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Celebrity Land: Charlton Heston Dies.

artmusicCharlton%20Heston%20In%20the%20Arena.jpgLarger than life, film legend Charlton Heston has died. He was 84.  Born Oct. 4, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois. 

His chiseled, rugged, good looks and powerful voice made him perfect for roles as epic heroes (especially since many rarely wore shirts!) such as Andrew Jackson in 'The President's Lady,' Michelangelo in 'The Agony and the Ecstasy', Marc Antony in 'Julius Caesar', Cardinal Richelieu in 'The Three Musketeers', Henry VIII in 'The Prince and the Pauper',  Ben-Hur, El Cid and of course, Moses in 'The Ten Commandments'. 

Off camera he had leading roles as well.  He was quite vocal about his increasingly more conservative political and social views.  This almost overshadowed his acting career. He was for a time, president of the Screen Actors Guild, chairman of the American Film Institute and marched in the civil rights movement of the 1950s but it was his presidency of the National Rifle Association that really brought him controversy.

For example, MSN commenter Gaucin writes:  "With the passing of Charlton Heston, one of the greats of American cinema has exited stage left. I feel that, no matter how great his acting career was, it could not surpass what he did off camera. After all he was instrumental in his later years in protecting that  precious American right for every sociopath to have access to a gun no questions asked. One of my favorite movie moments was when he descended from the mountain with the stone tablets on which were engraved the ten commandments including the 5th commandment: "Thou shalt not kill"."

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Regardless of your political views, Charlton Heston will be remembered as an a man's man, charismatic, masculine hero - An American Icon. 

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artmusiccharltonhestonwithsononsetofBenHur.JPG
To quote MSN commenter Jose Salazar: "Great actor and a man with great Character... He is an example of an American with integrity who served his country in a time of war and became an outspoken person about the values, which many of today's young hollywood actors and other so called Americans, don't have a clue about. A true Patriot with dignity that would come across in his acting roles that would inspire and capture his audience. Our condolences go out to his family... He will be missed."

Did you know that his real son, Fraser played baby Moses? Here's a photo from his book. Heston with son Fraser (age 3) on the set of Ben-Hur.






For more about Charlton Heston:

In the Arena: An Autobiography

From My Cold, Dead Hands: Charlton Heston and American Politics





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