Charlton Heston was immortalized on the big screen in the 1950s and 1960s, especially by portraying the roles of historical heroes, in dozens of films, from Ben Hur to The 10 Commandments, Anthony and Cleopatra, and later the science fiction Planet of the Apes.
Charlton Heston won the Oscar for Best Actor in 1959.
Heston was born on October 4, 1923, in Evanston, Illinois, USA. His full name is John Charles Carter. His mother was Lilla and his father was Russell Whitford Carter. In 1930 the family moved to Michigan. When he was 10 years old, his parents divorced. His mother later married Chester Heston. This new family moved to Wilmette, Illinois, and Heston attended New Trier High School under his new surname.
While he was still a high school student, he took part in the theater department of New Trier High School. In 1941, he starred in the student film Peer Gynt. Heston became friends with director David Bradley, whom he met with this film, and joined Bradley's team and played the role of Mark Antony in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. He received his first Golden Globe Award nomination for playing Moses in The Ten Commandments (1956), and won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of Ben-Hur (1959). Heston would go on to receive a second Academy Award statuette in 1978, but this time in the form of a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his considerable charitable work. He also starred in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Secret of the Incas (1954), Touch of Evil (1958), The Big Country (1958), El Cid (1961), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Khartoum (1966), Planet of the Apes (1968), Julius Caesar (1970), The Omega Man (1971), Antony and Cleopatra (1972), Soylent Green (1973), The Three Musketeers (1974), Airport 1975 (1974), Earthquake (1974), Crossed Swords (1978), Mother Lode (1982), and Alaska (1996).
He joined the United States Air Force in 1944 during World War II and served as a radio operator and gunner on a B-25 Mitchell in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska for 2 years. Charlton Heston, who got married on March 17, 1944, during his military service, settled in Hell's Kitchen in New York with his wife after his discharge, and they both started working as models.
In 1947, they acted in a theater group for a year in Asheville, North Carolina. They returned to New York in 1948 and took a supporting role in William Shakespeare's Anthony and Cleopatra on Broadway.
Heston, who first appeared in the movie "Dark City" in 1950, played the role of Prophet Moses in the movie "The Ten Commandments" in 1956, alongside Yul Brynner.
He starred in the movie "Ben-Hur" in 1959 and won the Best Actor award at the 32nd Oscars for his role there.
He served as president of The Screen Actors Guild (SAG), an actors' union, from 1965 to 1971.
In 1968, he starred in the movie "Planet of the Apes". The actor, who played the role of Cardinal Richelieu in the movie The Three Musketeers in 1973, had supporting roles and cameo roles thereafter.
The movie "Rua Alguem 5555: My Father", which he played in 2003, was his last movie and he played the role of (Father Josef Mengele) in this movie.
He supported John F Kennedy's campaigns in the 1960 elections. He stated that he was against the Vietnam War.
In the 1980s, Heston changed his political line, giving up being pro-democrat and approaching the republican side. The artist supported the campaigns of Republicans and Republican presidential candidates and was a supporter of Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and George W Bush.
He supported US President Ronald Reagan. Between 1998 and 2003, Charlton Heston also served as president of the National Rifle Association, a US national organization that defends the rights of gun owners.
Charlton Heston married Lydia Marie Clarke on March 17, 1944. They have two children named Fraser Clarke (b.1955) and Holly Ann (b.1961).
Charlton Heston died on April 5, 2008, in Beverly Hills, California, USA, at the age of 85.
Awards:
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush in 2003.
1960 - 32nd Oscar Awards - Best Actor (Ben-Hur)
Movies and TV Series:
Director:
1982 - Mother Lode (Motion Picture)
1972 - Antony And Cleopatra (Motion Picture)
Scenario:
1972 - Antony And Cleopatra (Motion Picture)