I Led Three Lives
"I Led Three Lives" is a significant work authored by Herbert A. Philbrick, who served as an FBI agent and later became a double agent, sharing his experiences in a book published in 1952. The account emerged during a period marked by intense Cold War tensions and public anxiety surrounding communist infiltration, particularly during the era of Senator Joseph McCarthy. The book's popularity led to a dramatized television series in 1953, featuring actor Richard Carlson, which ran for three seasons and produced 117 episodes based on Philbrick's life. The series not only mirrored the themes of the book but also delved into unpublished aspects of Philbrick's notes in its later seasons.
"I Led Three Lives" contributed to the heightened atmosphere of fear about communism, suggesting that every American sector was vulnerable to subversion, which spurred public vigilance and reporting against perceived threats. The show garnered support from influential figures, including FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and had profound social implications, prompting viewers to report neighbors for dissenting views. Additionally, its impact reached beyond the United States, inciting political discussions in the UK and protests from the Soviet Union regarding its broadcasts in Mexico. Overall, the work reflects the complex interplay of patriotism, fear, and societal dynamics during the Cold War era.
I Led Three Lives
Identification Syndicated television series about a double agent
Date Aired from 1953 to 1956
Original author Herbert A. Philbrick
Loosely based on the experiences of a real-life FBI agent, I Led Three Lives was an influential television series that both reflected and contributed to the red scare paranoia of the Cold War era.
Key Figures
Herbert A. Philbrick (1915-1993), author
In 1952, Herbert A. Philbrick, a former agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), published I Led Three Lives, an account of his nine years as a double agent. Appearing at a time when the United States was obsessed with Joseph McCarthy, the Cold War, and the threat of world communism, Philbrick’s book about a patriotic FBI agent’s daring struggle against communist subversion quickly became a best-seller. The following year a dramatized television version of his experiences began being broadcast in syndication, with actor Richard Carlson playing Philbrick. Over the three-season life of the program, 117 episodes were made; those broadcast during the first two seasons were taken from Philbrick’s book, and those of the final season were adapted from his unpublished notes. Carlson played Philbrick under the latter’s real name, but other names used in the show were fictionalized.
Impact
I Led Three Lives contributed to Cold War paranoia by repeatedly promoting the notion that no sector of American society—government, schools, churches, the military, industry—would be safe from communist subversion unless every citizen remained vigilant and reported suspicious activities to the FBI. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover was said to have been a strong supporter of the show, which he regarded as a public service program. In fact, the show actually moved some people to report neighbors and relatives to the FBI for expressing pacifist and even liberal sentiments. In this regard, the show got ordinary Americans to behave much like the youthful “Spies” in George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).
I Led Three Lives also had international ramifications. Members of Great Britain’s House of Commons debated the political implications of the show, and the Soviet government filed a protest against the show’s broadcast in Mexico.
Bibliography
Britton, Wesley A. Spy Television. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2004. First book devoted to the history of the spy genre on television, tracing its roots back to radio dramas and supplying a rich trove of anecdotal material. Includes a brief but useful discussion of I Led Three Lives that makes a strong case for the series’ seminal position in television history.
Philbrick, Herbert Arthur. I Led Three Lives: Citizen, “Communist,” Counterspy. 1952. Washington, D.C.: Capitol Hill Press, 1972. Most recent edition of Philbrick’s memoir about his double-agent days. The seventy-eight episodes of the television show’s first two seasons are said to have been based on material contained in this book.