LOS ANGELES — When Charlton Heston learned in July of 2002 that he had a neurological disorder with symptoms that resembled Alzheimer’s disease, he delivered the news in a typical Heston manner.
He videotaped a farewell speech and released it to the media, ending it with a touch of Shakespeare’s farewell for Prospero in “The Tempest”:
“We are such stuff
“As dreams are made on, and our little life
“Is rounded with a sleep.”
In October 2002, looking frail, he made an appearance at a meeting of his beloved National Rifle Association in Manchester, N.H. A friend handed him a flintlock, which Heston held over his head in a customary pose. He challenged his enemies to pry the rifle “from my cold dead hands.” Even in affliction, he hadn’t lost that Heston bearing.
When Heston arrived in Hollywood in 1952, he was an articulate fellow, friendly and outgoing. In one interview, he commented that producers didn’t see him as a 20th-century man.
“All the good modern parts go to Jack Lemmon or Cary Grant,” he complained mildly.
“When you see Jack Lemmon at the beginning of a picture walking down the halls of a big office building,” he said, “you immediately believe him as a junior executive of a corporation. When you see me on horseback in chain mail, they seem to believe that I belong there.”
When Heston was filming “The 10 Commandments,” he commented on the restrictions of director Cecil B. DeMille:
“When I’m on the set in my costume and makeup, I cannot sit down, read a newspaper, use a telephone or give interviews. I don’t smoke anyway, so that isn’t a problem. De Mille has twofold purposes: 1. to make others on the set get the illusion I am Moses; and 2. to make me feel like Moses.”
Heston said he did a great deal of research on his roles.
“The responsibility is a great one,” he said. “After all, Moses figures in three of the world’s great religions. You have to be prepared to answer questions of all of them concerning the interpretation of Moses’ life.”
Some of Heston’s movies were bombs, but he continued a heavy schedule. He had nothing but scorn for picky young stars like Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift who sometimes went a year or more without a movie.
“I think they’re wrong,” Heston remarked. “I think they are making a mistake by being so exclusive. An actor is like any other artist; he has to grow, to mature. There’s only one way you can do that — by acting.
“An actor differs from other artists in one respect. A writer or a painter can continue practicing in private; if they don’t like what they have written or painted, they can stow it in a closet. An actor is not so fortunate. Whatever he does has to be seen by people. That means he will be criticized for his mistakes. But he has to keep acting or he will never progress.”
Heston wrote three books: “The Actor’s Life; Journals 1956-1976,” “Beijing Diary” (1990) and an autobiography, “In the Arena” (1995). He concluded the latter book with an amalgam of quotes from famous Americans, not unlike the amalgam of famous characters that was the actor himself:
“I have a dream. I refuse to accept the end of man. I believe he will endure. He will survive. Man is immortal, not because alone of God’s creatures he has a voice, but because he has a soul . . . a spirit capable of compassion . . . and sacrifice . . . and endurance.
“About America and Americans, this is particularly true. It is a fabulous country, where miracles not only happen, they happen all the time. As a nation, we have, perhaps uniquely, a special willness of the heart.”
Quotes
“I will never forget Chuck as a hero on the big screen in the roles he played, but more importantly I considered him a hero in life for the many times that he stepped up to support Ronnie in whatever he was doing.”
Former first lady Nancy Reagan
“To me, he was the consummate leading man. He was tall, he was handsome, he was sensitive, he was gruff when he had to be. . . . He could do everything, and there aren’t many actors around today who could.”
Shirley Jones, who co-starred with Heston in one of his last leading roles in the 1999 drama “Gideon”
“Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. We knew him as an adoring husband, a kind and devoted father, and a gentle grandfather with an infectious sense of humor. He served these far greater roles with tremendous faith, courage and dignity.”
Heston’s family, in a statement
“He was a man of character and integrity, with a big heart. . . . Our prayers are with his wife Lydia and the entire Heston family.”
President Bush
“In taking on epic and commanding roles, he showed himself to be one of our nation’s most gifted actors, and his legacy will forever be a part of our cinema.”
John McCain, Republican presidential candidate
“Charlton Heston was a complex individual. He lived a long time, and certainly, there were many phases. The phases we prefer to remember were certainly his contributions to Dr. (Martin Luther) King and civil rights.”
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Round Table
