Aline Mosby (July 7, 1922 – August 7, 1998) was an American journalist.
Mosby mostly wrote for
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
.
She was the first American woman correspondent assigned by a major news service to the
Moscow Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...
and later Beijing.
While in the Soviet Union, she met and interviewed
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963.
Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at age 12 for truan ...
in 1959, four years before he assassinated U.S. President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
.
Mosby was also the first journalist to report on the
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
nude calendar.
Early life
Mosby was born in
Missoula, Montana
Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five ...
. She earned a journalism degree at the
University of Montana
The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...
.
Career
Mosby worked as editor for a college issue of ''
Madamoiselle'' before she joined
United Press
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
in Seattle in 1943.
She moved to the Los Angeles bureau office in the 1950s, working as a radio news writer and feature writer during United Nations meetings in San Francisco. She was also a special Hollywood correspondent for six years.
She famously covered a
nudist
Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...
convention in
San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of th ...
. She was also one of the first to interview Marilyn Monroe after nude photos she had posed for in 1949 were published as a calendar. Mosby is regarded by news historians as helping Monroe become a more-notable star. She wrote anonymously for gossip magazine ''
Confidential
Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise sometimes executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access to or places restrictions on the distribution of certain types of information.
Legal confidentiality
By law, law ...
''.
She temporarily resigned from the UP in Los Angeles and moved to Europe, signing with the London UP office shortly afterwards. From there, she was assigned to work Paris and then became the first American woman correspondent assigned to Moscow.
In 1959, she interviewed
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963.
Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at age 12 for truan ...
, who had exiled himself there. He spoke to her about his upbringing and support of
Marxist socialism. She also interviewed
downed U-2 pilot
Francis Gary Powers
Francis Gary Powers (August 17, 1929August 1, 1977) was an American pilot who served as a United States Air Force officer and a CIA employee. Powers is best known for his involvement in the 1960 U-2 incident, when he was shot down while fly ...
. In 1962, she wrote a book titled ''The View from No. 13 People's Street'' detailing her experiences in Moscow.
FBI documents identify her as a suspected Soviet agent.
[FBI, Record Number 129-90151-10022, JFK Assassination System Identification Form, 1962] She was based in Washington, D.C. in 1967.
She opened the UPI bureau in Beijing in 1972.
Retirement
Mosby retired from United Press International in 1984 and continued to freelance for various publications, including ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''.
Death
Mosby died August 7, 1998, of a
cerebral hemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...
at Palomar Medical Center in
Escondido, California
Escondido (Spanish language, Spanish for "Hidden") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County (San Diego area), North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San ...
.
She was survived by her sister, Mary Jane Bader.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosby, Aline
1922 births
1998 deaths
20th-century American journalists
20th-century American women journalists
American reporters and correspondents
University of Montana alumni
Writers from Missoula, Montana
American expatriates in England
American expatriates in France
American expatriates in the Soviet Union
American expatriates in China