Charlton Heston has been similarly loved for his strong screen roles and despised for some of his personal political views throughout the years. He seemed created to play heroes and his brash, swaggering style brought him roles in some of Hollywood’s biggest epic films. He satisfied female fans by appearing in obligatory scenes in which he revealed his bare, sculpted chest In spite of such compromises, Heston is still considered to have been one of the best movie actors of his generation.
Born John Charles Carter in Evanston, Illinois on October 4, 1924. After his parents Russell and Lila divorced in 1934, his mother remarried and Chester Heston became young Charles’ stepfather and, from thereon, he grew up in a more affluent area of Illinois and took the last name of his new stepdad.
Charles started performing in high school plays and was so good at acting that he got a drama scholarship to Northwestern University. He chose to leave college in order to serve in the Army Air Corps during World War II and he was a B-25 radio operator/ gunner with the Eleventh Air Force.
After war ended, he went to New York in search of acting work and took modeling jobs to make ends meet. After moving briefly to North Carolina to manage and do theater work at a local playhouse, he eventually returned to NYC and finally got offered a role on Broadway. His first big Broadway role was as Mark Anthony in a 1947 production of Anthony and Cleopatra. It was actually television, though, that got Heston the most notice. He appeared on Studio One, an anthology series, in which he played various parts, including Shakespearean characters. He got enough of a buzz going to get Hollywood’s attention and he appeared in the movie Dark City in 1950. It was Cecile B. DeMille’s grandiose The Greatest Show On Earth in 1952 that provided Heston a major breakthrough. In it, he played circus manager Brad Braden. While critics may not have been particularly kind regarding what some felt was an overblown production, there was praise for Heston.
Following that success, Charlton Heston began making many of the films that defined him as a star. His movies include The Ten Commandments (in which he played Moses and was literally “the voice of God)”, Ruby Gentry, The President’s Lady, Pony Express, The Naked Jungle, Lucy Gallant, Three Violent People, Touch of Evil, The Buccaneer, The Big Country, Ben-Hur, El Cid, 55 Days at Peking, Diamondhead, The Agony and the Ecstacy, The War Lord, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Major Dundee, Planet of the Apes, Will Penny, The Hawaiians, The Omega Man, Soylent Green, Earthquake, The Four Musketeers, Airport 1975, Midway and Gray Lady Down. He has consistently portrayed larger-than-life characters. He has also made cameo appearances in more recent film, such as Wayne’s World 2 and the Tim Burton remake of Planet of the Apes.
Charlton Heston received a 1959 Best Actor Oscar for his role as Judah Ben-Hur in the epic Ben-Hur, considered still to be one of the greatest films ever made.
He has appeared on television several times, most notably on Saturday Night Live, where he delighted audiences by basically making fun of himself. The bulk of attention in his older years, however, has come from his conservative political stands, particularly when he was president of The National Rifle Association,.
surprising since he was once a supporter of gun control. Still, as difficult as it may be for Charlton Heston’s detractors to give him his props, he has always had strong personal convictions. He was an early civil rights activists who accompanied Dr. Martin Luther King on the March to Washington.
Heston’s health has declined in the last few years. He was diagnosed with prostrate cancer in 1998 and with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2003. Although his cancer has gone into remission, his Alzheimer’s Disease symptoms have progressed at a steady rate and he is incapable now of making any more public appearances, a sad thing for a man known for his physical strength and vigor.
He has been wed to Lydia Clarke Heston since 1944 and they have had one of the rare, long- lasting marriages in the Hollywood community.
