Charlton Heston Dead

Charlton-Heston-Dead.jpgOne of the absolute greatest of all time has passed away. Legendary actor Charlton Heston has died at the age of of 84. The CNN report states:

“Heston, known for portrayals of historical figures including Moses and Ben Hur, was suffering the late stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. Heston’s wife of 64 years, Lydia, was by his side at the time of his death, according to the family statement.”

Agree or disagree with the man’s politics or role with the NRA, as a movie fan you are obligated to bend a knee to the influence and career this man has had on film and its history. His performances in two of the greatest movies of all time, The Ten Commandments and Ben Hur were a couple of the most landmark in film history.

One of my favorite memories of Heston will always be the small role he played in “True Lies” as Arnold’s patch eyed boss. No one in history has ever said the words “We really screwed the pooch on that one” so perfectly.

What else is there to say? One of the titans has fallen, and he will be missed. If you’ll excuse me I’m going to run to Blockbuster and pick up Ben Hur.

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49 thoughts on “Charlton Heston Dead

  1. Heston seems to have been a man of varied beliefs and opinions over his life like everyone else. If its fair to mention his affiliation with the NRA and his growing conservatism in later years, it should also be fair to mention that he was an active advocate of the civil rights movement in the 60’s and opposed the Vietnam war.

    It may be possible to make sense of these varied commitments as stemming from an admirable set general principles of freedom and equality that we all accept and would defend. But the thing about such principles is that in the end the do not warrant a single doctrine or belief other while restricting all others, but protect the possibility of a plurality of beliefs coexisting in a single society.

    So, as much as you dislike the man for his affiliations in late life or write them off as part of old age senility or you prefer to remember him as the man who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., you have to at least respect the fact that he his varied political opinions did rest on sound political principles which is a lot more than you can say for many politicians.

  2. It’s a low blow to insist that Heston was responsible for peoples’ deaths and that is a good reason for HIS death. Maybe low blow is the wrong word and I should’ve used another word.

    I have no problem with people stating that they disagree with his politics/movies, but using false information to enforce that claim is bad, especially when they charge what I said up above.

  3. Hey NBAKid,

    Well… that’s something totally different than what you said.

    So basically, what you’re saying is, it’s a cheap shot to talk negatively about anyone who died if you think they were a great person?

    Other people had other opinions of Heston dude, you have to deal with it. It’s not a low blow to express negative opinions about people dead or alive.

  4. Talking bad about Heston and talking bad about Hitler are completely different things.

    A) Hitler WAS directly responsible for many deaths. There is no denying that (unless you’re a Holocaust denier).

    B) Heston was NOT responsible for any deaths. What people do regarding the law is completely out of his hands. That’s like saying, “well the Liquor Store owner who sold that guy the vodka is responsible for that dude drunk driving”.

    It’s not so much that it’s wrong to talk bad about someone who’s dead, it’s the spreading of false information about that person when they have no way of defending themselves.

  5. One Sunday morning back in 1983, my mother was having a rough time getting my sibblings and me ready for church. The phone rang. Mr. Heston was on the other end. He had visited the Marines in Beirut and called to say that my father was doing well and to thank my mother for her sacrifice in letting him go. They spoke for a good 20 minutes or so. Even as a child, I knew that was an uncommon gesture. Since then I have always had a deep respect for the man personally, not to mention his work.

    It’s strange how one can feel a personal loss in the death of a stranger.

  6. Ben Hur up on the big screen a few years ago is one of my favourite movie memories. The guy has just so much presence.

    George Clooney’s cruel remarks a few years ago about his Alzheimer’s show just how little class Clooney has.

    Heston fought for civil rights before it was popular in Hollywood. He did it when it could have ended his career. He marched with Dr. King, he opposed McCarthyism and he opposed the Vietnam War.

    He was far more liberal than most of the so-called liberals who badmouth him.

    RIP Mr Heston

  7. Hey NBA Kid,

    You said:

    “it’s a low blow, which is pretty bad considering, once again, the dead cannot defend themselves.”

    Does that mean no one should ever bad mouth Hitler?

    I hated Heston’s politics and I think the NRA was spawned from Satan himself. Having said that, I still think it’s a reality that just because he had some wrong ideas doesn’t mean he wasn’t a good man and one hell of an actor.

  8. Also, to the person who brought up Charlton Heston being responsible for gun deaths – that is a ridiculous statement. Alcohol deaths each year are much much much much more numerous than gun deaths (besides any that Heston might have been “responsible” for), and alcohol is legal. So that point is completely irrelevant in regards for a good reason he’s dead, as well as non-factual and based purely on emotion. And I believe it’s a low blow, which is pretty bad considering, once again, the dead cannot defend themselves.

  9. A) No one should badmouth a dead person who can’t defend themselves for their politics as a good reason for their death. It’s in bad taste.

