Charlton Heston passes at age 84
 

Just reported that Charlton Heston passed today at age 84. A legend passes...

that sucks.......rip Detective Robert Thorn.

damn, 1 less fine American.



1 less realistic person in Hollywood


Married to the same woman for 60+ years

Charlton Heston Dies at Beverly Hills Home

Sunday, April 06, 2008

LOS ANGELES — Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing "Ben-Hur" and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the '50s and '60s, has died. He was 84.

The actor died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said.

Powers declined to comment on the cause of death or provide any further details.

Heston revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease, saying, "I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure."

With his large, muscular build, well-boned face and sonorous voice, Heston proved the ideal star during the period when Hollywood was filling movie screens with panoramas depicting the religious and historical past. "I have a face that belongs in another century," he often remarked.

The actor played the role of leader offscreen as well. He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild and chairman of the American Film Institute and marched in the civil rights movement of the 1950s. With age he grew more conservative and campaigned for conservative candidates.

In June 1998, Heston was elected president of the National Rifle Association, for which he had posed for ads holding a rifle. He delivered a jab at then-President Clinton, saying, "America doesn't trust you with our 21-year-old daughters, and we sure, Lord, don't trust you with our guns."

Heston stepped down as NRA president in April 2003, telling members his five years in office were "quite a ride. ... I loved every minute of it."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,346965,00.html

damn.

Heston was (is) a true "Legend"...

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RIP, Mr. Heston. :(

I had the honor of meeting him about 10 yrs. ago. Rest in peace. Great man.

I met him and got him to sign his book at a NRA convention years ago. Will not forget the moment either.

joe

well i guess they DID pry the gun from his cold dead hand....

well, if he had Alzheimer, i think they probably pried it out of his hands when they were still warm...

last thing you want in your vincinity, is a wandering geriatric, with a memory that's on the fritz and a high powered and loaded rifle...

I rode an elevator with him in Beverly Hill once.

Good man, great American!

R.I.P. Charlston

Omega Man

Wow. I just watched the Ten Commandments the other night. Wow.

Good for him, BTW, setting the example in his marriage. Our culture seems to exemplify the idea that 2-3 marriages is "normal," especially in the Hollywood world. It's good to see a guy stand up for something that matters.

Dan

Charlton Heston

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing "Ben-Hur" and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the '50s and '60s, has died. He was 84.

The actor died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife, Lydia, at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said.

Heston revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease, saying, "I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure."

Heston lent his strong presence to some of the most acclaimed and successful films of the midcentury. "Ben-Hur" won 11 Academy Awards, tying it for the record with the more recent "Titanic" (1997) and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003). Heston's other movies included "The Ten Commandments," "El Cid," "55 Days at Peking," "Planet of the Apes" and "Earthquake."

He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild and chairman of the American Film Institute and marched in the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Later in life he campaigned for conservative candidates. In June 1998, Heston was elected president of the National Rifle Association, for which he had posed for ads holding a rifle.

At his birth in a Chicago suburb on Oct. 4, 1923, his name was Charles Carter. His parents moved to St. Helen, Mich., where his father, Russell Carter, operated a lumber mill. Growing up in the Michigan woods with almost no playmates, young Charles read books of adventure and devised his own games while wandering the countryside with his rifle.

Charles's parents divorced, and his mother married Chester Heston, a factory plant superintendent in Wilmette, Ill., an upscale north Chicago suburb.

Calling himself Charlton Heston from his mother's maiden name and his stepfather's last name, he won an acting scholarship to Northwestern University in 1941. He excelled in campus plays and appeared on Chicago radio. In 1943, he enlisted in the Army Air Force and served as a radio-gunner in the Aleutians.

In 1944 he married another Northwestern drama student, Lydia Clarke, and after his Army discharge in 1947, they moved to New York to seek acting jobs. Finding none, they hired on as codirectors and principal actors at a summer theater in Asheville, N.C.

Back in New York, both Hestons began finding work. With his strong 6-foot-2 build and craggily handsome face, Heston won roles in TV soap operas, plays ("Antony and Cleopatra" with Katherine Cornell) and live TV dramas such as "Julius Caesar," "Macbeth," "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Of Human Bondage."

Heston wrote several books: "The Actor's Life: Journals 1956-1976," published in 1978; "Beijing Diary: 1990," concerning his direction of the play "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" in Chinese; "In the Arena: An Autobiography," 1995; and "Charlton Heston's Hollywood: 50 Years of American Filmmaking," 1998.

:(

Well, at least he should be applauded for his acting work.

I'm probably in the minority here, but I thought his best role was his cameo in Wayne's World II.

Found it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPg6Q-VUqtc

I really liked his acting- I generally don't even notice actors in movies, but this man had presence.