Rep. Gillis Long, Member of Political Dynasty, Dies

Rep. Gillis W. Long (D-La.), a member of the family that has dominated Louisiana politics for decades and the second-ranking Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee, has died of a heart attack, his office said today.

Long, 61, died at his home in Washington’s Watergate complex at about 10 p.m. Sunday, his press spokeswoman said.

Long was a distant cousin of Huey Long, the former governor of Louisiana and U.S. senator who tried unsuccessfully to garner populist support for a presidential bid before his assassination in 1935.

Considered Liberal Considered the most liberal member of the Louisiana congressional delegation, Long was a close associate of House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill Jr. (D-Mass.).

“He was an extremely able man and my second-in-command on the Rules Committee,” said Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.) “He was . . . a great legislative strategist.”

During the 1984 campaign, there were widespread rumors of Long’s ill health and the possibility that he had cancer. He was accompanied by a physician at the Democratic National Convention and gave interviews in his hotel room while clad in pajamas.

Long maintained there was nothing wrong but said he had lost weight for health reasons. He easily won reelection last year.

He was first elected to the House in 1962, then was beaten by a cousin, Speedy Long, because he was viewed as too liberal for his district. Long won the district again in 1972, when his cousin retired.

Long, a corporate attorney before going to Congress, served in the Army in World War II and participated in the Nuremberg war crimes trials. He is survived by his wife, Cathy, and two children, Janis and Floyd, both of New Orleans.