Heston's America

IBD ^ | April 7, 2008

[Kaslin]

Rest In Peace: The headlines announcing Charlton Heston's death peg him as a actor who was a gun activist. He might not have been a real-life Moses, but he was much more than the media give him credit for.

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Heston died Saturday at age 84. He will be memorialized primarily for his roles in "The Ten Commandments," "Ben-Hur" and "Planet of the Apes,"" as well his defense of gun owners' rights. Those achievements, though, are but a superficial narrative of this dignified man.

Unafraid of how he would be received, Heston ran against what became the leftist Hollywood grain. The dear friend of Ronald Reagan was not apologetic of, nor embarrassed by, the founding fathers and the gift of freedom they graciously provided. He was a believer in the entire Constitution, not just the Second Amendment, and the unprecedented liberties it gave men.

Heston was not the doddering old fool that Michael Moore — who, shockingly, had enough class to post Heston's photo on his Web site as a tribute — tried to depict him as during the 2002 interview in which the propagandist ambushed the man as he suffered from Alzheimer's. He was much more than that.

Heston vigorously defended freedom, was troubled by what he saw as a culture war that would hijack our liberty to speak freely, and felt grave concerns that the country was heading toward a place where "the superstition of political correctness rules the halls of reason." The man known as "Chuck" to his family and friends understood the virtue of hard work and humble beginnings, and was ever grateful for being born an American in what he called the "cradle of freedom."

[Bommer]

Turner Classic Movies will run a 6 film tribute on Friday April 11th, including the quite excellent Private Screenings interview with Robert Osborne

In Tribute to actor Charlton Heston, who died Saturday, April 5th at age 84, TCM is changing its evening programming on Friday, April 11th to honor the actor with a six-film salute.

Friday, April 11th:
2:30 PM Private Screenings: Charlton Heston
3:30 PM The Buccaneer (’58)
5:30 PM The Hawaiians
8:00 PM Private Screenings: Charlton Heston
9:00 PM Ben-Hur
1:00 AM Khartoum
3:30 AM Major Dundee

TCM Remembers Charlton Heston (1924-2008)

Charlton Heston, the strong-jawed, stalwart leading man who shot to fame in big budget epics such as The Greatest Show on Earth, The Ten Commandments and his Oscar® winning lead in Ben-Hur (1959), died at his Beverly Hills home on April 5. The cause of death was not reported, but in 2002, Heston publicly revealed that he was possibly suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 84.

He was born John Charles Carter on October 4, 1923 in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His father, a lumber mill operator, relocated his family to St. Helen, Michigan, where young Charles developed his young physique playing in the rural woods. He relocated to Chicago when his parents divorced and his mother remarried a factory plant manager. It was during high school that Heston discovered the drama department.

He attended Northwestern University on a theater scholarship but, like most men of his generation, his civilian life was interrupted by the war. At 19, he joined the Army Air Force. After his four year stint with the military, Heston resumed his acting pursuits and moved to New York City with his wife, Lydia (she was a fellow theater student at Northwestern; they married in 1944).

It was slowing going at first, but Heston found work on television playing in such literary adaptations as Wuthering Heights and Julius Caesar. With a new professional name (named after his mother’s maiden name and his stepfather’s surname) and some steady television credits, he was soon discovered by producer Hal B. Wallis, who gave Heston, at the young age of 26, a lead in his first commercial film, the noir thriller Dark City (1950).

From that point on, Heston starred in a series of high profile films: The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), The President’s Lady (1953), The Private War of Major Benson (1955), and as Moses in The Ten Commandments (1956). He surprised everyone by playing a Mexican federale for Orson Welles' classic Touch of Evil (1958); Although many critics dismissed his portrayal due to his darkened skin and ineffective accent, his fans still commend him for taking a role that cast him against his usual type. His most famous performance was the title role in Ben-Hur (1959). In William Wyler’s stellar retelling of this biblical tale of betrayal and vengeance, Heston, with his athletic, 6’ 3” build and raw-boned features, made him a most suitable choice for the part. He received the Oscar® for Best Actor for his efforts.

