Charlton Heston

A frail-looking Heston was presented with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, at the White House by George W. Bush in July, 2003.

In 2002, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and did appear in a film or TV production after 2003.

Heston made an uncredited appearance in the inferior remake of Planet of the Apes (2001), and his last film appearance to date was in the Holocaust themed drama of My Father (2003). Heston narrated for highly classified military and Department of Energy instructional films, particularly relating to nuclear weapons, and "for six years Heston [held] the nation's highest security clearance" or Q clearance. " The Q clearance is similar to a DoD or Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) clearance of Top Secret.

In 2000 he surprised the Oxford Union by reading his address on gun laws from a teleprompter. This later sparked rumors he had known of his Alzheimer's long before he announced it to the world in August 2002.

In 1999 he joined Karl Malden in pressing for an honorary Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement to be awarded to veteran director Elia Kazan. Marlon Brando, who never made public appearances, refused to present the award so Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese ultimately did.

Heston's most famous role in politics came as the five-term president of the National Rifle Association, from 1998 to 2003.

He also narrated numerous TV specials and lent his vocal talents to the animated movie Hercules (1997), the family comedy Cats & Dogs (2001) and an animated version of Ben Hur (2003).

His highly entertaining autobiography was released in 1995, titled appropriately enough "Into The Arena". Although often criticized for his strong conservative beliefs and involvement with the NRA, Heston was a strong advocate for civil right many years before it became fashionable, and was a recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, plus the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award.

Was an opponent of abortion and gave the introduction to an anti-abortion documentary Eclipse of Reason (1987) by Bernard Nathanson, which focuses on late-term abortions.

When his TV series The Colbys (1985) was canceled, both he and fellow cast members John James and Emma Samms were offered contracts to continue playing their characters on Dynasty (1981), the series that "The Colbys" was spun off from. Heston ultimately declined because his salary demands could not be met. James and Samms, on the other hand, accepted contracts.

He campaigned for Republican presidential candidates Ronald Reagan in 1984, George Bush in 1988, George W. Bush in 2000, and Republican candidate for governor of Virginia George Allen in 1993.

Heston appeared in numerous episodes of the high rating TV series Dynasty (1981) and The Colbys (1985), before moving onto a mixed bag of projects including TV adaptations of Treasure Island (1990) and A Man for All Seasons (1988), hosting two episodes of the comedy show, Saturday Night Live (1975), starring as the "Good Actor" bringing love struck Mike Myers to tears in Wayne's World 2 (1993), and as the eye patch wearing boss of intelligence agent Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies (1994).

He was considered, along with English actor Ronnie Barker, for the role of Claudius in the British series I, Claudius (1976), but the role went to the less famous Derek Jacobi instead.

Was considered for the role of "Police Chief Brody" in Jaws (1975), but he turned it down. The part eventually went to Roy Scheider.

He played an evil Cardinal in the lively The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974), a mythical US naval officer in the recreation of Midway (1976), also filmed in "Sensoround", an LA cop trying to stop a sniper in Two-Minute Warning (1976) and another US naval officer in the submarine thriller Gray Lady Down (1978).

Robinson and Chuck Connors in Soylent Green (1973).

Next up, Heston again found himself facing the apocalypse in The Omega Man (1971) as the survivor of a germ plague that has wiped out humanity leaving only bands of psychotic lunatics roaming the cities who seek to kill the uninfected Heston. And fourthly, taking its inspiration from the Harry Harrison novel "Make Room!, Make Room!", Heston starred alongside screen legend Edward G.

He returned to reprise the role, albeit primarily as a cameo, alongside fellow astronaut James Franciscus in the slightly inferior sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970).

During the remainder of the 1970s, Heston appeared in two very popular "disaster movies" contributing lead roles in the far fetched Airport 1975 (1974), plus in the star laden Earthquake (1974), filmed in "Sensoround" (low bass speakers were installed in selected theaters to simulate the earthquake rumblings on screen to movie audiences).

Was asked by some Democrats to run for the California State Senate in 1969, but declined because he wanted to continue acting.

In 1968, Heston filmed the unusual western Will Penny (1967) about an aging and lonely cowboy befriending a lost woman and her son, which Heston has often referred to as his favorite piece of work on screen. Interestingly, Heston was on the verge of acquiring an entirely new league of fans due to his appearance in four very topical science fiction films (all based on popular novels) painting bleak future's for mankind.

