Charlton HestonCharlton Heston (born October 4, 1924), born John Charles Carter, is an American film actor noted for heroic roles. Later in his life, Heston became famous as a conservative activist, especially as president of the National Rifle Association (NRA). Youth and early acting careerHeston was born in Evanston, Illinois to Lila Charlton and Russell Whitford Carter. The family settled in rural Saint Helen, Michigan, where Heston, an only child, spent much of his time reading and practicing acting. Before he was 10 his parents divorced. Some years later, his mother married Chester Heston. The new family moved Winnetka, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where young Heston attended high school. He enrolled in the school's drama program, where he performed with such outstanding results that he earned a scholarship to Northwestern University for drama in 1942. There he played in the 16mm amateur film adaptation of Peer Gynt made by a fellow student. Several years later the same team produced Julius Caesar, in which Heston played Marc Antony. In 1944, Heston left college and enlisted in the Air Force for three years. When he returned from service in World War II he moved to New York, where he met Lydia Marie Clarke, whom he married in 1944. The two lived in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, where they worked as models. Seeking a way to make it in theater, they decided to manage a playhouse in Asheville, North Carolina. In 1947, they went back to New York where Heston was offered a role in the Broadway play Antony and Cleopatra, for which he earned acclaim. He also 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 careerHeston felt the time had come to move to Hollywood and break into film. In 1950, he earned recognition for his appearance in his first professional movie, Dark City. His breakthrough came in 1952 with his role of a circus director in The Greatest Show on Earth. But he became a megastar by portraying Moses in The Ten Commandments. He has played leading roles in a number of fictional and historical epics—such as Ben-Hur, El Cid, 55 Days in Peking, and Khartoum—during his long career. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his 1959 performance in the title role of Ben-Hur. Heston has played also in various science fiction films, some of which, like Planet of the Apes, have become classics. Heston continues acting, increasingly in TV movies. Heston fought at times for his artistic choices. In 1958, he maneuvered Universal International into allowing Orson Welles to direct him in Touch of Evil, and in 1965 he fought the studio in support of Sam Peckinpah, when an attempt was made to interfere with his direction of Major Dundee. Heston was also president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1966 to 1971. In 1971 he made his directorial debut with Antony and Cleopatra, an adaptation of the William Shakespeare play that he had performed during his earlier theater career. Starting with 1973's The Three Musketeers, Heston began playing an increasing number of supporting roles and cameos. Despite this, his immense popularity has never died, and he has seen a steady stream of film and television roles ever since. Heston has an instantly recognizable voice, and is often heard as a narrator. Off screenIn 2002, Heston publicly announced that he is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He has also had to battle prostate cancer. In July 2003 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. Political beliefsIn his earlier years, Heston was a civil rights activist, accompanying Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights march held in Washington, D.C. in 1963. In subsequent years, he embraced conservative causes, such as anti-affirmative action and anti-gun control, about which he makes at times provocative statements. As an honorary life member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and its president and spokesman from 1998 until his resignation in 2003, Heston sought an unprecedented fourth term in 2001 as president, at which time he declared, while holding an American Revolutionary War era musket over his head: "I have only five words for you — From my cold, dead hands." Heston also serves on the National Advisory Board of Accuracy in Media, a conservative media watchdog group. In a speech to the Harvard Law School on February 16, 1999, Heston said the following:
BooksHeston has written several books, including autobiographies and religious books:
Filmography
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Heston has written several books, including autobiographies and religious books:. He directed The Curse and The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck. In a speech to the Harvard Law School on February 16, 1999, Heston said the following:. He supported Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman and starred in The Lords of Discipline and White of the Eye. As an honorary life member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and its president and spokesman from 1998 until his resignation in 2003, Heston sought an unprecedented fourth term in 2001 as president, at which time he declared, while holding an American Revolutionary War era musket over his head: "I have only five words for you — From my cold, dead hands." Heston also serves on the National Advisory Board of Accuracy in Media, a conservative media watchdog group. David Keith (born May 8, 1954 in Knoxville, Tennessee) is an American actor and director. In subsequent years, he embraced conservative causes, such as anti-affirmative action and anti-gun control, about which he makes at times provocative statements. in 1963. during the civil rights march held in Washington, D.C. In his earlier years, Heston