Remembering a Legend: Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston, who had a 60-year movie career, was a spokesman for National Rifle Association and married to the same woman for 64 years, died on Saturday, April 5 at 84 with his wife by his side in their home. We have yet to hear what he died of, though he did have Alzheimer's.

He was a loved actor for playing Moses in the 1956 movie "The Ten Commandments", and other heroic roles. Yet he was a real hero at the same time, he for two years as a B-25 radio operator/gunner during WWII. He stood up for what he believed was right, he campaigned for Reagan and both Bush's. He opposed Abortion, he believed in Civil Rights, and he was against racism. He was a spokesman's the NRA from 1998 to 2003.He served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1966-1971.

Some movies he was in, Julius Caesar, The Greatest Show On Earth, The Privet War Of Major Benson, The Ten Commandments, Touch of Evil, Ben-Hur, Major Dundee, The Planet of the Apes are just a few to name.

It was the movie "The Ten Commandments" that made him a big star, though it never went to his head. He still acted like an everyday kind of man. He said "I'd rather play a senator than be one", when asked if he wanted to run for office.

His family will miss him, as will the public. His wife, son, daughter and 3 grandkids survive him.

Here are some quotes by him that will live on

Let me make a short, opening, blanket comment. There are no "good guns". There are no "bad guns".

Interview on Meet the Press (18 May 1997)

You could say that the paparazzi and the tabloids are sort of the "assault weapons" of the First Amendment.

Interview Fox News Channel (15 September 1997)

I also want you to know I'm grateful beyond measure. My life has been blessed with good fortune. I'm grateful I was born in America, that cradle of freedom and opportunity where a kid from the Michigan North Woods can work hard and make something of his life. I'm grateful for the greatest words ever written, that let me share with you the infinite scope of the human experience.
As an actor, I'm thankful I have lived not one life, but many.

Video farewell (2002)

My dear friends, colleagues, and fans, my physicians have recently told me I may have a neurological disorder whose symptoms are consistent with Alzheimer's disease. So I wanted to prepare a few words for you now because when the time comes, I may not be able to.

Video farewell (2002)

RIP Charlton Heston, your family and fans will miss you dearly!

Sources:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2008-04-06-heston-films_N.htm
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charlton_Heston
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/movies/06heston.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&bl&ei=5087&en=55b5ab5e7044b201&ex=1207713600