Felt died Thursday of congestive heart failure, said John D. O'Connor, a familyfriend who wrote the 2005 Vanity Fair article uncovering Felt's secret.
The shadowy central figure in the one of the most gripping political dramas of the20th century, Felt insisted his alter ego be kept secret when he leaked damaging information aboutPresident Richard Nixon and his aides to The Washington Post.
While some - including Nixon and his aides - speculated that Felt was the sourcewho connected the White House to the June 1972 break-in at the headquarters of the DemocraticNational Committee, he steadfastly denied the accusations until finally coming forward in May2005.
"I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat," Felt told O'Connor, a San Franciscoattorney whose story created a whirlwind of media attention.
The man who had kept his secret for decades, now weakened by a stroke, wasn't doingmuch talking - he merely waved the media from the front door of his daughter's Santa Rosa home.
Critics, including those who went to prison for the Watergate scandal, called him atraitor for betraying the commander in chief. Supporters hailed him as a hero for blowing thewhistle on a corrupt administration trying to cover up attempts to sabotage opponents.
Felt grappled with his place in history, arguing with his children over whether toreveal his identity or to take his secret to the grave, O'Connor said. He agonized about whatrevealing his identity would do to his reputation. Would he be seen as a turncoat or a man ofhonor?
Ultimately, his daughter Joan persuaded him to go public; after all, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward was sure to profit by revealing the secret afterFelt died. "We could make at least enough money to pay some bills, like the debt I've run up forthe kids' education," she told her father, according to the Vanity Fair article. "Let's do it for the family."
The revelation capped a Washington whodunnit that spanned more than three decades and sevenpresidents. It was the final mystery of Watergate, the subject of the best-selling book and hitmovie All the President's Men, which inspired a generation of college students to pursuejournalism.