    B) Heston did NOT attend a rally 6 weeks after a gun death in Flint, MI. It was 8 months later and it was a voting rally.

    C) The world is truly in mourning today. He was a great man, a great actor and he’s brought a lot of joy to a lot of peoples’ lives.

  10. Simply a legend. I feel like saying more, but others have pretty much sai what I would have.

    And as for the comments taking delight in his death, I hope they remain posted up here, and not deleted, because sometimes, we all truly need a reminder of just how low people can sink.

  11. To Simon: for some odd reason I posted my comment (Amen) and yours did not show up that night. When it did it showed up as being posted before mine! What a shame since I think you’re an ass!

    So in case anyone thinks I’m in agreement with your asinine comment about Charlton Heston – for the record, I’m not! I had great respect for the actor and what he contributed to film.

  12. i’ll always remember him in waynes world 2, as the ‘good actor’ at the gas station. Pure brilliance! He set the bar high and i doub’t there’s anyone who could top his performances. He will be missed.

  13. I am a very liberal guy who hated his views on gun-owning, but damn, he was one of the greatest leading man in movie history.
    Rest in peace Mister Heston, I will go and watch PLANET OF THE APES now.

  14. As a BIG liberal, I of course hated his politics.

    But with great performances in “Planet of the Apes”, “Soylent Green”, and “Touch of Evil” (personal Heston Favorite), I will never deny his talent.

  15. I’ve loved his movies, Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, The planet of the Apes, Soylent Green among others. He was one of my childhood icons appearing bigger than life on the screen (Mostly reruns on a TV screen really since I wasn’t born for most of his movie career).

    But his actions with the NRA did disappoint me. I can’t fault the organization for supporting gun rights, but their zealotry and bad timing PR moves leave a lot to be desired. Heston association with the NRA does leave a bad taste in my mouth and does somewhat taint my memories of him. Even comments, racial, made years ago stick with me and dampen my view of him.

    But such things cannot justify or mitigate death and I do hope the man finds some peace in the after life. He seems to have struggled later on in his years, possibly due to the alzheimers some say he was afflicted with.

    We always look to heroes or figures bigger than life whether it be in movies, politics or just our lives, but sadly they truly never live up to our expectations.

  16. This is a major blow to mankind. This man was a true hero. He was not just a hero for history but for mankind and the human race. He was one of the best actors in the last 100 years. He was a golden boy in the ten commandments. He had broad shoulders and a square chiseled jawline. His son played the baby in Ten Commandments. He was in the Air force and into drama as a child. He married a artist and remained married for till death. god bless this man I have so much respect for him ans his persona. He was a TRUE Aryan masonic warrior. God bless his spirit to be reincarnated into another heavenly vessel for thou future. For his body was a shell of his wonderful soul. And that soul will reincarnate and build another shell of equal Aryan beauty. We can only hope for a better shell to materialize with the health of the Aryan beauty of the human race. For those who have been illuminated by birth shall rise to express their soul in a most healthy environment for society. This soul had a tremendous impact on human kind and his death should be nationally recognized. God Bless Our Fallen Illuminated Expression of Human Spirit. Fair winds and fallowing seas, may the wind be at your back and the great white brother hood except you into your kingdom in the heavenly dimensions…………Schwarze Sonne

  17. I have always thought one of my all-time favorite roles Charlton Heston played was that of Taylor in “Planet of the Apes.” Not to mention that to this day I feel the ending of that movie and the impact it held for the viewer has been unmatched. Of course, that was one of Rod Serling’s pieces that were kept. It still gives me goosebumps every time I see it.

    Heston will undoubtedly go down for generations as a remarkable actor and activist. He will be sorely missed.

    http://www.springboardblog.blogspot.com

  18. ‘Touche’…

    I say the phrase “Screwed the pooch”all the time. And I always say it’s a quote from John Campea, I love True Lies. How I didn’t know this makes me embaressed. …

    I won’t pretend I know much of Hestons work because it was wayt before me, but I will say screwing the pooch lives on through the movieblog.com

  19. I am not going to repress people’s right to speak their mind but i just cannot, and will never understand, how someone can be grateful and glad that someone is dead, except under the most extreme of circumstances. For example, if someone has personally raped/sodomised/murdered/commited the most henious crime against you or someone you love, then i can understand why you would want them dead. Otherwise…..i just cannot fathom how you can say ‘i’m glad you’re dead’ about someone you don’t know…..and feel content about it.

    You don’t know who Charlton Heston is just because you’ve seen ‘Bolwing for Columbine’. His politics were clearly laid out and I disagree with them myself but that does not give me the right to condem the man as bad/wrong/evil.

    Forget this, onto what i was gonna say without all this crap going on. I knew it was only going to be a matter of months before Heston passed away. I heard that he was really in poor health last month, i think, so this isn’t a shock per say, just a shame. Heston joins an illustrious list of film actors who, because of one or two utterly perfect, defining performances, in magnificent films, will be burned into the public consciousness forever. My thoughts are with his family.

