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God is dead.
Go To (Daily Motion) for "In
Loving Memory of
Charlton
Heston"
"Moses will forever part the Red Sea but today
the screen is dark, the curtains closed and the sea calm!"
" Actor Charlton Heston had a varied and colorful
career from playing Moses (and the voice of God) in "The
Ten Commandments"
to a cynical astronaut in "Planet of the Apes".
His iconic performances cemented his status as a legendary
performer. However, Heston wasn't just an actor earning
his pay by pretending to be other people on screen; he was
also a political activist always speaking his mind and never
afraid of the consequences of doing so even if it meant
alienating some of his fans. Heston became involved in the
civil rights moment of the 60's and many worthy causes.
His most controversial role, though, was probably that of
president of the National Rifle Association and their spokesperson
late in his career. ***
Heston was born John Charles Carter on October 4th,
1924 in Evanston, Illinois. His rise to fame was rapid after
his appearance in the role of Marc Antony in "Julius Caesar"
(he played the role of Marc Antony three times in his career)
in 1950. The film that solidified his role as a leading
man in everything from action films to dramas was Cecil
B. DeMille's "The Greatest Show on Earth" where Heston played
the circus manager Brad Braden. After that film Heston found
himself constantly busy in a variety of roles but the actor
essayed his most famous role as Moses in "The Ten Commandments"
(1956) only after actor William Boyd (who had played western
hero Hopalong Cassidy) turned down the role because he felt
he might hurt the film's box office. ***
Heston's star continued to be on the rise as he made
a series of spectacles such as "Ben Hur"(1959)
and played the lead in Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil"(1958)
opposite Janet Leigh. In the latter film, Heston provided
support to director/actor Welles making sure that he would
be able to shoot the film with as little interference as
possible from the studio brass. Constantly busy as an actor,
Heston tackled every role that interested him with intensity
and passion. ***
In the 1960's Heston reinvented himself as a anti-hero
in such films as "Major Dundee", "Will Penny" and his iconic
turn in "Planet of the Apes" as the cynical astronaut Taylor
who finds himself stranded on a world where Apes rule supreme
and humans are mute animals. It was a 180 degree turn from
Heston's roles like "Moses" and "Ben Hur"
but the change helped Heston to continue to work. Suddenly,
his horizon as an actor had been broadened by tackling unconventional
even occasionally controversial roles and subject matter.
Heston's iconic turn as Taylor opened the door for other
roles in science fiction projects playing similarly dark,
cynical individuals such as "The Omega Man" (recently remade
as "I Am Legend" with Will Smith) and "Soylent Green" as
a tough New York City detective in an overcrowded, overburdened
New York City trying to solve the murder of a top executive
at a food company. ***
During the mid-70's he segued from cynical anti-hero
to the lead in a number of disaster movies such as "Earthquake",
"Airport 1975 as well as a variety of thrillers. Heston
sailed smoothly into supporting roles as he got older taking
on appearances in "Hamlet" (1996), "In the Mouth of Madness"
(1995) and "Tombstone"(1993) and "Any Given Sunday" (1999).
He also used his unique sonorous voice to great effect as
a narrator for a variety of TV shows and films. ***
Heston had been retired from acting making his last
appearance in 2003 as Josef Mengele in "My Father, Rua Alguen
5555". In 2002 Heston announced that he was suffering from
Alzheimer's disease which robs those afflicted with it of
their memory eventually causing dementia. Heston quietly
receded from public life after this announcement letting
his performances in a variety of films remind us of the
vitality of the man. No one can part the Red Sea like Heston's
Moses. No one can make a cynical quip quite like Heston's
Taylor. Even in his worst films Charlton Heston always could
light up the screen.
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