Famous Faces Upstaged

The Abraham Lincoln impersonator was popular posing for souvenir photographs, and hot dog sales were brisk, but the biggest draw Monday at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library were the spy gadgets.

To celebrate Presidents Day, hundreds of people came to the hilltop museum near Simi Valley to see a deadly poison-dart umbrella, a lipstick tube with a hidden recording device and, of course, Maxwell Smart’s shoe phone.

A recitation of the Gettysburg Address and sunny picnic weather vied for attention, but by 11 a.m. a line had formed at the front door for the museum’s newest exhibit, “Spies: Secrets from the CIA, KGB and Hollywood.”

“Considering all that’s going on in the world right now and how much of this stuff is kept secret, this is awesome,” said Harry Danes of Los Angeles.

The exhibition, which opened Monday, marks the first time several of the gadgets have been shown publicly.

Many of the more than 400 devices on display are on loan for the next five months from the CIA’s private museum in Langley, Va. Other pieces were borrowed from private collectors.

For the $5 price of a ticket, visitors saw tire spikes, bombs and various pistols, along with several concealed cameras, including one hidden in a suit jacket and another in a leather glove.

One section of the exhibition includes television and movie paraphernalia, such as the fake tarantula that nearly killed 007 in “Dr. No,” and Diana Rigg’s leather pants from the spy show “The Avengers.”

“I’ve been watching reruns of James Bond movies the last few Saturdays and decided it would be cool to see some of this stuff up close,” said Brianna Millhouse of Oxnard.

While lines of people inched their way through the exhibition hall, dozens more relaxed at outdoor tables, where several presidential look-alikes strolled and chatted with the visitors about American history.

“I shock people every once in a while,” said Jay Koch, a Port Hueneme resident who looks like President Reagan, albeit a few inches shorter.

Joan O’Brien of Simi Valley brought granddaughter Codi Rex, 6, to see Thomas Jefferson and George Washington look-alikes and inspect the youth activities, which included coloring pictures of presidents.

“It’s a great education for the kids and an opportunity for them to learn a little bit about history,” O’Brien said.