Eulogy For Charlton Heston
Thor H. Asgardson
April 08, 2008
"The soup is hot; the soup is cold. Anthony is alive; Anthony is dead...."
Roddy McDowall as Octavian, in the film Cleopatra
The royal falcon has flown to the sun.
America's greatest actor lies dead at age 84. Charlton Heston threw off his mortal coil, on Saturday night, April 5, 2008, at his home in Beverly Hills. His wife Lydia was at his side, according to family spokesman, Bill Powers.
This momentous event in American history, will not go by without me throwing in my two cent's worth. For a very great man has died. We should take the advice of Roddy McDowall's character Octavian, and tremble with veneration, when we utter of his passing.
The couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1994 at a party with friends from Hollywood and the political world. They had 64 years of wedded bliss together. Quite an achievement in any day or age. This record alone, is something to be admired and emulated.
Heston was married to Northwestern student Lydia Marie Clark Heston in March 1944. After the war, the two lived in Hell's Kitchen, New York CIty, where they worked as models. They have a son, Fraser Clarke Heston and an adopted daughter, Holly Ann Heston.
The great Charlton Heston was born on the 4th of October, 1924, in Evanston Illinois. His birth name was John Charles Carter, known to his friends as "Chuck."
Charlton Heston, a giant redwood-of-a-man, standing at 6' 3" was known for his portrayal of historical figures, particularly in Biblical epics. With his height, physique and rugged good looks, he became the greatest of Hollywood's leading men and remained active in front of movie cameras for over sixty years. Another astounding record for human growth and potential.
His trademark, was the deep commanding voice, which signified his ability to lead in any character role he portrayed whether it be the subtle intrigue of Cardinal Richelieu, or the cold bigot, Richard "King" Howland, in the film Diamond Head--my personal favorite of his films.
"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." *
Ten Commandments will always be his greatest film, for it was in that film with an all-star supporting cast, that he fulfilled his greatest historical image as Moses. He featured with such greats as Anne Baxter, Vincent Price, Edward G. Robinson, Yul Brynner, Yvonne De Carlo, John Carradine, John Derek, Debra Paget, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and others.
Heston became an icon for portraying Moses in The Ten Commandments, reportedly being chosen because director Cecil B. DeMille thought the muscular, 6 ft 3 in, square jawed Heston bore an uncanny resemblance to the statue of Moses by Michelangelo.**
Such magnificence in film was thought lost forever, until the advent of Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones movies, came to revive that genre of technicolor panorama, with machine gun bullets, bouncing off a gong.
Even as he parted the Red Sea, with his magic staff in Ten Commandments; he also parted public opinion with his firm stance toward the advancement of a conservative, American cause, by his presidency in the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2001. He also served on the board of directors from 2001 to 2003.
His many achievements included serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1965 to 1971.
I will not cite all of his awards and achievements here. They are a matter of public record.
Heston was criticized for doing that which the Father of Our Country strongly advised. For it was George Washington who stated about firearms:
"When firearms go, all goes - we need them every hour."
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."
Speech of Jan. 7, 1790 in the Boston Independent Chronicle, Jan. 14, 1790.
Charlton Heston not only entertained Americans; he served as a great patriot to his country.
He gave the world an image of an American to remember, in the film Midway. Like Henry Fonda, and John Wayne in concert; he provides the paradigm for quintessential American. "Like an oak" is he.
His political activism included the fact that early in his career he was one of a handful of Hollywood stars 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 that had a strong environmental message.**
He accompanied Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights march held in Washington, D.C. in 1963, even going so far as to wear a sign that read "All Men Are Created Equal". **
"For example, I marched for civil rights with Dr. King in 1963 - long before Hollywood found it fashionable. But when I told an audience last year that white pride is just as valid as black pride or red pride or anyone else's pride, they called me a racist."
Charlton Heston
He certainly displayed courage and commitment to the American way, with these stances of fairness for the plight of all Americans, and concern for the environment. Nevertheless he came under fire.
"From Time magazine to friends and colleagues, they're essentially saying, 'Chuck, how dare you speak your mind? You are using language not authorized for public consumption!'"
Heston knew the so-called "political correctness," was nothing more than communism and tyranny in disguise. He followed the admonition of The Father of Our Country, who stated:
"It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn."
