20 Historical Figures Who Used Look-Alikes to Avoid Attending Receptions

Louis XIV loved being the center of attention at Versailles… but every evening became unbearable. The Sun King hired a lookalike to occupy his royal box during the long opera performances. While the guests bowed before him, Louis XIV snacked in his room.

When he wasn’t busy crushing Germany, Patton was forced to endure long dinners with foreign generals. To escape these tedious gatherings, he would send a lookalike named Richard Jeffenson to stand in for him. No one ever suspected a thing.

Dinners during the Tudor era were rife with gossip and intrigue, and Elizabeth avoided them entirely by sending a stand-in to take her place. A lady-in-waiting would dress up as the queen and preside over the table while Elizabeth went off to play on her own. No one noticed.

While the paranoid Soviet leader avoided public gatherings at all costs, he particularly detested late-night dinners. Stalin therefore made sure to send a lookalike in his place to wait all night while he slept. It turns out that it’s much easier to run a massive regime when you can delegate your social engagements.

This British prime minister loved a good cigar, but he hated above all else the official, non-smoking receptions hosted by foreign diplomats who wanted to pry information out of him all evening. He regularly called on a former insurance company employee, Norman Shelley—who had a voice and build almost identical to his own—to stand in for him at crowded cocktail parties and social receptions.

Toward the end of his life, the reclusive billionaire Hughes avoided social events at all costs. So he would send several lookalikes out in public to throw off anyone trying to track him down. In a way, it was Hughes who started the trend of “ghosting” as we know and love it today.

British General Montgomery was known for his distinctive mustache, as thin as a thread. So popular that he drew crowds, Montgomery hated official luncheons and often sent a look-alike in his place. An actor named Clifton James often stood in for him.

Whenever the Empress of China hosted official dinners with foreign ambassadors, she would send a servant dressed like her in her place. The ruse worked, because no one was even allowed to look at her. Yes, it’s still considered disrespectful to turn around.

Just like Stalin, Hussein used body doubles to avoid certain situations. Unlike Stalin, however, Saddam used his body doubles to get out of weddings. Say what you will about his regime, but his dedication to avoiding tedious social obligations was incredibly rigorous.

George hated feeling like he was being watched at receptions, so he got creative. He commissioned a life-size wax statue of himself so that it could attend the royal galas he didn’t want to go to, incognito. That’s how you let your friends down.

The Chinese leader was notoriously averse to long dinners, but still had to attend them to maintain his public image. Mao would ask someone to dress up as him and take his place so he could go home early. His lookalike even had to clap at the same time as him during official events.

The German dictator was counting heavily on a lookalike named Gustav Weler to take his place. Weler would stand on balconies, wave to the cheering crowds, and shake hands with minor local officials, while the real chancellor remained in seclusion deep inside his mountain hideout. The deception was so effective that many high-ranking officials didn’t even realize they were speaking with a completely different man.

General MacArthur loved being the center of attention… but not enough to attend boring dinners with soldiers who adored him. So he would send a lookalike to take his place at the table while he slept soundly in his hotel bed. It was a matter of priorities.

Protocol required members of the Japanese imperial family to remain motionless for hours every evening. That is why Hirohito would sometimes hire someone to take his place and endure this ordeal on his behalf. While everyone else was trying hard not to move, Hirohito could do whatever he wanted in complete secrecy.

Nothing was beyond the reach of the Chinese nationalist leader… except sleeping. So Chiang Kai-shek would often have a loyal subordinate take his place at the table so he could go home and take a nap. This ingenious trick allowed him to continue raising funds for his campaign while ensuring he got a full eight hours of sleep.

Ruling an empire and raising sixteen children was a heavy burden for Marie-Thérèse. That is why she often avoided royal dinners by sending another noble in her place. She mastered the art of masquerade balls to carve out a little time for herself, which she so desperately needed.

This Mexican revolutionary was a master of evasion and put those skills to good use in his personal life. Whenever someone tried to throw a party in his honor, Villa would send his lookalike in his place while he hid in the hills. It’s a fantastic example of military strategy.

History remembers him as the “Merry Monarch,” who loved to party. But even this legendary socialite eventually grew weary of his courtiers’ incessant requests for favors. He therefore devised a system in which he placed an elegantly dressed mannequin in the window of his private office to give the impression that he was working tirelessly.

The Desert Fox was celebrated as a national hero. Unfortunately, this meant he was constantly being asked to attend boring dinners organized by high-ranking party officials who wanted to showcase him. He regularly hired a lookalike to attend these tedious social gatherings.

Although he was expected to perform on stage, Nero hated above all else having to attend the long, tedious poetry readings organized by his wealthy patrician rivals. He therefore began hiring actors who resembled him from local theaters to take their places in the imperial box. They even wore his crown and nodded politely for hours on end.