Ken Taylor, Canadian ambassador who aided Iran hostages, dies

NEW YORK, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Canadian diplomat Ken Taylor, who sheltered six Americans in Tehran, Iran, as revolutionaries overran the U.S. embassy in 1979, has died. He was 81.

Taylor died in a New York hospital, his son announced Thursday, adding Taylor was diagnosed with colon cancer in August.

As Canada's ambassador to Iran, Taylor kept the six Americans sheltered in the home of John Sheardown, his deputy, after about 50 others in the U.S. embassy were taken hostage. Most were held for more than a year in what was known as the "Iran hostage crisis."

Those under Taylor's care escaped Tehran after three months, using plane tickets and fake Canadian passports Taylor had arranged.

The story was told in the 2012 theatrical film Argo, which Taylor said he felt under-represented Canada's role in the operation to free the hostages, and in the 2013 documentary film Our Man in Tehran.

Taylor received the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal for his involvement in the crisis in 1980.

In a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Taylor "valiantly risked his own life by shielding a group of American diplomats from capture. Ken Taylor represented the very best that Canada's foreign service has to offer."