George Washington, letter to the Legislature of Pennsylvania, September 5, 1789
Chuck said: "But I am not afraid. If Americans believed in political correctness, we'd still be King George's boys - subjects bound to the British crown."
Charlton Heston was a rebel, for he knew that the American spirit of our founding fathers, was that of a revolutionary, for the United States of America is the pole star for all revolutionary movements, past, present and future.
Heston--as president of the NRA, gave this speech to the Harvard Law School Forum on February 16, 1999: "Disobedience is in our DNA. We feel innate kinship with that disobedient spirit that tossed tea in to Boston Harbor, that sent Thoreau to jail, that refused to sit in the back of the bus, that protested a war in Viet Nam."
There is no such thing as a well-adjusted slave, and Heston knew it in his role as Moses, but also in real life.
Like John Wayne and Theodore Roosevelt; Charlton did not believe in the hyphenated version of an American: "For me, hyphenated identities are awkward...particularly "Native-American." I'm a Native American, for God's sake. I also happen to be a blood-initiated brother of the Miniconjou Sioux. On my wife's side, my grandson is a thirteenth generation native American...with a capital letter on 'American.'" ***
He goes now to fulfill his greatest role, under the direction of the Cosmic Motion Picture Director. He will play against the backdrop screen of Eternity, to entertain those who have gone before him, and those who will come after.
The "mud turtle" has graduated from the brick pits of Earth to join the Pharoahs of Egypt in his Father's many splendored mansions.
Knowing that death is nothing more than the opposite side of the same coin called "life," and that it is a passage into the next world of eternal life; it might be fitting to chisel onto his tombstone the epitaph:
"You can put him up at my place(Meaning the grave), as long as it's just for the night..."
Heston's character Henry Hooker, in his final cameo appearance in the 1993 film, Tombstone.
He won't be resting long, for there is much more work to be done in building that new home for his wife. He has reconciled courage and surrender, with his remarkable life of stellar achievement. Charlton Heston--a defender of gun rights, was also a champion of non-violence.
Los Angeles, Associated Press
Wikipedia
Heston on Winning the Culture War, NewsMax.com
Roddy McDowall as Octavian, in the film Cleopatra
The royal falcon has flown to the sun.
America's greatest actor lies dead at age 84. Charlton Heston threw off his mortal coil, on Saturday night, April 5, 2008, at his home in Beverly Hills. His wife Lydia was at his side, according to family spokesman, Bill Powers.
This momentous event in American history, will not go by without me throwing in my two cent's worth. For a very great man has died. We should take the advice of Roddy McDowall's character Octavian, and tremble with veneration, when we utter of his passing.
The couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1994 at a party with friends from Hollywood and the political world. They had 64 years of wedded bliss together. Quite an achievement in any day or age. This record alone, is something to be admired and emulated.
Heston was married to Northwestern student Lydia Marie Clark Heston in March 1944. After the war, the two lived in Hell's Kitchen, New York CIty, where they worked as models. They have a son, Fraser Clarke Heston and an adopted daughter, Holly Ann Heston.
The great Charlton Heston was born on the 4th of October, 1924, in Evanston Illinois. His birth name was John Charles Carter, known to his friends as "Chuck."
Charlton Heston, a giant redwood-of-a-man, standing at 6' 3" was known for his portrayal of historical figures, particularly in Biblical epics. With his height, physique and rugged good looks, he became the greatest of Hollywood's leading men and remained active in front of movie cameras for over sixty years. Another astounding record for human growth and potential.
His trademark, was the deep commanding voice, which signified his ability to lead in any character role he portrayed whether it be the subtle intrigue of Cardinal Richelieu, or the cold bigot, Richard "King" Howland, in the film Diamond Head--my personal favorite of his films.
"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." *
Ten Commandments will always be his greatest film, for it was in that film with an all-star supporting cast, that he fulfilled his greatest historical image as Moses. He featured with such greats as Anne Baxter, Vincent Price, Edward G. Robinson, Yul Brynner, Yvonne De Carlo, John Carradine, John Derek, Debra Paget, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and others.
