Veerender’s Weblog

Devoid of doubt and suspicion, Charlton Heston is one of the most golden human beings this world has ever produced - as a brilliant actor and as a humble human being as well. According to Charlton Heston himself, his “face belonged to another century”, referring to the fact that he got a chance to play maximally heroic roles in his movies: something which a lot won’t possess. Some of this phenomenal roles included:

Moses in The Ten Commandments, Colonel George Taylor in Planet of the Apes and Judah Ben-Hur in Ben-Hur, the role for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor (source: Wikipedia)

He was seen by the world as larger than life. He spoke openly against racism, and was an appreciable supporter of Civil Rights Movement. Later he was in favor of conservative politics and was president of National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003 (ref from Wikipedia - sincere acknowledgments to them!). Hence, he satisfied the requisites of a great actor and a great human being as well.

Indeed, he was at ease playing historical figures. He was remarkably noticed for his broad shoulders, commendable voice, chiselled jaw and without doubt for the roles he played which were majoritively heroic. Heston’s family is quoted as saying:

“No man could ask for a fuller life than this. No man could have given more to his family, to his profession, to his country.” ( ref: The Hindu, dated 13:04:08 )

Charlton Heston died on April 5th at his home in Beverly Hills, being 84. Generations of public were made to believe that he was the incarnation of historical figures owing to his heroic features and lean personality. A man of great dignity and talent was he! ( ref: The Hindu, dated 13:04:08 )

Television and acting career

Heston had success in television, playing a number of roles in CBS’s Studio One, one of the most popular anthology dramas of the 1950s. Film producer Hal B. Wallis of Casablanca spotted Heston in a 1950 television production of Wuthering Heights and offered him a contract. When his wife reminded Heston they decided to pursue theater and television, he replied, “Well, maybe just for one film to see what it’s like.” ( source: Wikipedia )

Heston notably appeared in a bunch of commendable movies, including the debut movie of his which was Dark City, in 1950. He later went on to act in a movie which was named by the Motion Picture Academy as the best movie of 1952. The most commendable and iconic role played by Charlton Heston was that of Moses in The Ten Commandments:

“reportedly being chosen by director Cecil B. DeMille because he thought the muscular, 6 ft 3 in, square jawed Heston bore an uncanny resemblance to the statue of Moses by Michelangelo.”

Heston went on to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Ben-Hur (1959), the film which earned 11 Oscars! His other scintillating role included that of Marc Antony in Julius Caesar and he also starred in a science fiction film Soylent Green. Heston also acted in various famed and reputed roles in fictional and historical epics El Cid (1961), 55 Days at Peking (1963), as Michelangelo in The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), and Khartoum (1966) // ( ref: Wikipedia ). Planet of the Apes was also a hugely successful film in which Heston starred. He adopted several character roles as well which included playing Cardinal Richelieu in 1973’s The Three Musketeers.

Politics

Heston campaigned for Presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson in 1956 and John F. Kennedy in 1960.^[16] Reportedly when an Oklahoma movie theater premiering his movie El Cid was segregated, he joined a picket line outside in 1961. Following the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, Heston and actors Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas and James Stewart issued a statement calling for support of President Johnson’s Gun Control Act of 1968.^[20][21] He opposed the Vietnam War and in 1969 was approached by the Democratic party to run for the U.S. Senate. (He wrote that he agonized over the decision and ultimately determined he could never give up acting.)^[22] He is reported to have he voted for Richard Nixon in 1972, though Nixon is unmentioned in his autobiography.

He later stated, “Political correctness is tyranny with manners.”

He is also one of them who openly opposed racism and one dynamic person who established the fact that a person can excel in the things he can feel for and what Heston felt for was something which benefited the whole world in kindred ways.

A wonderful human being in many ways

As an actor, he parted seas, rode chariots and painted divine frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. As a political activist, he marched with Martin Luther King, railed against the decline of moral values and challenged advocates of gun control to remove his rifle from his “cold dead hands.” More over, he redefined the meaning of handsomeness and dignity.

His references, his words and his actions are something that will always be cherished by one and all for decades to come, perpetually. Very often do we actually confront such dynamic homo sapiens who not only revolutionalize our world, but also teach the globe to live a genuine and a celebrated life.

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10:38 A.M