You know, though it goes against reason, I somehow thought Charlton Heston would outlive us all. Sadly, the Oscar winner died on Saturday at the age of 84.
Well-known for his award-winning turn in the 1959 epic tale Ben Hur and his role as Moses in The Ten Commandments, Heston was a part of many other great Hollywood films as well, particularly films of historical — and cinematic — significance. Some of these include Planet of the Apes, The Omega Man, Soylent Green, El Cid, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and Julius Caesar.
Heston was also increasingly active politically in his later years and was elected president of the National Rifle Association in 1998. Variety reminds us that he "was famously quoted as saying the only way his gun would be taken away 'is from my cold, dead hands.'" A younger generation might be most familiar with Heston as the aging actor who became incensed by an interview Michael Moore conducted with him in which they discussed America's issues with gun control in Bowling for Columbine.
Heston may not have outlived all of us, but his legacy as an actor who could epitomize, as Variety puts it, "the righteous, virile man" will live on.
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I LOVED him in Ben Hur. I always watched that w/ my dad on TCM.
1wonderful, powerful actor. I will miss him so much.
2Soylent Green is people!
3I loved him as the player king in Brannagh's Hamlet.
4his speech on the fall of Troy is amazing, and shows his incredible acting abilities.
I am 56 yrs old, yes I know, way to old to still have a crush, but I wrote to him when I was 11, he sent a picture, and thus began my life long fascination with him.
5I cried when I heard the news! One in a million. My condolences to his family's
i really loved watching Ben Hur and the Ten Commandments (like 50 times each!) when i lived at home, but a while back when i knew about his opinions on gun control (prior to the michael moore movie, which just made me dislike CH more), i really started to dislike him. his work with the NRA is disgusting.
6I was terribly disappointed when I heard about his work with the NRA, but I have to admit I've watched Ben Hur about a thousand times. I was obsessed with it as a kid.
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