Heston became an icon for portraying Moses in The Ten Commandments, reportedly being chosen because director Cecil B. DeMille thought the muscular, 6 ft 3 in, square jawed Heston bore an uncanny resemblance to the statue of Moses by Michelangelo.**
Such magnificence in film was thought lost forever, until the advent of Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones movies, came to revive that genre of technicolor panorama, with machine gun bullets, bouncing off a gong.
Even as he parted the Red Sea, with his magic staff in Ten Commandments; he also parted public opinion with his firm stance toward the advancement of a conservative, American cause, by his presidency in the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2001. He also served on the board of directors from 2001 to 2003.
His many achievements included serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1965 to 1971.
I will not cite all of his awards and achievements here. They are a matter of public record.
Heston was criticized for doing that which the Father of Our Country strongly advised. For it was George Washington who stated about firearms:
"When firearms go, all goes - we need them every hour."
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."
Speech of Jan. 7, 1790 in the Boston Independent Chronicle, Jan. 14, 1790.
Charlton Heston not only entertained Americans; he served as a great patriot to his country.
He gave the world an image of an American to remember, in the film Midway. Like Henry Fonda, and John Wayne in concert; he provides the paradigm for quintessential American. "Like an oak" is he.
His political activism included the fact that early in his career he was one of a handful of Hollywood stars 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 that had a strong environmental message.**
He accompanied Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights march held in Washington, D.C. in 1963, even going so far as to wear a sign that read "All Men Are Created Equal". **
"For example, I marched for civil rights with Dr. King in 1963 - long before Hollywood found it fashionable. But when I told an audience last year that white pride is just as valid as black pride or red pride or anyone else's pride, they called me a racist."
Charlton Heston
He certainly displayed courage and commitment to the American way, with these stances of fairness for the plight of all Americans, and concern for the environment. Nevertheless he came under fire.
"From Time magazine to friends and colleagues, they're essentially saying, 'Chuck, how dare you speak your mind? You are using language not authorized for public consumption!'"
Heston knew the so-called "political correctness," was nothing more than communism and tyranny in disguise. He followed the admonition of The Father of Our Country, who stated:
"It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn."
George Washington, letter to the Legislature of Pennsylvania, September 5, 1789
Chuck said: "But I am not afraid. If Americans believed in political correctness, we'd still be King George's boys - subjects bound to the British crown."
Charlton Heston was a rebel, for he knew that the American spirit of our founding fathers, was that of a revolutionary, for the United States of America is the pole star for all revolutionary movements, past, present and future.
Heston--as president of the NRA, gave this speech to the Harvard Law School Forum on February 16, 1999: "Disobedience is in our DNA. We feel innate kinship with that disobedient spirit that tossed tea in to Boston Harbor, that sent Thoreau to jail, that refused to sit in the back of the bus, that protested a war in Viet Nam."
There is no such thing as a well-adjusted slave, and Heston knew it in his role as Moses, but also in real life.
Like John Wayne and Theodore Roosevelt; Charlton did not believe in the hyphenated version of an American: "For me, hyphenated identities are awkward...particularly "Native-American." I'm a Native American, for God's sake. I also happen to be a blood-initiated brother of the Miniconjou Sioux. On my wife's side, my grandson is a thirteenth generation native American...with a capital letter on 'American.'" ***
He goes now to fulfill his greatest role, under the direction of the Cosmic Motion Picture Director. He will play against the backdrop screen of Eternity, to entertain those who have gone before him, and those who will come after.
The "mud turtle" has graduated from the brick pits of Earth to join the Pharoahs of Egypt in his Father's many splendored mansions.
Knowing that death is nothing more than the opposite side of the same coin called "life," and that it is a passage into the next world of eternal life; it might be fitting to chisel onto his tombstone the epitaph:
"You can put him up at my place(Meaning the grave), as long as it's just for the night..."
Heston's character Henry Hooker, in his final cameo appearance in the 1993 film, Tombstone.
He won't be resting long, for there is much more work to be done in building that new home for his wife. He has reconciled courage and surrender, with his remarkable life of stellar achievement. Charlton Heston--a defender of gun rights, was also a champion of non-violence.
Los Angeles, Associated Press
Wikipedia
Heston on Winning the Culture War, NewsMax.com
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