Charles Z. Wick, 90; spread Reagan's message overseas
LOS ANGELES - Charles Z. Wick, who as director of the US Information Agency under President Reagan expanded American broadcasts to Cuba and Russia but whose agency was accused of blacklisting liberals, has died. He was 90.
Mr. Wick died Sunday of natural causes at his Los Angeles home, according to a statement from Wick's family released yesterday through the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.
"Charlie Wick was a loyal and dedicated American who served this country with distinction, and he was a dear friend for over 50 years," Nancy Reagan said in a statement.
Mr. Wick served from 1981 to 1989 as head of the US Information Agency, which runs the Voice of America broadcasting service. Reagan was dubbed "the great communicator" by his supporters, but the president gave Mr. Wick credit for a central role in promoting the administration's views to the world.
Reagan credited Mr. Wick, who was part of his famed "kitchen cabinet," with modernizing and computerizing the Information Agency. He helped expand its budget through volunteers and private-sector donations. Under Mr. Wick, the agency launched a live global satellite-television network, known as WorldNet, and Radio Marti, which broadcast to Cuba.
Mr. Wick was at the helm as the Cold War began to thaw and the United States and communist Soviet bloc began expanding cultural exchanges. During his tenure, the Soviet bloc stopped jamming US government-funded broadcasts such as Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Liberty.
"Charlie Wick was magnificent in letting the world know about Ronald Reagan's America. He also had a great capacity for friendship, and he knew how to help his friends have a good time," former secretary of state George Shultz said in a statement.
In 1986, the Information Agency was accused of censorship for refusing to grant government certification that would make it easier to export seven documentaries that had views contrary to those of the Reagan administration.
Mr. Wick also took heat in 1984 when it was revealed that the Information Agency had a list of 84 people barred from agency-sponsored speaking engagements overseas. They included anchorman Walter Cronkite; consumer advocate Ralph Nader; and Coretta Scott King, the widow of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Mr. Wick denied any personal involvement in the list, saying a blacklist was "un-American," but he acknowledged that "political bias" might have had a role in its compilation.
Born in Cleveland, Mr. Wick earned good money as a piano player during the Depression and World War II, enabling him to go to college and get degrees in music and law.
Mr. Wick and Reagan were longtime friends, beginning in 1959, when they ran a hot dog booth during a fair at their children's school. He went on to become an important supporter during Reagan's presidential campaign.
When appointed to the Information Agency post in 1981, he was a businessman involved in financing motion pictures and television productions, as well as healthcare and mortgage industries. He also headed his own company, Wick Financial Corp.
Mr. Wick was the longest-serving director of the US Information Agency.
