John Roy Carlson
Encyclopedia
John Roy Carlson is one of the many pen name
s of Avedis Boghos Derounian, the journalist and best-selling author of Under Cover.
Derounian wrote for the Armenian General Benevolent Union
's Armenian Information Service, and the Armenian Mirror-Spectator
. His exposé writing has been the subject of lawsuits.
Derounian is notable for editing the controversial manifesto of Armenia
's first prime minister
, Hovhannes Katchaznouni
.
(today Alexandroupoli
, Greece
), and spent part of his childhood in Turkey
and Sofia
, Bulgaria
, where his brother Steven Derounian (who later became a Republican Representative) was born. His family, fleeing the Balkan Wars
, eventually settled in Mineola, New York
. He went on to study at New York University
's School of Journalism. Later, he married Marie Nazarian, and had a daughter, Elyse, and a son, Robert.
He died of a heart attack on April 23, 1991 at the library of the American Jewish Committee
on East 56th Street.
, The Ultra-American, Nationalist Party, American Nationalist Party, American Women Against Communism, The Gray Shirts, America First Committee
, No Foreign War Committee, Christian Mobilizers, American Destiny Party, American Brotherhood of Christians Congress, The Ethiopian Pacific Movement, Citizens Protective League, Social Justice Distributors Club, The American Defense Society, Anglo-Saxon Federation of America
, Paul Revere Sentinels, Ra-Con Klub, Crusaders for Americanism, Inc., We the Fathers (Auxiliary to We the Mothers Mobilize for America), The Christian Mobilizer, Phalanx, PAX (secret gun club), National Workers League, Yankee Freemen, Cross and the Flag, Committee of One Million, Flanders Hall, American Patriots
, American Bulletin, National Gentile League.
Among the groups he also helped expose was the international Nazi propaganda news agency World-Service
.
He was also the chief investigator of the anti-fascist
organization, Friends of Democracy.
Derounian appealed; the appellate court reversed the district court and remanded the matter, stating in the overview:
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
s of Avedis Boghos Derounian, the journalist and best-selling author of Under Cover.
Derounian wrote for the Armenian General Benevolent Union
Armenian General Benevolent Union
The Armenian General Benevolent Union abbreviated as AGBU, is a non-profit Armenian organization. It was established in Cairo, Egypt in 1906...
's Armenian Information Service, and the Armenian Mirror-Spectator
Armenian Mirror-Spectator
The Armenian Mirror-Spectator is a newspaper published by the Baikar Association, in Watertown, Massachusetts.The original raison d'être for the newspaper was to create a vehicle to bridge the growing generation gap between Armenian-Americans since the 1920s...
. His exposé writing has been the subject of lawsuits.
Derounian is notable for editing the controversial manifesto of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
's first prime minister
Prime Minister of Armenia
The Prime Minister of Armenia is the most senior minister within the Armenian government, and is required by the constitution to "oversee the Government's regular activities and coordinate the work of the Ministers." The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of Armenia, but can be removed by...
, Hovhannes Katchaznouni
Hovhannes Katchaznouni
Hovhannes Katchaznouni was the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Armenia from May 30, 1918 to May 28, 1919. He was a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.-Personal life:...
.
Personal life
He was born to Boghos Derounian and Eliza Aprahamian in Dedeagach, Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
(today Alexandroupoli
Alexandroupoli
Alexandroupoli , is a city of Greece and the capital of the Evros peripheral unit in Thrace. Named after King Alexander, it is an important port and commercial center of northeastern Greece.-Name:...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
), and spent part of his childhood in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, where his brother Steven Derounian (who later became a Republican Representative) was born. His family, fleeing the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
, eventually settled in Mineola, New York
Mineola, New York
Mineola is a village in Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a Native American word meaning a "pleasant place"....
. He went on to study at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's School of Journalism. Later, he married Marie Nazarian, and had a daughter, Elyse, and a son, Robert.
He died of a heart attack on April 23, 1991 at the library of the American Jewish Committee
American Jewish Committee
The American Jewish Committee was "founded in 1906 with the aim of rallying all sections of American Jewry to defend the rights of Jews all over the world...
on East 56th Street.
Undercover work
Derounian was a tireless investigator of subversive activity, and claimed to have joined numerous "patriotic" groups, some of which he listed in the opening of his book Under Cover: National Socialist White People's Party (Harold Covington), German American Bund, Christian FrontChristian Front
The Christian Front is a Conservative Christian political party in South Africa. It is a breakaway from the Christian Democratic Party, and has a seat in the Johannesburg Meropolitan Council, and in the Tshwane Meropolitan Council....
, The Ultra-American, Nationalist Party, American Nationalist Party, American Women Against Communism, The Gray Shirts, America First Committee
America First Committee
The America First Committee was the foremost non-interventionist pressure group against the American entry into World War II. Peaking at 800,000 members, it was likely the largest anti-war organization in American history. Started in 1940, it became defunct after the attack on Pearl Harbor in...
, No Foreign War Committee, Christian Mobilizers, American Destiny Party, American Brotherhood of Christians Congress, The Ethiopian Pacific Movement, Citizens Protective League, Social Justice Distributors Club, The American Defense Society, Anglo-Saxon Federation of America
Anglo-Saxon Federation of America
The Anglo-Saxon Federation of America, founded in 1933, is the oldest and largest group in the British Israelism movement.In 1928, Howard B. Rand, a lawyer and Bible student, started conducting a small Anglo-Saxon group in his house. In 1933, he met W. J...
, Paul Revere Sentinels, Ra-Con Klub, Crusaders for Americanism, Inc., We the Fathers (Auxiliary to We the Mothers Mobilize for America), The Christian Mobilizer, Phalanx, PAX (secret gun club), National Workers League, Yankee Freemen, Cross and the Flag, Committee of One Million, Flanders Hall, American Patriots
Patriot Party (1960s-1980s)
The Patriot Party was an American socialist organization of the late 1960s and early 1970s that organized poor, rural whites in the Appalachian South and Pacific Northwest. The party was formed after a split with the Young Patriots Organization...
, American Bulletin, National Gentile League.
Among the groups he also helped expose was the international Nazi propaganda news agency World-Service
Ulrich Fleischhauer
thumb|Ulrich Fleischhauer Ulrich Fleischhauer was a leading antisemitic publisher of books and news articles reporting on an alleged Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory and supposed "nefarious plots" by clandestine Jewish interests to dominate the world.His career was at first grounded in the Imperial...
.
He was also the chief investigator of the anti-fascist
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
organization, Friends of Democracy.
Lawsuits related to Under Cover
Several parties instituted actions against him for alleged libelous matter in Under Cover. Three of the four cases failed the consolidated case before the jury, leaving a verdict in favor only of lawyer Jeremiah Stokes, whose appearance Derounian had allegedly mocked. Stokes is first mentioned on page 365 of Under Cover, and his patriotism questioned in the next chapter, which begins:
I was in the room alone with two men. The one who had pumped both my hands in welcome was a small round man with a bald dome and rotund face. He had small, beady eyes and he peered at you from behind rimmed glasses He was definitely of the single-track, uncompromising zealot type. Jeremiah Stokes had let his law practice slide and was devoting the major portion of his time to the writing of "patriotic" tracts.
Derounian appealed; the appellate court reversed the district court and remanded the matter, stating in the overview:
The court found error in the submission to the jury of a physical description of the individual as small and rotund in stature, bald, round of face, and having small and beady eyes. The description of the individual was not reasonably calculated to subject him to public ridicule. It was error to submit to the jury ridicule of personal appearance as an element of damages.