Paris Theodore obit

An unusual story, even for New York City:

Paris Theodore, who died November 16 at 63, was a holster-maker, gun inventor, and clandestine manufacturer of weapons meant to kill men without leaving a trace.

With a secret laboratory located behind a safe at his Seventrees, Ltd. holster shop in the garment district, Theodore evoked comparisons to a fictional master of lethal gadgetry, Q, from the James Bond books. If the stories told by associates and family contain even a few grains of truth, the comparison would have to include 007 himself, because many people think Theodore worked as an assassin for government agencies so secret they don't even have names. He never told.

Government documents show that he was specially exempted from all provisions of the National Firearms Act. . .

Theodore came from a creative family. His mother, Nenette Charisse, was a vaudeville dancer and ballet instructor, and his aunt, Cyd Charisse, was a dance legend. His father, John Theodore, was a sculptor and art professor, and his stepfather, after his parents divorced, was Robert Tucker, a choreographer.

Paris Theodore took up painting and also appeared on Broadway as the character Nibs in the 1954 production of "Peter Pan," starring Mary Martin. He was paid $15,000 for four months' work, his son Ali Theodore said. It was the last money he ever earned that the IRS was aware of, yet somehow he managed to raise a family on Park Avenue.

From the NY Sun. Here's some more info on Theodore's ASP pistol; there's also a tribute web page, while Wikipedia has an entry with a list of Theodore's patents.

So far, so good -- but remember what they say about stories that seem too good to be true. And upon doing a bit more digging, I find that others find Theodore (and his family's) claims of Bond-style derring-do difficult to swallow -- though his prowess as a gadgeteer is unquestioned.

Posted by David on December 8, 2006 10:09 AM