Charlton Heston
- Acting
- October 4, 1923 · Wilmette, Illinois, USA
- April 5, 2008
Biography
Charlton Heston (October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor, renowned for his towering screen presence and roles in some of Hollywood’s most famous epics. Born John Charles Carter in Illinois, he discovered his passion for acting in school, studied drama at Northwestern University, and began his career on stage and in live television before transitioning to film. He first gained major attention in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth and then became an international star with his performances as Moses in The Ten Commandments and Judah Ben‑Hur in Ben‑Hur, the latter earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Heston went on to headline a wide range of big‑budget films, including El Cid, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Planet of the Apes, and The Omega Man, establishing himself as one of the most recognizable leading men of mid‑20th‑century cinema. Beyond acting, he was active in public life, supporting civil rights in the 1960s and later becoming a prominent conservative voice and president of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003. He retired from public life after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2002 and died on April 5, 2008, in Beverly Hills, California, leaving behind a legacy as both a cinematic icon and a polarizing political figure.
Known for
Filmography
- Airports
- Planet of the Apes: A Milestone of Science Fiction · Self
- Charlton Heston: Radical to Right Wing · Self
- Yul Brynner, the Magnificent · Self
- Todos los nombres de Sara · Self
- Hail Satan? · Self
- Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic · Self
- I Am Richard Pryor · Self
- Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil" · (archive footage)
- The Making of the Greatest Story Ever Told · Self
- The Madding Crowd · Self
- Bienvenido Mr. Heston · Self
- The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille · Self
- Spanish Western · Self
- Children of the Civil Rights · Self
- Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles · Self
- Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire · Self
- Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia · Self
- Talking Pictures · Self
- A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King · Self
- Charlton Heston and Ben-Hur: A Personal Journey · Self
- 2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift · (archive footage)
- Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff · Self
- Hollywood sul Tevere
- Greatest Heroes and Legends: The Story of Moses · Self
- AFI: 100 Years... 100 Movies... 10th Anniversary Edition · Self
- De Madrid a la Luna · Self
- Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema · Self
- Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade · Self
- Remembering Reagan at His Ranch · Host
- Christmas from Hollywood · Self
- The Making of The Ten Commandments · Self
- My Father · Josef Mengele
- Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible: Daniel and the Lion's Den · Self
- Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Jonah and the Whale · Self
- Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: David and Goliath · Self
- Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Samson and Delilah · Self
- Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: The Garden of Eden · Self
- Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Joshua and the Battle of Jericho · Self
- Ben Hur · Ben Hur (Voice)
- Lasting Love
- Edith Head: The Paramount Years · Self
- The Face of Evil: Reinhard Heydrich · Narrator (Voice)
- Bowling for Columbine · Self
- The Making of 'Tombstone' · Self
- Last Party 2000 · Self
- The Making of Midway · Self
- Planet of the Apes · Zaius (uncredited)
- Cats & Dogs · The Mastiff (Voice)
- The Gun Deadlock · Self
- The Order · Professor Finley
- Town & Country · Mr. Clayborne
- The Weber Show · Charlton Heston
- Hollywood at Your Feet: The Story of the Chinese Theatre Footprints · Self
- Any Given Sunday · AFFA Football Commissioner
- Camino de Santiago · Professor Marcelo Rinaldi
- Yesterday's Tomorrows · Self
- Television: The First Fifty Years · Self
- Forever Hollywood · Self
- Secrets of War: Shadows of The Reich · Self
- Gideon · Addison Sinclair
- Sworn to Secrecy: Secrets of War · Self
- Behind the Planet of the Apes · Self
- Alaska: Spirit of the Wild · Self
- Armageddon · Narration (Voice)
- Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero · Self
- Charlton Heston Presents the Bible: Genesis · Self
- Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western · Self
- Hercules · Narrator (Voice)
- Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line · Self
- Charlton Heston Presents the Bible · Self
- Hamlet · Player King
- Love in Hollywood · Self
- Alaska · Perry
- Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels · Self
- Andersonville Diaries · Narrator
- The Mysterious Origins of Man · Self
- The Lord Protector · Narrator (Voice)
- MADtv · Self
- Texas · Narrator