As I booted my computer early this Sunday morning, little did I know I was in for very sad news. One of my favorite actors had died. His name is Charlton Heston. He was 84.
The Hollywood actor died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said. Powers declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details.
Heston was known for playing heroic roles, such as Moses in The Ten Commandments, Judah Ben-Hur in Ben Hur, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figues in movie epics of the fifties and sixties. Charlton Heston, won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing Ben-Hur. Early in his career, he was one of a handful of Hollywood actors to publicly speak out against racism and was active in the civil rights movement. During the latter part of his movie career, he starred in films such as The Omega Man and Soylent Green, which have a strong environmental message. He was president of the Naational Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003.
“Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. He was known for his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders and resonating voice, and, of course, for the roles he played,” Heston’s family said in a statement. “No one could ask for a fuller life than his. No man could have given more to his family, to his profession, and to his country.”
Heston revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer’s disease, saying, “I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure.”
With his large, muscular build, well-boned face and sonorous voice, Heston proved the ideal star during the period when Hollywood was filling movie screens with panoramas depicting the religious and historical past. “I have a face that belongs in another century,” he often remarked.
Publicist Michael Levine, who represented Heston for about 20 years, said the actor’s passing represented the end of an iconic era for cinema.
“If Hollywood had a Mt. Rushmore, Heston’s face would be on it,” Levine said. “He was a heroic figure that I don’t think exists to the same degree in Hollywood today.”
I will always remember this outstanding actor with awe and admiration. Hollywood has lost one of its most sparkling stars.
Reference: Wikipedia Encyclopedia