In 1968, Heston starred as time traveling astronaut "George Taylor", in the terrific Planet of the Apes (1968) with it's now legendary conclusion as Heston realizes the true horror of his destination.

A World War II U.S. Army veteran, he visited troops fighting during the Vietnam War in 1967. In fact, in one camp in South Vietnam's delta area, he was "initiated" into the GI's on-base club, by having to receive a kiss on the ear!.

Was president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1966-1971.

Offered to return his entire paycheck to the producers of Major Dundee (1965) so that director Sam Peckinpah could film some crucial scenes that were cut due to time and budget constraints. The producers took back Heston's paycheck but still refused to let the scenes be filmed. Heston wrote in his autobiography "In The Arena" (1995) that the main problem with Major Dundee (1965) was that everyone had a different idea of what the film was: Heston saw it as a film about life after the Civil War, the producers just wanted a standard cavalry-vs.-Indians film, while Peckinpah, according to Heston, really had his next film, The Wild Bunch (1969), in mind.

A supporter of Democratic politicians and civil rights in the 1960s, Heston later became a Republican, founding a conservative political action committee and supporting Ronald Reagan.

Never one to rest on his laurels, steely Heston remained the preferred choice of directors to lead the cast in major historical productions and during the 1960s he starred as Spanish legend "Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar" in El Cid (1961), as a US soldier battling hostile Chinese boxers during 55 Days at Peking (1963), played the ill-fated "John the Baptist" in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), the masterful painter "Michelangelo" battling Pope Julius II in The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), and an English general in Khartoum (1966).

Was not hesitant about repeating roles: Played Ben Hur in Ben-Hur (1959) (live action) and Ben Hur (2003) (animated); Andrew Jackson in the biography The President's Lady (1953), then in The Buccaneer (1958); Marc Antony in Julius Caesar (1970) and Antony and Cleopatra (1972). (Richelieu does not count, as The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974) were filmed at the same time.).

He also starred in Touch of Evil (1958) with Orson Welles; Ben-Hur, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor (1959); El Cid (1961); and Planet of the Apes (1968).

Heston delivered further dynamic performances in the oily film noir thriller Touch of Evil (1958), and then alongside Gregory Peck in the western The Big Country (1958) before scoring the role for which he is arguably best known, that of the wronged Jewish prince who seeks his freedom and revenge in the William Wyler directed Ben-Hur (1959). This mammoth Biblical epic running in excess of three and a half hours became the standard by which other large scale productions would be judged, and it's superb cast also including Stephen Boyd as the villainous "Massala", English actor Jack Hawkins as the Roman officer "Quintus Arrius", and Australian actor Frank Thring as "Pontius Pilate", all contributed wonderful performances.

With features chiseled in stone, and renowned for playing a long list of historical figures, particularly in Biblical epics, the tall, well built and ruggedly handsome Charlton Heston was one of Hollywood's greatest leading men and remained active in front of movie cameras for over sixty years. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film, The Ten Commandments (1956) , for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination.

DeMille as "Moses" in the blockbuster The Ten Commandments (1956).

He also starred in the films The Greatest Show on Earth (1952); Secret of the Incas (1954); The Big Country (1958); and The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965).

DeMille spectacular Greatest Show On Earth (1952), also starring James Stewart and Cornel Wilde.

Heston played 'Marc Antony' in Julius Caesar (1950), and firmly stamped himself as genuine leading man material with his performance as circus manager 'Brad Braden' in the Cecil B.

The now very popular actor remained perpetually busy during the 1950s, both on TV and on the silver screen with audience pleasing performances in the steamy thriller The Naked Jungle (1954), as a treasure hunter in Secret of the Incas (1954) and another barn storming performance for Cecil B.

In 1944, Heston enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces.

Heston was married to Lydia Marie Clark Heston since March 1944, and they have two children.

Heston made his feature film debut as the lead character in a 16mm production of Peer Gynt (1941), based on the Henrik Ibsen play.

He served for two years as a radio operator and aerial gunner aboard a B-25 Mitchell stationed in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands with the 77th Bombardment Squadron of the Eleventh Air Force. He reached the rank of Staff Sergeant. Heston married Northwestern University student Lydia Marie Clarke, who was six months his senior. That same year he joined the military.

Heston was born John Charles Carter on October 4, 1924, in No Man's Land, Illinois, to Lila (Charlton) and Russell Whitford Carter, who operated a sawmill. He had English and Scottish ancestry, with recent Canadian forebears.