Washington ( CNN ) -- Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday led Justice Department tributes to former presidential adviser and Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach , who died at 90 . Holder had a personal connection to Katzenbach , remembered for facing down Alabama Gov . George Wallace at a schoolhouse door in June 1963 to desegregate the University of Alabama . Cameras recorded the confrontation between Katzenbach , then serving as deputy attorney general , and Wallace . The governor declared the desegregation `` illegal and unwarranted '' and stood in the doorway . Katzenbach replied , `` Governor , I am not interested in a show . '' The Alabama National Guard enforced the registration of two African-American students and Wallace grudgingly stepped aside . One of the students was Vivian Malone , a sister of Sharon Malone , who later married Holder . Katzenbach died of natural causes Tuesday at his home in Skillman , New Jersey , according to Princeton University , where Katzenbach earned a degree and served as trustee emeritus . He was a top adviser to President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy on several key issues , including the Cuban missile crisis . Katzenbach was attorney general for two years during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration . Katzenbach drafted and â€ ” serving as Johnson 's liaison to Congress â€ ” secured passage of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act , according to Princeton . Holder called Katzenbach `` one of our nation 's great champions of civil rights and equal justice . '' Katzenbach , a New Jersey native , attended top prep schools and Ivy League colleges . He went to Germany to fight in World War II . His plane was shot down and he was captured by the Nazis and taken prisoner . According to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum , Katzenbach in October 1962 drafted a legal brief in support of Kennedy 's decision to blockade Cuba . Holder said Katzenbach will continue to be `` an inspiration for me , for my colleagues across the Department of Justice , and for the nation he was so proud to serve . '' Katzenbach was deputy attorney general from 1962 to 1964 , and attorney general in 1965 and 1966 . He also served as undersecretary of state from 1966 to 1969 . He is survived by his wife , Lydia ; sons , John and Christopher ; his daughters , Maria and Anne ; and six grandchildren . A memorial service was being planned .
Former U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach died at 90 . He was a key advisor to Presidents Kennedy , Johnson . Katzenbach fought Alabama Sen . George Wallace over desegregation . He drafted and engineered passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 .