CHARLIE WILSON DEAD AT 76

FROM: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100210/world/us_obit_charlie_wilson

LUFKIN, Texas - A hospital spokeswoman says former Rep. Charlie Wilson of Texas, who pushed U.S. officials to arm the Afghan mujahedeen to fight Soviet occupation forces, has died at the age of 76.

The spokeswoman says Wilson died Wednesday of cardiopulmonary arrest.

Wilson represented Texas' 2nd District in the House from 1973 to 1996 and was nicknamed "Good Time Charlie" for his partying ways.

He was portrayed in the 2007 movie "Charlie Wilson's War," which chronicled Wilson's efforts to arm Afghani mujahedeen, then called "freedom fighters," during Afghanistan's war against the Soviet Union in 1980s.

Actor Tom Hanks portrayed Wilson in the movie.