(CNN) Tony Mendez, a CIA operative who was portrayed by Ben Affleck in the 2012 Oscar-winning movie "Argo," died Saturday morning, his literary manager Christy Fletcher said.

He was 78.

Mendez had Parkinson's disease, she said, which he had been diagnosed with more that 10 years ago.

"He was a brilliant man, a gifted artist, and a true American hero. I will miss him enormously," Fletcher said.

He will be buried in Nevada, where his family is from, she said.

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