Larger than life.
WASHINGTON: Oscar-winning US actor Charlton Heston, whose chiselled features and commanding presence won him epic roles from Moses to Michelangelo and became the face of American gun rights, died last night at age 84.Heston died at his home in Beverly Hills, California, with wife Lydia at his side, the family said. Hetopn, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar for the title role in Ben Hur in which he did many of his own chariot race stunts, had announced in 2002 that he was suffering symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
"Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life," the family said. "No one could ask for a fuller life than his. No man could have given more to his family, to his profession, and to his country. In his own words, 'I have lived such a wonderful life! I've lived enough for two people.'" The family said a private memorial service would be held.
Heston's most controversial role came not in a movie but as president of the National Rifle Association, the gun-rights lobby group, from 1998 to 2003. He often stood at the podium at conventions, holding an antique flintlock rifle above his head and telling gun-control advocates they would not get his gun unless they could pry it "from my cold, dead hands."
"He believed the sanctity of American freedom was defined by the Bill of Rights and the Bill of Rights was what made the United States different from every country in the world," Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, told CNN.
In his acting heyday, Heston's rugged features and conservative lifestyle seemed to belong to another age. As director Anthony Mann said: "Put a toga on him and he looks perfect."
"I have a face that belongs in another century," the actor often remarked.
Frank Sinatra once joked: "That guy Heston has to watch it. If he's not careful, he'll get actors a good name."
Between super-spectacles - The 10 Commandments, Ben Hur, science fiction movies Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green and disaster epics Earthquake, Heston pushed for screen versions of Shakespearean plays, directing one, Anthony and Cleopatra.
"They don't make them like that any more," Steven Gaydos, executive editor of Variety Magazine, told BBC television after his death.
Former first lady Nancy Reagan, a Hollywood actress in the 1950s, said she was heartbroken to hear of his death.
US President George W Bush said: "He was a man of character and integrity, with a big heart," Film historian David Thomson said that Heston was, "One of America's great heroes".
Born John Charlton Carter (Heston was his stepfather's name) on October 4, 1923, in Evanston, Illinois, he made his theatrical debut as Santa Claus in a school play at age 5.
After a Second World War stint as a gunner in the Army Air Corps, Heston headed to Broadway, where he briefly supported himself with nude modelling between acting jobs. In 1944, he married fellow Northwestern University drama student Lydia Clarke and their marriage lasted 64 years until his death. They had two children, Fraser Clarke and Holly Ann, and three grandchildren.
After some stage and television roles, Cecil B DeMille put Heston in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), portraying a circus manager determined that the show must go on. Heston once campaigned for Democrats - Adlai Stevenson against Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy against Richard Nixon. But he switched to Republican Nixon in 1972 and backed old friend Ronald Reagan in the ex-actor's quest for the presidency. Thereafter, he was identified with conservative politics and causes.
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| Publication: | Gulf Daily News (Manama, Bahrain) |
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| Date: | Jun 11, 2008 |
| Words: | 608 |
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