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DALLAS, TX
Wilson died at Memorial Medical Center-Lufkin after he startedhaving difficulty breathing while attending a meeting in theeastern Texas town where he lived, said hospital spokeswoman YanaOgletree. Wilson was pronounced dead on arrival, and thepreliminary cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest, she said.
Wilson represented the 2nd District in east Texas in the U.S.House from 1973 to 1996 and was known in Washington as "Good TimeCharlie" for his reputation as a hard-drinking womanizer. He oncecalled former congresswoman Pat Schroeder "Babycakes," and triedto take a beauty queen with him on a government trip toAfghanistan.
Actor Tom Hanks portrayed Wilson in the 2007 movie aboutWilson's efforts to arm Afghan mujahedeen during Afghanistan's waragainst the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Wilson, a member of theHouse Appropriations Committee, helped secure money for weapons,plunging the U.S. into a risky venture against the world's othersuperpower.
In an interview with The Associated Press after the book waspublished in 2003, he said he wasn't worried about details of hiswild side being portrayed.
"I would remind you that I was not married at the time. I'm ina different place than I was in at the time and I don't apologizeabout that," Wilson said.
In 2007, Wilson had a heart transplant at a Houston hospital.Doctors had told Wilson, who suffered from cardiomyopathy, adisease that causes an enlarged and weakened heart, that he wouldlikely die without a transplant.
Wilson, a Democrat, was considered a progressive but also adefense hawk. He had acknowledged some responsibility forAfghanistan becoming a safe haven for al-Qaida after the Sovietsretreated and the U.S. withdrew its support.
"That caused an enormous amount of real bitterness inAfghanistan and it was probably the catalyst for Talibanmovement," Wilson said in a 2001 interview.
The Soviets spent a decade battling the determined andgenerously financed mujahedeen before pulling the Red Army fromAfghanistan in 1989.
Mike Vickers, who as a CIA agent in 1984 played a key role inthe clandestine effort to arm the Afghan rebels, said Wilson playeda part in the Soviet Union's collapse, which happened just twoyears after its withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Vickers, now assistant secretary of defense for specialoperations, praised Wilson as a "great American patriot who playeda pivotal role in a world-changing event -- the defeat of the RedArmy in Afghanistan, which led to the collapse of Communism and theSoviet Empire."
After leaving Congress, Wilson lobbied for a number of yearsbefore returning to Texas.
"Charlie was perfect as a congressman, perfect as a staterepresentative, perfect as a state senator. He was a perfectreflection of the people he represented. If there was anythingwrong with Charlie, I never did know what it was," said CharlesSchnabel Jr., who served for seven years as Wilson's chief of staffin Washington and worked with Wilson when he served in the TexasSenate.
Schnabel said he had just been with Wilson a few weeks ago forthe dedication of the Charlie Wilson chair for Pakistan studies atthe University of Texas, Austin, a $1 million endowment. He saidWilson had been doing "very good."
"He had the heart transplant in September 2007 and he recoveredand he said quote, 'he was a poster boy for heart transplants.' Hewas doing very well. He was taking a whole lot of medicine,"Schnabel said.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas called Wilson "a lifetime publicservant with a fiery passion for the people of east Texas, our menand women in uniform, our veterans and our freedoms."
"I have had the great privilege to work alongside him onseveral issues of importance to our veterans in Texas, and I willmiss his leadership and dedication," he said.
Ogletree said Wilson is survived by his wife, Barbara, and asister.
Comments on Wilson's death
"Charlie Wilson led a life that was oversized even byHollywood's standards. Congressman Wilson was fiercely devoted toserving his country and his fellow Texans." -- Gov. Rick Perry,Texas Republican.
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"Charlie Wilson was one of a kind, loved by all who knew him,and he will be missed as one of our most distinguished and colorfulleaders. he was a giant, not just in stature but in his love forAmerica and especially America's men and women in uniform. He was adynamic presence in Congress and on the national stage. -- U.S. Sen.Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.
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"(Wilson) was a lifetime public servant with a fiery passionfor the people of East Texas, our men and women in uniform, ourveterans and our freedoms. I have had the great privilege to workalongside him on several issues of importance to our veterans inTexas, and I will miss his leadership and dedication." -- U.S. Sen.John Cornyn, R-Texas.
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"Charlie Wilson was a bigger-than-life Texan who played a keyrole in bringing down the former Soviet Union, and it was aprivilege for me to know and work with him." -- U.S. Rep. ChetEdwards, Waco Democrat and Wilson's former House AppropriationsCommittee colleague and fellow advocate for military veterans.
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"Charlie was a man of courage and conviction who worked hard,loved his country and lived life to the fullest. We will misshim." -- U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the HouseAppropriations Committee.
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"Charlie Wilson is proof of what one man can do when he'sdetermined, and the world is a different place because ofCharlie." -- U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, Tyler Republican who nowrepresents the 2nd Congressional District of Texas once representedby Wilson.
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"Charlie loved this nation and had deep respect and gratitudefor the men and women who defended her. He was a force for veteranshis entire career. The VA is a richer organization because of Mr.Wilson." -- Dr. Anthony Zollo, director of Charles Wilson VAOutpatient Clinic in Lufkin.
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"It is the rare congressman who by dint of personality,persistence and country smarts did something that literally alteredhistory on the global stage. What Charlie Wilson did in Afghanistanchanged the course of world events. Charlie Wilson was all Texanand all American. He dreamed big, lived large." -- Dan Rather,television journalist.
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