Theodore G. Shackley, a CIA operative known as "the Blond Ghost," died of prostate cancer Monday at his longtime Bethesda home. He was 75.

Mr. Shackley was born in Springfield, Mass., and raised in West Palm Beach, Fla.

He graduated from the University of Maryland as a political science major in 1945 and served in the Army for two years before joining the CIA as an agent recruiter in 1947.

He worked for the agency in Miami, Berlin and Southeast Asia, and was stationed in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

In the mid-1970s, he rose to associate deputy director for operations, overseeing the agency's clandestine service.

His nickname came from within the agency. "He was blond and he was a ghost," said Thomas R. Spencer, his friend, lawyer and former colleague. "He never wanted his picture taken, nor could he have it taken for years."

After retiring in 1979, he founded Research Associates International, a Bethesda firm specializing in risk assessment for firms with interests in oil or international trade.

He was the author of several books, including two guides for corporate executives on coping with terrorism and crime, and the subject of another -- Blond Ghost: Ted Shackley and the CIA's Crusades, by David Corn, published in 1994.

He is survived by his wife, Hazel Shackley; a daughter, Suzanne Shackley of Pensacola, Fla.; and two grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Roman Catholic Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda.