TVSquad

He was Moses, Michaelangelo, Ben-Hur and a dozen other famous historical figures on the big screen, and on television he was as famous appearing as Charlton Heston the movie star he was for the TV roles he played, but he was born John Charles Carter on October 4th 1924 in Evanston, Illinois. Today, "Chuck" Heston is dead. He was 84 years old; he had Alzheimer's disease.


As as actor, he turned in an Oscar-winning performance as the title character in William Wyler's classic Ben-Hur in 1959. Three years earlier, he brought dignity and grace to his depiction of Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, a film that remains well-known thanks to annual showings on ABC television every Easter. But there were many other roles that Charlton Heston made famous, like Taylor in Planet of the Apes, and on television his credits include starring in the Dynasty spin-off The Colbys from 1985-87.

Also, on TV, he directed A Man for All Seasons and played the lead role, Sir Thomas Moore in 1988. Other noteworthy parts on the tube include Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1990). For the Hallmark Hall of Fame, he appeared in The Patriots as Thomas Jefferson (1963), and as the Earl of Essex opposite Judith Anderson as Elizabeth the Queen, the latter of which won the Emmy as Outstanding Dramatic Program in 1968.

In television's early years, he was in many dramatic anthology series, like Climax!, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, GE Theater and Playhouse 90. He brought his macho bravissimo to Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights for Studio One, and was Beast in a version of Beauty and the Beast for Shirley Temple's Storybook. He was even on Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar playing sketches. He also did an excellent mini-series called Chiefs in 1983 with Keith Carradine, Brad Davis and Stephen Collins.

I can recall lots of appearances on Dinah, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin. He was always affable and charming, at home on the couch chatting about his recent films and promoting new projects on TV. Charlton Heston was rarely out of the public's view, and appeared often on television whether acting or being just Chuck. He had a sense of humor about his roles and could laugh at himself -- he even did Saturday Night Live.

In the last ten years of Charlton Heston's life, he became vociferously conservative and was an outspoken president of the National Rifle Association. Ironically, he had been more liberal in the 1960s, when he was a strong supporter the Civil Rights movement.

Heston gave his last public appearance in 2002. He knew he had Alzheimer's and would eventually lose his faculties. He said at the time, "I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure." In memory, his larger than life roles will be the legacy of his years as one of Hollywood's top stars and enduring actors as much as his public persona as a man who spoke his mind whether in step with popular opinion or in opposition to the majority.