypothetical meeting between Niels and his former student Werner Heisenberg, who share intellectual pleasures but find themselves on opposite sides of the war.)

  9. Alan Turing   A true pioneer of the computer era, Alan and his team at Bletchley Park were in great part responsible for breaking the Enigma code. Despite being gay, he proposed marriage to a female coworker during his wartime codebreaking years. If not for an injury, he might have represented Great Britain in the 1948 Olympic games (distance running).

  10. Robert Oppenheimer   This scientist, who once learned Dutch in six weeks to give a scientific talk in the Netherlands, was head of the Manhattan project to develop the bomb. He took a stand against the rise of Fascism in the 1930s. When President Rosevelt learned the Nazi's were developing Atomic technology he asked Oppenheimer to head the american development of the bomb, which he did, but later when Truman wanted to develop a more powerful Hydrogen Bomb Oppenheimer stepped down, citing moral conflict, to chair the US atomic energy commission. This attitude branded him as a communist sympathiser later in life. Beyond all of this he taught Pete's dad's physics class at Berkley!

  11. Ella Fitzgerald   A legendary Jazz and pop artist, Ella Fitzgerald's pure, passionate and endlessly creative voice told us about love, life, hope and courage. Ella was discovered when she was fifteen years old, and she appeared as a contestant in a talent competition intending to dance. Her knees shook so much that she decided to sing instead. When touring in 1948 she demanded equal pay as the white artists forcing an important issue that would affect many musicians and artists thereafter.

  12. Winston Churchill   We all know who he was. Perhaps, however, we didn't know as much about his arch rival, Lady Nancy Astor. See below.

  13. Lady Nancy Astor   Lady Nancy Astor, (1879-1964), the first woman to sit in the British House of Commons, was a famous socialite of the day, extremely rich and influential. She sometimes rode on the "flapper bracket" of the Brough Superior motorcycle belonging to T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and was the author of many quotable quips, many directed at her arch rival Winston Churchhill.

    • I married beneath me. All women do.
    • The only thing I like about rich people is their money.
    • In passing, also, I would like to say that the first time Adam had a chance, he laid the blame on a woman.
    • We are not asking for superiority for we have always had that; all we ask is equality.
    • One reason I don't drink is because I wish to know when I'm having a good time.
    • Lady Astor: Why Sir Churchill you are drunk!
      Churchill: And you are ugly, but I shall be sober in the morning!
    • Lady Astor: "Winston, if I were married to you, I'd put poison in your coffee."
      Sir Winston Churchill: "Nancy, if you were my wife, I'd drink it."
    • "Am I dying or is is this my birthday?" (attributed last words)

  14. Andrew Carnegie   In 1880, Carnegie, at age 45, began courting Louise Whitfield, age 23. Carnegie's mother was the primary obstacle to the relationship. Nearly 70 years old, Margaret Carnegie had long been accustomed to her son's complete attention. He adored her. They shared a suite at New York's Windsor Hotel, and she often accompanied him-even to business meetings. Some have hinted that she exacted a promise from Carnegie that he remain a bachelor during her lifetime. Etymologists were atwitter. Orthographists were aghast. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was vexed. The British were appalled. For a few months in 1906, it seemed as if the entire English-speaking world joined the debate over Andrew Carnegie's latest venture for world peace: the simplification of the English language.

  15. Charles Lindbergh   Pilot, inventor, author, and environmentalist, Charles Lindbergh was the son of a Minnesota Congressman and later worked as a barnstormer and airmail pilot. Lured by a monetary prize (and cajoled by a number of St. Louis businessmen), Lindbergh became the first pilot to complete a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic. His fame and charm won him the affection of Anne Morrow, the daughter of the United States ambassador to Mexico. Lindbergh continued to use his status as a national public figure for other causes. He was impressed by German air power and weighed in his support for American neutrality during World War II, a stance that prompted criticism from President Franklin D. Roosevelt. After the American entrance into the war, however, he endorsed the effort. Had he not, it is quite doubtful that his presence at the Potsdam social event would be welcome!