  20. I am so 100% with Simon. I hope at last someone has managed to pry that gun out of his cold dead hands.

    As for his family grieving – there are a lot of families out there who are grieving for people who have died because of the ease of being able to get guns in America; laws Charlton Heston helped keep in place.

    Any sympathy for them?

  21. With all due respect, the guy was a bigot. Grand Master of the NRA… went to Flint michigan for a gun rally a week after a 6 year old girl was shot by an illegal weapon… just to make his “right to bare arms” BS point..
    Heston was an ignorant faciest.. we will not miss you buddy… adios!

  22. Wait. You gotta run to Blockbuster to pick that up? Ben Hur ain’t a rental. You gotta OWN that bitch on a special addition DVD set and you shoud ALSO already have it on tape.

  23. (Type your comment here. Make sure you’ve read the commenting rules before doing so) he will be missed……enjoyed his movies so much and have quite a few of them ……….may God Bless his soul

  24. (Type your comment here. Make sure you’ve read the commenting rules before doing so)
    Hey Simon… You are a complete A$$ wipe. You need your ass kicked like the pussy boy you truly are. Please FOAD you complete loser.

    Omega Man….classic
    Planet of the Apes… “Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty apes!”
    The agony and the ecstasy….. when will there be an end?
    Waynes world two… classic
    .

  25. I wonder if Michael Moore feels like a douche for ribbing an old man, years past his prime. While watching Bowling for Columbine I felt no remorse for the guy. Buy now that Heston is dead, Moore looks like an asshole beating up on a frail old man.

  26. God Bless. I pray for your family, that they can get through this trying time. You were a great actor and I thank you for the entertainment that you distilled upon the world. May you rest in peace sir.

  27. He was one of my favorite actors ever since I saw him in “The Ten Commandment” at the local theater about 40 years ago. I’ve constantly watched his films, read his books, and just read about him since. I had even seen him in person several times and he was always gracious to his fans.
    He was a much better actor then he was often given credit for. He should have been in more films in the eighties and nineties but he was probably blacklisted because of his outspoken politics. He was in more of my favorite films than any actor besides Robert deNiro.

  28. Ben Hur is a great movie and Charlton Heston is a great actor but he is old and it was just his time. and hes old its not he was in his thirty’s.

  29. It’s always sad when we lose a great american actor even thow im not that old(28)i still was a big fan of charlton.I grow up with my grandma watching his movies and they left a ever lasting mark on how i see movies.I just hope that my genaration does’nt forget this man and teach the next gen. of movie lovers about him and his work.
    Lets not also forget about the illness he faught with for so long in his life and lets not for get the other people that suffer with this illness everyday.
    Budda

  30. It’s nuts. I knew he was getting up there in terms of age, but I still let out a gasp when I read the news online. I cannot imagine what his wife is going through right now. Imagine being with someone for 64 years of your life, and then boom, they’re not around anymore. I feel for her, I really do. Our greats are starting to leave us. As morbid as this is going to sound, we aren’t too far off from having to bid Freeman, the elder Douglas, and even Nicholson farewell. Enjoy them while they’re still here.

    And I usually would not dignify a stupid and insensitive comment such as Simon’s with a response, but this kind of shit really pisses me off. A man has just died, a family is grieving, and here you sit at your computer, typing out some asinine, hateful message. Did that make you feel like a big boy to click that submit button and see your stupidity plastered for all to see? Do you feel like a bigger person now? It takes a real badass to talk shit about a DEAD MAN. I guarantee you that if you were face to face with this man’s wife, who must be in unspeakable grief right now, you wouldn’t twist your mouth to say what you just typed. You are a classless, CLASSLESS individual, and I only hope and pray that when you eventually pass on, someone doesn’t take a shit all over YOUR family’s pain the way that you just did.

  31. RIP Mr. Heston, you are an icon and a man amoung men. May your memory live on in our hearts and minds and my sincerest sympathy to your family. God Bless you all.

  32. I really liked,Planet of the Apes, Omega Man and Solent Green. Ben Hur and The 10 Commandments arnt really my bag.And yes John he was great in True Lies!!!

    He had a postive influence with the NRA.
    Great guy…..
    Take Care Charlton! You were one of the Best!!

  33. Dignity, grace, intelligence, loyalty are just a few adjectives I can think of to describe this immensely talented, indescribable man. Charlton Heston was simply the epitome of the ideal man…..strong, handsome beyond measure, a loving husband, a doting father, a perfect actor. I’ve always said lightheartedly about him: “Any man who can look good in a skirt is a real man.” He was perfect in those strong manly roles…..even while wearing a skirt. Simply the best at everything that mattered……….

  34. Heres hoping his family is well during this crisis, and also that he is in a better place, racing chariots forever with the roman pantheon.

    Charlton Heston will be missed.

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