His wife of 47 years, Geraldine Novak, told The Associated Press that he died at his home in Washington early in the morning.

Novak was a household face as co-host of CNN's "Crossfire". Prior to that Novak had been a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times for decades. The brain turmor diagnosis in July 2008 came less than a week after he struck a pedestrian in downtown Washington with his Corvette and drove away.

"He was a Washington institution who could turn an idea into the most discussed story around kitchen tables, congressional offices, the White House, and everywhere in between," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a statement.

Said House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio: "Bob made remarkable contributions in the field of journalism and to the American political landscape."

Novak had been dubbed the "prince of darkness" by a journalist friend early in his career, and he embraced it. He wrote in that 2007 memoir that he became proud of the label derived from his "unsmiling pessimism about the prospects for America and Western civilization.

"I had a terrific time fulfilling all my youthful dreams and at the same time making life miserable for hypocritical, posturing politicians and, I hope, performing a service for my country," Novak wrote in his memoir, "The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years reporting in Washington."

In recent years, Novak ended up actually being a part of a big Washington story, in ways he likely never intended, becoming a central figure in the Valerie Plame CIA leak case.

Novak was the first to publish in 2003 a column in which he outed the name of the CIA employee, and he came under withering criticism and abuse from many for that column, which Novak said began "a long and difficult episode" in his career.  The article was published eight days after Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, said the Bush administration had twisted prewar intelligence to exaggerate the Iraqi threat of nuclear weapons.

Citing two Bush administration officials, Novak revealed Plame worked for the CIA on weapons of mass destruction. That blew her cover as a CIA operative and led to the investigation of who leaked that information, and eventually to the conviction of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff. Libby's prison sentence was later commuted by President Bush.

Born and raised in Joliet, Ill., Novak began his career in journalism in high school as a sports stringer for the Joliet Herald-News, then worked at the Champaign-Urbana Courier while attending the University of Illinois. Novak is survived by his wife Geraldine, who was a secretary for President Lyndon Johnson, their daughter and a son, Alex.

"He loved being a journalist, he loved journalism, he loved his country and his family," Geraldine Novak told The AP.

So many will remember Robert Novak as a generous friend and colleague, a tireless workhorse, an innovator in journalism and an example of how to practice the profession. His most enduring legacy, though, may well be his work to pass down generation to generation his love of this country, its traditions and its values that guided his life and work.

Novak's services will be held at St. Patrick Catholic Church, which is located at 619 10th Street, NW in Washington, D.C. The viewing will be Thursday, August 20 from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be Friday, August 21 at 10:00 a.m. Interment will be private.