After his massive commercial and critical success with Ben-Hur, Heston could practically write his own ticket - and did - in a series of action adventure yarns: El Cid (1961), 55 Days at Peking (1963, and as Michelangelo, another historical character in The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965). Yet, despite being one of Hollywood’s biggest leads, his best and most underrated performances didn’t occur until 1968 in Will Penny. In that he showed a surprising vulnerability as an aging cowpoke who falls for a stranded mother. Other late career triumphs included George Taylor, the astronaut struggling for dignity in the classic sci-fi Planet of the Apes (also 1968); an effective Marc Anthony in Julius Caesar (1970); the lone survivor of a vampiristic future in The Omega Man (1971); the detective who discovers the secret ingredient in a new food product in Soylent Green (1973); and his fine, shrewdly villainous turn as Cardinal Richelieu for both The Three Musketeers (also 1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974).

When Heston's star on the big screen faded, he turned to television, and spent two seasons (1985-87) playing patriarch Jason Colby in the Dynasty spinoff. Better still, Heston displayed a refreshing dose of self-deprecation when he twice hosted Saturday Night Live and even made a cameo in Wayne’s World 2 (1993) lampooning his stoic on-screen persona.

In later years, Heston garnered attention for his off-screen politics. He served as the president of the National Rifle Association, campaigned for Republican candidates and made a notorious on-screen appearance in Michael Moore’s Oscar® winning documentary Bowling for Columbine (2002) defending the rights of gun owners. Heston wrote a telling memoir In the Arena: An Autobiography (Berkley Trade, 1995) and followed that with a heavily illustrated review of his film career Charlton Heston’s Hollywood: 50 Years of American Filmmaking (GT Publishing Corporation 1998). He spent his later years, after he publicly revealed that he was suffering from symptoms similar to Alzheimer’s disease, living quietly at his Beverly Hills home. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Lydia; a son, Fraser; and a daughter, Holly Ann.

by Michael T. Toole

[George - the Other]

“Heston vigorously defended freedom ...”

Too bad he didn’t punch out Michael Moore.

[jdm]

Michael Moore — who, shockingly, had enough class to post Heston's photo on his Web site as a tribute

And the URL for the photo has RIP in it, so you know despite their differences, Michael Moore respects Heston.

http://staging.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/hestonripsm.jpg

[VR-21]

I was a great fan. My favorite remains "Will Penny."

He and his like tower over the current crop.

Rest in Peace.

[Kaslin]

Ben Hur is one of my most favorite movies of all times

[mware]

I wonder what George Clooney had to say.

He must be so ashamed of his comments made after the announcment of Heston's illness.

For those who don't recall his comment was, "Good"

BOR is going to do a segment on the left hate sites response to Heston's death in the next segment. (bottom of the hour)

[the invisib1e hand]

“Planet of the Apes” was probably prophetic.

[the invisib1e hand]

george who?

[GulfWar1Vet]

[mware]

I would recommend to everyone the series of video's Heston did on the Bible.

The first video is from the Hebrew Bible (Genesis)

he second video is on Jesus of Nazareth

The third is on The Passion.

Nothing fancy, although he did his readings, at various sites in the Holy Lands.

[Congressman Billybob]

I wonder, just wonder, whether the writers of this glowing IBD editorial about Charlton Heston might have lurked on Free Republic when they were planning this. Click below to see why I say that.

Congressman Billybob

Latest article, "Soylent Green is people!"

Help a Freeper into Congress.

[mware]

Hey Billybob, did you hear Fred Barnes this morning? Actually mentioned a part of his biography I was not aware of.

Seems Heston was involved in academic research into who was the author of the plays by Shakespeare.

[LibFreeOrDie]

his best and most underrated performances didn’t occur until 1968 in Will Penny.

Heston is wonderful in "Will Penny" - much different than his best-known roles. A character Western, not a CB DeMille production. My all-time favorite Heston film. (And his, too!)

[ought-six]

“My favorite remains ‘Will Penny’.”

A truly remarkable film. Joan Hackett, a very gifted actress who never recieved the acclaim and recognition she so richly deserved, was brilliant in her role of an abaondoned wife with a young son, stuck in the middle of nowhere, but relying on an inner strength and resourcefulness to survive. As for Heston as Will Penny, the aging cowhand who knows his days as a puncher are nearing an end, but stoically accepting that as they end, so does he, it was probably Heston’s best peformance.

[Conservative4Ever]

I second this idea...we have the series at home and watch it at least once a year...great stuff.
RIP...Mr. Heston. You were one of the last great actors of my generation. I enjoyed your work very much. Ben-Hur and Will Penny and a obsure little film with Eleanor Parker about a plantation owner with a new wife then finds out she had been married before..ummmmm...The Green Jungle?...are my favorites.

[Conservative4Ever]

The Naked Jungle