Charlton Heston's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) The Colbys Jason Colby The Merv Griffin Show Charlton He… AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies Charlton He… The Colgate Comedy Hour Charlton He… The $64,000 Question Charlton He… F.D.R. Voice of Fr…

Main Movie Roles

BIOGRAPHY:

With features chiseled in stone, who else but Charlton Heston could you picture as Michelangelo, as Ben-Hur, as Moses? Heston's movie career took off with The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and reached light speed with Ben-Hur (1959). Although he has played a pantheon of larger-than-life roles, he usually prefers to talk about the day-to-day daily grind of the movie business, and especially credits the writers and directors he has worked for much of his success.


TRIVIA:

• Volunteered his time and effort to the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, and even marched alongside the Rev. Dr. 'Martin Luther King' (qv) Jr. on a number of occasions, including the 1963 March on Washington. In the original (uncut) version of _King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970)_ (qv), he was narrator.
• Although Heston was a lifelong non-smoker, he did hold a pipe in some early publicity photographs because both 'Clark Gable' (qv) and 'Cary Grant' (qv) smoked pipes.
• Cited _Will Penny (1968)_ (qv) as his personal favorite film from his career.
• In 1981, Heston was named co-chairman of President 'Ronald Reagan (I)' (qv)'s Task Force for the Arts and Humanities. He served on the National Council for the Arts and was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild six times.
• Attended the second inauguration of 'Ronald Reagan (I)' (qv) as President of the United States of America, along with 'Frank Sinatra' (qv), 'Dean Martin (I)' (qv) and 'Ray Charles (I)' (qv). (20 January 1985).
• He retired as president of the National Rifle Association in April 2003, citing reasons of ill health.
• Attended the funeral of 'Lew Wasserman' (qv) in June 2002.
• Was offered the role of Colonel Benjamin Vandervoort in _The Longest Day (1962)_ (qv), but 'John Wayne (I)' (qv) signed for the part before Heston could accept.