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| Bella Donna: an Italian term
meaning both "beautiful lady" and a plant with red, bell shaped flowers
and roots that yield a fatal poison. Both meanings apply to Ann-Margret,
whose lifelong devotion to Communist causes eventually led to the assassination
of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
Born in 1941 in an ardently anti-Nazi,
pro-Soviet family, Ann-Margret Ollson immigrated to the United States to
escape the ravages of post World War II Europe. Her father, who had Although privately demure, from an early age Ann-Margret projected a public persona of confidence and sultry appeal. By the time she entered high school she was already an accomplished performer, appearing both on her school's stage and on local television programs. By the time she was sixteen she had her own performing group, "The Suttletones", and was entertaining at locations far from home. Feklisov was instrumental in arranging performing dates for her, and in return received a steady flow of information about her performance venues, which often included U.S. military installations. In August of 1957 Ann-Margret and her group were performing at the Muelbach Hotel in Kansas City, MO when she met two traveling gamblers from New Orleans, LA: Clay L. Shaw and David William Ferrie. Through them she was introduced to New Orleans Mafia kingpin Carlos Marcello, who would help her develop connections with the American underworld. Quitting college to devote herself to
her signing career, Ann-Margret and her group were booked for an engagement
at The Nevada Club in Las Vegas, NV. During this But her greatest coup as a Communist
recruiter occurred in July of 1960 in Reno, NV. While performing
at the Riverside Hotel she met the famous American playwright and Soviet
sympathizer, Arthur Miller, who was in town with his wife, Marilyn Monroe,
for the filming of "The Misfits". Miller, worn from playing
nursemaid to his neurotic, drug dependent wife, thought that the sultry
teenager might make a perfect companion for Monroe. Arranging a meeting
on the set of the film, Monroe and Ann-Margret became fast friends, and
gave Ann-Margret another opportunity to infiltrate Hollywood with her Leninist
dogma. The drug hazed Monroe was an easy target for the wily Ann-Margret,
and yet another Soviet spy was born. Ann-Margret was especially interested
in Monroe's "special friend", then Senator John F. Kennedy, and as a result
was able to provide Feklisov with reams of information about the future
President. In May of 1961 Ann-Margret was contracted to record her first signing album by RCA in Nashville, TN. While in the Volunteer State she was able to meet Elvis Presley. Although he was taken by her obvious charms, Elvis was obsessed by his hatred for U.S. Maj. Gen. Edwin Anderson Walker, who had humiliated Elvis during his Army service in Germany. Disappointed by not making an impression on "The King", Ann-Margret made an off-hand suggestion that he hire a hit man and do away with his nemesis. This blithe comment would later be central point in the plot to kill JFK. Ann-Margret's greatest disappointment was the apparent suicide of her protégée Monroe on 5 August 1962. She reluctantly reported the suicide of her most promising operative to Feklisov, who had been promoted to KGB chief in Washington, DC. But one disappointment was not enough to keep this Mata Hari down for long. Her performing career was skyrocketing, and she had established herself as a rising movie star. But more importantly, the connections she had made throughout her life were coming to fruition. In January of 1963 her friend, Elvis, contacted her to discuss the assassination of Walker. She suggested contacting another veteran, the now repatriated Oswald, and discussing the attack with him. Regardless of her best intentions, Oswald botched the job. That May she was invited to perform in Washington, DC at Kennedy's annual birthday party. During her stay she consulted with Feklisov. Central to their discussions was the future of Oswald, who had become an embarrassment to them both. June 1963 found her back in Las Vegas,
preparing for her co-starring rôle with Elvis in Knowledgeable of, but not directly involved in, the assassination plans, Ann-Margret watched from afar as Kennedy was killed in Dallas. Anticipating that Oswald would contact her for help after his arrest, Ann-Margret had arranged in advance to have an associate of her friend Marcello, Jacob "Jack Ruby" Rubinstein, ready to silence Oswald. On 24 November 1963 Ruby killed Oswald, eliminating the last loose thread in exposing Ann-Margret's involvement in the assassination plot. |
| "Can't
Help Falling In Love" by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, & George David
Weiss
First recorded by Elvis on "Blue Hawaii" 23 March 1960 |