Archive for April 6th, 2008

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The chiseled-faced, ruggedly handsome actor, renowned for playing a long list of historical figures, particularly in Biblical epics, died on Saturday at his Beverly Hills home, aged 84. He had been diagnosed with symptoms similar to those of Alzheimer’s disease. Charlton Heston was one of Hollywood’s greatest leading men and remained active in front of movie cameras for over sixty years.

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Heston’s movie career took off with The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and reached light speed with Ben-Hur (1959). Although he has played a pantheon of larger-than-life roles, such as Moses, Michelangelo and Andrew Jackson, he usually prefered to talk about the day-to-day daily grind of the movie business, and especially credited the writers and directors he worked with for much of his success. Though aging gracefully, the venerated Heston had lately been more interested in promoting right-wing political issues than acting, including being an unapologetic gun advocate.

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