Remembering Charlton Heston

April 7th, 2008 - By Gregg Argonaut.

This morning, Sunday, April 6, I was groggily called from bed. I didn't want to get up. I already feared the worst from the day. I had to go help some church members renovate a roof. I was not looking forward to that task. I no longer went to church, but helping out seemed like the right thing to do. So I got out of bed, and headed for the bathroom.

I was in the middle of putting my contacts in when I heard my dad outside the door.

“Hey Gregg. Charlton Heston died, at 84.”

My dad knew how much I liked Heston, so he had said it as nicely as he could.

I thought for a moment. I wasn't shocked. His death had seemed inevitable to me for a while now. How does one respond to the death of a childhood hero? I replied, but all I could manage was, “Oh... Well, that sucks.”

I immediately began turning it over in my head. I went to all the regular forums to see if the news had been posted yet, and if it hadn't, I wanted to be the first to do so. I wanted to show that Heston's death meant something to somebody. Maybe I just wanted to show that I was the biggest Heston fan around.

My first experience with Heston was as a young child, watching The Ten Commandments on boring Sabbaths(as we Adventists called Saturday). Watching that movie and seeing Heston on the screen as Elmer Bernstein's bombastic music played was one of the most important parts of my childhood. I don't think I really appreciated then as much as I do now, looking back.

As I grew older, I watched a few other Heston films. Planet of the Apes and Ben-Hur being my most favorite. Heston became an iconic, almost mythical figure to me. Years later, I would watch Charlton Heston's Moses parting the Red Sea with pure awe. It was a very religious experience.

Now for a little biography. Charlton “Chuck” Heston, originally John Charles Carter, was born on October 4, 1923. Just perusing through his wikipedia entry, I learned some things I'd never known about him. For instance, I never knew that he served in the military. According to wikipedia, “He served for two years as a B-25 radio operator/gunner stationed in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands with the Eleventh Air Force, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant.“ It seems Heston married his wife and joined the military in the same year, 1944. That's another thing that I admire Heston for. He stayed with the same woman all his life. When he died, she was next to his bed.

Heston's greatest success was probably his role as Moses in The Ten Commandments. I still remember watching Cecil B. DeMille talking about how Heston was chosen for the role. DeMille thought Heston bore a striking resemblance to Michelangelo's statue of Moses. I can't imagine anyone else playing Moses better than Heston did. The man's features already look like they are chiseled from stone. As Heston himself often put it, “I have a face that belongs in another century.” Another trait that impacted me was Heston's voice. When watching The Ten Commandments, I always felt as thought Heston spoke with the voice of God himself. It seems fitting, then, that I would later learn Heston provided the voice of God in the burning bush scene.

Charlton Heston is known for being very active in the civil rights movement "long before Hollywood found it fashionable,” as Heston later said. When Heston noticed a line outside the premiere of one of his movies being segregated, he joined a picket line in protest. In 1963 Heston joined Martin Luther King in a civil rights march.

Later in his life, Heston was more widely known for his pro-gun stance. Heston made several biting speeches on this subject, leading many to dislike him. Michael Moore attempted to capitalize on this controversy in an interview conducted with Heston for Moore's Bowling For Columbine. An interview which Heston finally excused himself from.

Most recently, I'd heard the rumors that Heston had Alzheimer's, and George Clooney's spiteful remarks regarding them. I like to think that Heston was doing quite well, in spite of his disease. His response to Clooney seemed very thoughtful and gentlemanly.

Before I left for the job, I was sitting at the computer. My dad walked in and mentioned that he thought it would be windy on that roof. I agreed. It could be. Then as he was leaving, my dad said, "Oh yeah, sorry about Charlton Heston." I have my differences with Dad, but I have him to thank for introducing me to so many of my favorite movies at a young age. This was one thing we could agree on. It really sucks that Chuck Heston died.

I wish I had more to say about Heston. I admit, I knew very little of him outside my admiration for his movie roles. I wish I had known him better.

Charlton Heston was one of the last of a certain kind of man. He was a very principled man. He stuck to those principles like a true individual. Heston was truly a gentleman of the best sort. I wish I had known him. I'm sure we would have been great friends. It's sad that there are so few men like him in Hollywood today. Men with class. Men of high moral standing. I hope that there are others besides myself who share the respect I have for him, and will remember him as the man he was. Both an iconic actor, and a decent human being. May he rest in peace.