Theodore Sorensen, Top JFK Aide, Dead at 82

Oct. 31, 2010— -- Theodore C. Sorensen, special counsel, advisor, speechwriter and "alter ego" to John F. Kennedy, died today at the age of 82 at a New York hospital from complications of a stroke he suffered last week.

Sorensen, who is survived by his widow, Gillian Sorensen, had also suffered a stroke in 2001 that left him with poor eyesight and hindered his ability to write his autobiography.

A key aide during his 1960 presidential campaign, and special counsel and speechwriter to Kennedy between 1961 and 1963, Sorenson was a close confidant, rivaled only by JFK's brother Robert, throughout the Cold War, the growing civil rights movement and the Cuban missile crisis.

"I was so saddened to learn that Ted Sorensen passed away," President Obama said in a statement released this morning. "I got to know Ted after he endorsed my campaign early on. He was just as I hoped he'd be -- just as quick-witted, just as serious of purpose, just as determined to keep America true to our highest ideals.

"Even as I mourn his loss, I know his legacy will live on in the words he wrote, the causes he advanced, and the hearts of anyone who is inspired by the promise of a new frontier," he added.

Born in Nebraska in 1928 to Christian A. Sorensen, a progressive politician and future attorney general of Nebraska, Ted Sorenson received both his Bachelor's degree and law degree from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, where he finished at the top of his class.

"I consider it one of the great privileges of this job that I got the chance to know Ted, hear some of his amazing stories, and seek advice from the best speechwriter who ever lived. Truly an extraordinary life," White House chief speech writer Jon Favreau told ABC News today.

By the time he was 27, Sorenson was researching and drafting Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize winning book, "Profiles in Courage."

A controversy ensued over his role in working on the book, with many claiming that he was the sole writer. In his 2008 autobiography, "Counselor," he wrote that it was in fact collaboration.