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  • Charlton Heston dead at 84

    Charlton Heston dead at 84
    Charlton Heston dead at 84 - Yahoo! News
    By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press Writer 3 minutes ago

    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.
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    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 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 assumed 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."

    Later that year, Heston was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. "The largeness of character that comes across the screen has also been seen throughout his life," President Bush said at the time.

    He engaged in a lengthy feud with liberal Ed Asner during the latter's tenure as president of the Screen Actors Guild. His latter-day activism almost overshadowed his achievements as an actor, which were considerable.

    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 hits include: "The Ten Commandments," "El Cid," "55 Days at Peking," "Planet of the Apes" and "Earthquake."

    He liked the cite the number of historical figures he had portrayed:

    Andrew Jackson ("The President's Lady," "The Buccaneer"), Moses ("The Ten Commandments"), title role of "El Cid," John the Baptist ("The Greatest Story Ever Told"), Michelangelo ("The Agony and the Ecstasy"), General Gordon ("Khartoum"), Marc Antony ("Julius Caesar," "Antony and Cleopatra"), Cardinal Richelieu ("The Three Musketeers"), Henry VIII ("The Prince and the Pauper").

    Heston made his movie debut in the 1940s in two independent films by a college classmate, David Bradley, who later became a noted film archivist. He had the title role in "Peer Gynt" in 1942 and was Marc Antony in Bradley's 1949 version of "Julius Caesar," for which Heston was paid $50 a week.

    Film producer Hal B. Wallis ("Casablanca") spotted Heston in a 1950 television production of "Wuthering Heights" and offered him a contract. When his wife reminded him that they had decided to pursue theater and television, he replied, "Well, maybe just for one film to see what it's like."

    Heston earned star billing from his first Hollywood movie, "Dark City," a 1950 film noir. Cecil B. DeMille next cast him as the circus manager in the all-star "The Greatest Show On Earth," named by the Motion Picture Academy as the best picture of 1952.

    Charlton Heston poses with his Oscar statuette at the 32nd Annual Academy Awards held at the RKO Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, Ca. on April 4, 1960. 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, died Saturday April 5, 2008 according to a statement from the actor's family. He was 86. (AP Photo, FILE)
    To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

  • #2
    That's odd. The title says he's 84 but the last line of the article says he's 86...

    I was just watching The Ten Commandments 2 weeks ago.

    Here's a trivia. Can anyone name his character's name in True Lies, without searching on the internet?

    Rest In Peace Mr. Heston.
    "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

    Comment


    • #3
      Sad.

      I loved his films and he was a hit when I was in school.

      A great actor.


      "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

      I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

      HAKUNA MATATA

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by gunnut View Post

        Here's a trivia. Can anyone name his character's name in True Lies, without searching on the internet?

        .
        I thought that was Arnold Swartzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis in that movie. I don't recall Heston in it at all.

        But other than that, whether he was 84 or 86 is of no real consequence at this point. He was a true American hero figure and an excellent actor. He was well recognized -- and listened to -- when he was President of the National Rifle Association.

        When he announced, some years ago, that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, my heart sank. His death today, therefore, was not totally unexpected.

        But still sad.
        Able to leap tall tales in a single groan.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by RustyBattleship View Post
          I thought that was Arnold Swartzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis in that movie. I don't recall Heston in it at all.

          But other than that, whether he was 84 or 86 is of no real consequence at this point. He was a true American hero figure and an excellent actor. He was well recognized -- and listened to -- when he was President of the National Rifle Association.

          When he announced, some years ago, that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, my heart sank. His death today, therefore, was not totally unexpected.

          But still sad.
          He had a brief role as the Agency Director.

          And it is very sad news for Gun Nuts & Right Wingers.

          Comment


          • #6
            I thought that was Arnold Swartzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis in that movie. I don't recall Heston in it at all.
            He had an eye patch in the movie...
            To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

            Comment


            • #7
              He was a great man, he will be truly missed. From advancing the cause of civil rights to protecting our Constitutional right to keep and bare arms to being a world class actor he was a great man and a great American.

              I loved his performances in Ben Hur, Major Dundee and Midway (even though how he somehow magically switched from a Wildcat to a Phantom and crashed into the USS Lexington is a bit of a mystery!)

              Comment


              • #8
                He was a man among men. An oustanding actor. Dam shame Hollywood can't even come close to matching his caliber with the pitifull bunch they have in Hollywood these days. The man made quality pictures in almost every roll he played and stood up for many Rights that most actors wouldnt dare apeak out about.

                He will certainly be missed.
                Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

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