American actor with a commanding physical presence and a legacy that includes over 100 films, several books, and leadership roles in the Screen Actors’ Guild and the National Rifle Association. Heston won an Oscar for his role in “Ben Hur.” He is equally well-known for his memorable screen performances in a variety of other roles including Moses in “The Ten Commandments,” Marc Anthony in “Anthony and Cleopatra” earthling George Taylor in “Planet of the Apes,” a narcotics investigator in “Touch of Evil” and a cowboy in “The Big Country.”
Heston grew up in Michigan. In 1941 he enrolled in Northwestern University where he studied speech and drama and performed in college shows and in radio dramas. He first appeared before the camera in an amateur production of “Peer Gynt” in 1942. After a three-year tour of duty in the Air Force as a radio-gunner from 1944-1947, he returned to the U.S. to debut in a Broadway production of Shakespeare’s “Anthony and Cleopatra.” His early career consisted of a series of TV roles in the late 1940s, until he made his film debut in “Dark City,” 1950. His performance in the award winning movie “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) and his subsequent role as Moses in “The Ten Commandments” (1956) ensured a place on the list of Hollywood greats. “Ben-Hur” and subsequent performances cemented his fame. He continued working well into his early 80s, with more than a hundred films to his credit.
An inveterate diarist and letter writer, Heston is the author of several books and dozens of missives to the newspapers. His autobiography, “The Actor’s Life: A Journal,” covers his life from 1956-1976. “Beijing Diary: 1990” is a lively account of his trip to China to direct “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial” with a Chinese cast, in Chinese. His autobiography, “In the Arena,” 1995, is confident, eloquent, candid, and often funny.
An artist as well as an actor and writer, Heston exhibited his pen and ink sketches in art galleries. Putting his ideals into action, he headed the Artists’ Committee that joined with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the March on Washington. He also joined in other, smaller demonstrations for civil rights. He served actively in Hollywood politics as head of the Screen Actor’s Guild for six years, raised money for dozens of charitable causes including the fight against breast cancer, and championed many an underdog. Believing in the right to bear arms, Heston became head of the NRA (National Rifle Association) in 1998.
On March 17, 1944 he married his college sweetheart, Lydia Clarke. The couple had two children and by all accounts lived happily together until his death. In early August 2002, Heston made public that he was diagnosed with neurological symptoms “consistent with” Alzheimer’s disease.
He died at age 84 on April 5, 2008 at his Beverly Hills, CA home.
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