Sunday, April 6, 2008
CHARLTON HESTON 1923 - 2008
American Cinematheque
EPIC: Heston as Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 epic, "The Ten Commandments."
The Oscar winner played Moses and Michelangelo, then later became a darling of conservatism.
By Robert W. Welkos and Susan King, Special to The Times
April 6, 2008
Charlton Heston, the Oscar-winning actor who achieved stardom playing larger-than-life figures including Moses, Michelangelo and Andrew Jackson and went on to become an unapologetic gun advocate and darling of conservative causes, has died. He was 84.
Heston died Saturday at his Beverly Hills home, said family spokesman Bill Powers. In 2002, he had been diagnosed with symptoms similar to those of Alzheimer's disease.
With a booming baritone voice, the tall, ruggedly handsome actor delivered his signature role as the prophet Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 Biblical extravaganza "The Ten Commandments," raising a rod over his head as God miraculously parts the Red Sea.
Heston won the Academy Award for best actor in another religious blockbuster in 1959's "Ben-Hur," racing four white horses at top speed in one of the cinema's legendary action sequences: the 15-minute chariot race in which his character, a proud and noble Jew, competes against his childhood Roman friend.
Heston stunned the entertainment world in August 2002 when he made a poignant and moving videotaped address announcing his illness.
Late in life, Heston's stature as a political firebrand overshadowed his acting. He became demonized by gun-control advocates and liberal Hollywood when he became president of the National Rifle Assn. in 1998.
Heston answered his critics in a now-famous pose that mimicked Moses' parting of the Red Sea. But instead of a rod, Heston raised a flintlock over his head and challenged his detractors to pry the rifle "from my cold, dead hands."
Like the chariot race and the bearded prophet Moses, Heston will be best remembered for several indelible cinematic moments: playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with Orson Welles in the oil fields in "Touch of Evil," his rant at the end of "Planet of the Apes" when he sees the destruction of the Statue of Liberty, his discovery that "Soylent Green is people!" in the sci-fi hit "Soylent Green" and the dead Spanish hero on his steed in "El Cid."
The New Yorker's film critic Pauline Kael, in her review of 1968's "Planet of the Apes," wrote: "All this wouldn't be so forceful or so funny if it weren't for the use of Charlton Heston in the [leading] role. With his perfect, lean-hipped, powerful body, Heston is a god-like hero; built for strength, he is an archetype of what makes Americans win. He represents American power -- and he has the profile of an eagle."
For decades, the 6-foot-2 Heston was a towering figure in the world of movies, television and the stage.
"He was the screen hero of the 1950s and 1960s, a proven stayer in epics, and a pleasing combination of piercing blue eyes and tanned beefcake," David Thomson wrote in his book "The New Biographical Dictionary of Film."
Heston also was blessed by working with legendary directors such as DeMille in "The Greatest Show on Earth" and again in "The Ten Commandments," Welles in "Touch of Evil," Sam Peckinpah in "Major Dundee," William Wyler in "The Big Country" and "Ben-Hur," George Stevens in "The Greatest Story Ever Told," Franklin Schaffner in "The War Lord" and "Planet of the Apes" and Anthony Mann in "El Cid."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts
-
-
-
Boyhood passion morphs into new identity Transformers fan who took his hero's name is prime example of appeal By Kim Hone-McMahan Beacon...
-
MIENFOKS presents random gems found somewhere on the internet and brought here for your mocking pleasure. Look closely as some of the humor ...
-
Here are the photos that got Victoria Schattauer fired from her job as the partially nude cheerleader coach for the freshman team in Goshen,...
-
EUROPE'S FINEST TOPLESS HONEYS
-
A CONMAN who made millions selling SPERM to lesbians was jailed yesterday. John Gonzales, 45, hit the headlines in 2003 when he started an i...
-
As Tony Blair was bidding farewell to President George W Bush in the Rose Garden on Thursday, the World Bank was preparing to kick out Paul ...
-
Come on people they have a sketch and everything this shit is for real !
-
... World Phucking Champions !!! The last time a Philadelphia team won a major title was in 1983, when the 76ers captured the NBA crown. The...
Missed it ? - The Archives !
-
▼
2008
(1237)
-
▼
April
(129)
- Albert Hofmann died on Tuesday aged 102, synthesis...
- KEELEY HAZELL - TOPLESS IN "NUTS" MAGAZINE
- FINALLY - A MARIJUANA BOOK FOR KIDS ! ! !
- FINALLY - $180 BIRD POOP FACIAL MASK ???
- MEGAN FOX - FHM LINGERIE SHOOT
- WACKIEST PET PRODUCTS EVER ! ! !
- MIENFOKS 2008 NFL DRAFT COVERAGE
- MY MOMMY SMOKES MARLBOROS !
- AWESOME TATOOS ! ! !
- MIKE TYSON - BIGGER THAN EVER ! ! !
- MILEY CYRUS - TOPLESS IN VANITY FAIR ???
- HILLARY CLINTON - CAMPAIGN DISCLAIMER ???
- THE NEW HOTTIES ! ! !
- BATMAN - THE DARK KNIGHT - JULY 18TH 2008
- INDEPENDENCE OF THE SEAS - $1 BILLION CRUISE SHIP
- YOU CAN'T HANDLE NEW JERSEY ! ! !
- HARRY POTTER'S EMMA WATSON IS OFFICIALLY 18
- SUPER HIGH ME ???