was a civil rights activist, accompanying Martin Luther King Jr. Bush. In July 2003 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. He has also had to battle prostate cancer. In 2002, Heston publicly announced that he is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Heston has an instantly recognizable voice, and is often heard as a narrator. Despite this, his immense popularity has never died, and he has seen a steady stream of film and television roles ever since. Starting with 1973's The Three Musketeers, Heston began playing an increasing number of supporting roles and cameos. In 1971 he made his directorial debut with Antony and Cleopatra, an adaptation of the William Shakespeare play that he had performed during his earlier theater career. Heston was also president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1966 to 1971. In 1958, he maneuvered Universal International into allowing Orson Welles to direct him in Touch of Evil, and in 1965 he fought the studio in support of Sam Peckinpah, when an attempt was made to interfere with his direction of Major Dundee. Heston fought at times for his artistic choices. Heston continues acting, increasingly in TV movies. Heston has played also in various science fiction films, some of which, like Planet of the Apes, have become classics. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his 1959 performance in the title role of Ben-Hur. He has played leading roles in a number of fictional and historical epics—such as Ben-Hur, El Cid, 55 Days in Peking, and Khartoum—during his long career. But he became a megastar by portraying Moses in The Ten Commandments. His breakthrough came in 1952 with his role of a circus director in The Greatest Show on Earth. In 1950, he earned recognition for his appearance in his first professional movie, Dark City. Heston felt the time had come to move to Hollywood and break into film. In 1947, they went back to New York where Heston was offered a role in the Broadway play Antony and Cleopatra, for which he earned acclaim. He also had success in television, playing a number of roles in CBS's Studio One, one of the most popular anthology dramas of the 1950s. Seeking a way to make it in theater, they decided to manage a playhouse in Asheville, North Carolina. The two lived in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, where they worked as models. When he returned from service in World War II he moved to New York, where he met Lydia Marie Clarke, whom he married in 1944. In 1944, Heston left college and enlisted in the Air Force for three years. There he played in the 16mm amateur film adaptation of Peer Gynt made by a fellow student. Several years later the same team produced Julius Caesar, in which Heston played Marc Antony. He enrolled in the school's drama program, where he performed with such outstanding results that he earned a scholarship to Northwestern University for drama in 1942. The new family moved Winnetka, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where young Heston attended high school. Some years later, his mother married Chester Heston. Before he was 10 his parents divorced. The family settled in rural Saint Helen, Michigan, where Heston, an only child, spent much of his time reading and practicing acting. Heston was born in Evanston, Illinois to Lila Charlton and Russell Whitford Carter. Later in his life, Heston became famous as a conservative activist, especially as president of the National Rifle Association (NRA). Charlton Heston (born October 4, 1924), born John Charles Carter, is an American film actor noted for heroic roles. Dark City (1950). The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). The Savage (1952). Ruby Gentry (1952). The President's Lady (1953). Pony Express (1953). Arrowhead (1953). Bad for Each Other (1953). The Naked Jungle (1954). The Secret of the Incas (1954). The Far Horizons (1955). The Private War of Major Benson (1955). Lucy Gallant (1955). The Ten Commandments (1956). Three Violent People (1957). Touch of Evil (1958). The Big Country (1958). The Buccaneer (1958). The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959). Ben-Hur (1959). El Cid (1961). The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962). Diamond Head (1963). 55 Days at Peking (1963). The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). Major Dundee (1965). The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965). The War Lord (1965). Khartoum (1966). Counterpoint (1968). Planet of the Apes (1968). Will Penny (1968). Number One (1969). Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970). The Hawaiians (1970). Julius Caesar (1970). The Omega Man (1971). The London Brige Special (1972). Skyjacked (1972). Call of the Wild (1972). Antony and Cleopatra (1973). Soylent Green (1973). The Three Musketeers (1973). Airport 1975 (1974). Earthquake (1974). The Four Musketeers (1974). The Last Hard Men (1976). Two Minute Warning (1976). Midway (1976). Crossed Swords (1978). Gray Lady Down (1978). The Mountain Men (1980). The Awakening (1980). Mother Lode (1982). A Man for All Seasons (1988). Call from Space (1989) (voice). Solar Crisis (1990). Symphony for the Spire (1992). Wayne's World 2 (1993). Tombstone (1993). True Lies (1994) (uncredited). In the Mouth of Madness (1995). Alaska (1996). Hamlet (1996). Gideon (1999). Any Given Sunday (1999). Planet of the Apes (2001). Town & Country (2001). The Order (2001). Papa Rua Alguem 5555 (2002). Charlton Heston's Hollywood: 50 Years in American Film (with Jean-Pierre Isbouts, ISBN 1577193571). Charlton Heston Presents the Bible (ISBN 1577192702). To Be a Man: Letters to My Grandson (ISBN 0743213114). Beijing Diary (ISBN 0671687069). In the Arena: An Autobiography (ISBN 157297267X). The Actor's Life (ISBN 0671830163). |