After the war, Mehrdad and Princess Shams married and honeymooned in Cairo before starting a family in America. The couple had three children: Shahbaz, Shahryar, and Shahrazad. When it was time to give birth, they would travel 12,000 miles to Los Angeles so the children could be delivered by the doctor Princess Shams loved, one recommended by Rita Hayworth. Mehrdad Pahlbod who died three years ago this month — was for 51 years the husband of Princess Shams, the sister of Mohammad Reza Shah.
The couple had three children. Between 1964 and 1978, Mr. Pahlbod served as Minister of Culture and the Arts. After the Revolution, he and his family settled in the United States. Late in life, Mr. Pahlbod dictated his memoirs to the California-based author, producer and Universal Studios development executive Jerry Green. “Devotion: A Memoir of Mehrdad Pahlbod” was published a year after Mr. Pahlbod passed away at the age of 100. Mehrdad was 98 years old when we met. He still possessed a keen sense of wit, and I sensed at once that I was in the presence of a great man.