- TAMARA WITMER - MISS AUGUST 2005
- PETER FALK "COLUMBO" GONE WILD IN LA ???
- UFOS GONE WILD IN PHOENIX ???
- PENIS SHRINKING SOCERERS ARRESTED ???
- MARLEE MATLIN SIGNS OFF DANCING W/ STARS !
- SOFIE HOWARD SHOWS OFF HER TATS
- CHRISTINE SMITH - MISS DECEMBER 2005
- SPIDERMAN HELPS FIGHT GRIME ???
- ALIYA WOLF - PLAYBOY'S MISS FEBRUARY 2004
- NEW STUDY - 80 % OF ROOMATES GOT SO DRUNK ...
- HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN JUDD APATOW FLICK ?
- HILLARY GONE WILD ???
- OSAMA BIN SHOPPIN - THE GAY TERRORIST ?
- RANDOM PAPARAZZI FROM THE UK PRESS
- GREAT MOMENTS ON HOME SHOPPING TV ! ! !
- DANICA PATRICK WINS WINS 1ST INDY RACE !
- PRESIDENTIAL - POPE POTPOURRI ! ! !
- BILL MAHR - THE POPE IS NOT A NAZI
- NY BEAVER TRIES TO SNATCH A PEEK AT POPE ?
- HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARY ! ! !
- MARIJUANA'S 420 CELEBRATION SELL OUT ???
- GARY BUSEY - KICKED TO THE CURB ???
- GREATEST OBITUARY EVER ???
- ZOE KRAVITS - CELEBRITY OFFSPRING !
- HAYDEN PANETTIERE - ON SET IN SHORT SHORTS !!!
- AMBER CAMPESI - MISS FEBRUARY 2005
- WORLD SMARTEST DOG BREEDS ???
- SARAH MARSHALL - FAKE SEX SCENE !
- ALINA KABAEVA - VLADIMIR PUTIN'S BABE ?
- EMMA WATSON - HAPPY "$20 MILLION" BIRTHDAY !
- GREAT TITS ???
- DICK CHENEY'S SUNGLASS IMAGE REVEALED ?
- LOGOS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMM...???
- MARKETING 101- SELL SOMETHING PEOPLE WANT !
- JESSICA ALBA - STILL MILFY ???
- ALI VINCENT IS THE "BIGGEST LOSER" ! ! !
- BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA ???
- MIRANDA KERR - SEXY SEE THROUGH !
- GREAT NEWS FOR MEN ! ! !
- KATE MOSS - LINGERIE PROVOCATUER ???
- SOFIA VERGARA - COLUMBIAN CUTIE
- MEGAN FOX - JENNIFER'S BODY ???
- ALICIA KEYS - BLENDER MAGAZINE
- PORSCHLA COLEMAN - KING MAGAZINE - MAY 2008
- JACK NICHOLSON - STILL GOT IT AT 70+ ???
- CRYSTAL STEWART - MISS USA - 2008
- MILA KUNIS - GORGEOUS AT SARAH MARSHALL PREMIER
- WHERE DO ALL THE OLD SUBWAY CARS GO ?
- BATTLE STAR - CYLONS ARE DISGRUNTLED ?
- THE POLITICS OF DANCING ???
- MIENFOKING PHOTO OF THE DAY ! ! !
- EXTREME AVALANCHE SNOWBOARDING ! ! !
- ARTIE LANGE ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT ?
- ROSANNE BARR - NOT AFRAID TO USE HER "VAJUNIOR" ?
- PARADE'S - "WHAT PEOPLE EARN" ISSUE
- $40 MILLION AND SHE'S ALL YOURS ???
- ALICIA KEYS - "GANGSTA RAP" CONSPIRACY ?
- SEXY SPORTS BABES !
- DAVE CHAPELLE'S RACIAL DRAFT ?
- WORLD MOST EXPENSIVE COFFEE $100 A CUP ?
- CAN YOU SURVIVE A ZOMBIE ATTACK ???
- WOODY HAS AN ENORMOUS PECKER ! ! !
- THUDGUARD - FOR THAT SPECIAL CHILD ?
- ABSOLUT REMAPS NORTH AMERICA ???
- JESSICA SIMPSON - SHAVES FOR ESQUIRE ???
- TOP SCIENTIST ADMIT BRAIN ENHANCING DRUG USE !
- IKEA - SUBWAY TRAIN MAKE OVER ???
- PEQUENA- CHILE'S DWARF TRANSVESTITE AMY WINEHOUSE ...
- CHURCH OF THE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER ?
- NATALIE PORTMAN -14, AUDITION TAPE "LEON"
- ARE YOU A SHY GUY ???
- EVA HERZIGOVA - PREGNANT NUDE COLLECTION
- KIM KARDASHIAN = BIG ASS "BONGO" JEANS !
- NAOMI CAMPBELL - BANNED FOR LIFE ???
- Seedy Gonzales jailed in lesbo sperm swindle
- CELEBRITY BUTT CRACKS ! ! !
- CHARLTON HESTON'S GREATEST LINES !
- ALONA BONARENKO "KEEP'N IT PURE" ?
- CANOE MADE FROM 7,382 CHOPSTICKS
- PAZ VEGA - SPANISH GQ - APRIL 2008
- JO GARCIA - PLAYBOYS CYBERGIRL OF THE YEAR
- HEY BUSH "WHAT'S ON YOUR IPOD" ?
-
▼
April
(129)
No comments:
Post a Comment