Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

by Linda Kay

Directed by: Mike Nichols

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Based on a true story. Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) becomes interested in the suffering caused by Russia’s war on Afghanistan which prompts him to work covertly to help aid the citizens of that war torn country.

Kitty Cameo: A large ginger tabby cat is seen briefly in a couple of scenes in Wilson’s office. First he is lying on the desk of one of Charlie’s secretaries (collectively known as Charlie’s Angels).

Charlie Wilson's War - ginger tabby cat lying on desk

Charlie Wilson's War - ginger tabby cat sitting on desk

And again later on Wilson’s own desk. The animal handler on the film was Joel Proust.

Charlie Wilson's War - ginger tabby cat lying on desk with Tom Hanks

Charlie Wilson's War - ginger tabby cat lying on desk with Tom Hanks animated gif

Behind the Scenes

No explanation for the cat is given in the film itself, but it was likely a nod to a Himalayan cat named Khyber who notoriously hung around Wilson’s office and also roamed the second floor of the Rayburn House Office Building, having been given leeway with an exemption to the usual “no cats” House rule. Charlie reportedly adopted Khyber in 1986 from an Angelina County animal shelter. Another article described Khyber as “a blue-eyed, long-haired bobtailed cat that is roughly the size of a cocker spaniel” (the bobbed tail was a result of a car accident years before.)

Charlie Wilson's War - with Himalayan cat Khyber in his office — **Representative Charlie Wilson in his office with his Himalayan cat Khyber, 1988.**

Khyber enjoyed his own celebrity, having appeared on CBS Sunday Morning and in newspapers on several occasions. The Herald reported on January 29, 1993 that Khyber had reached out to President Clinton’s cat, Socks, to share “in-depth briefings or just a casual whisker-to-whisker chat over a bowl of tuna supreme,” but that Socks had not responded.

Khyber’s passing of kidney disease made national news. In 1994 an article in The Kingston Whig-Standard reported that Socks even sent a consolatory note to Wilson upon the passing of his pet cat Khyber which was signed with a paw print. (We don’t know if Socks ever did reach out to Khyber while he was alive.)

Taking Khyber’s place in the office were two more Himalayans named Winston “Bubba” Churchill and Etae Won (Etae actually resided in the office before Khyber’s passing and was friends with the late feline). The Orange Leader reported on November 13, 1994, “Bubba has the run of the office, as well as the hallway in front of Wilson’s office. He has his legion of fans in the building who usually say hello to him when he pops out for a stroll in the hall.”

Charlie Wilson's War - Himalayan cat Bubba on desk of office — Bubba takes up residence in Wilson’s office. *The Orange Leader Sun, November 13, 1994.*

Wilson also reportedly owned a cat named Ernest which lived in his Washington co-op apartment and one friend recalled that Wilson even decided to move when the rules of the building deemed all resident cats would have to be declawed. Wilson was quoted as having said, “I don’t know how long this Congress stuff is going to last. But someday, Ernest and I are going back to Lufkin, and Ernest is going to need his claws.”

Final Mewsings: Cats deserve more representation in the nation’s Capitol!

Many thanks to Aaron Shuster for letting us know about the cat in this film.

Relevant Links: