Charlton Heston Dead at 84
What a shame. It’s a shame that such a massive man, in skill, heart and stature, was reduced by Alzheimer.s for so long. What might be the biggest shame of all is that Heston’s last public appearance will be probably be remembered as Mikey presented it in that travesty of a lie-filled, “creatively edited” segment in Bowling for Columbine.
I doubt Michael is capable of shame as a human being anymore - if he ever was - but if he is, I hope that for just a brief moment today, he is ashamed of what he did to Mr. Heston in that film, especially now knowing the man was in the early grips of a disease that confounds, confuses and erases the mind.
So...what was your favorite Heston role? I must admit, I hated Branaugh’s Hamlet, but I thought Heston was great in it. I’d have to say that my favorite role of his was George Taylor in Planet of the Apes. All around, that’s the role of his that stuck with me the most over my life. He played them all, though. Marc Antony three or four times, Ben Hur, the Player King, Michelangelo, Jefferson, Richelieu, John the Baptist, Moses, Macbeth, Andrew Jackson...the list goes on and on.
Rest easy, Chuck. From our cold, dead hands now. We’ll keep those damn dirty apes at bay.
Comments
Moore’s site has a graphic of Heston, presumably as a “tribute.” So he mocks the man in his movie, then tries to play himself as gracious and sincere at his passing.
Moore, just leave him and his family alone - as you should have done in the first place.
I would also have to list Planet of the Apes as my favorite role for him, but I also enjoyed him in Soylent Green. And for the film Omega Man, he stuck to his guns that a black actress share top billing with him. And in line with that, he also marched with MLK.
And lest we forget Ben Hur…
And now we’ll see if anyone holds George Clooney’s feet to the fire:
Actor George Clooney joked about Heston having Alzheimer’s Disease. When questioned, Clooney said Heston deserved whatever was said about him for his involvement with the NRA. Heston responded by saying Clooney lacked “class,” and said he felt sorry for Clooney, as Clooney had as much of a chance of developing Alzheimer’s as anyone else.
Heh. A special mention has to go to his brief and lampshaded role in Wayne’s World 2, if for nothing else than that Wayne’s reaction to it is so fitting. A choked, tearful “Thank you.”
And I notice that imdb.com doesn’t have word one about Heston’s passing on the front page… but it does have a prominently-displayed puff piece about Clooney. There’s some extra class for you.
Charlton Heston was a class act. He was not afraid to put his career on the line and stand up for what he believed in. At the height of his popularity he marched with Dr King in support of the civil rights movement. He later became more conservative. He stated, like his friend Ronald Reagan, the he did not leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left him. A firm believer in the second amendment, he later became head of the National Rifle Association. He helped guide that organization through some difficult times.
As an actor, Heston portrayed many historical figures. He portrayed Moses, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Moore, Brigham Young, El Cid, Buffalo Bill Cody, and others. He won the Oscar for Judah Ben Hur. Ben Hur is my favorite movie of all time.
Michael Moore has a picture of Heston as a “tribute”. he did the same thing with Roger Smith, when he passed away. He castigates these people in life, yet he honors them in death? Am, I the only person that sees the hypocrisy in that? Mr Moore should have left alone to grieve.
My favorite role of his has to be in the Omega Man. When I was a kid that would play just about every other weekend on cable and I would sit and watch it intently every single time. The man embodied what a true American should be. Strong in conviction, open-minded, respectful of his fellow man, intelligent and understanding. People like Michael Moore and George Clooney can never and will never measure up to a man like Charlton Heston!
He castigates these people in life, yet he honors them in death?
As I said on Jim’s blog, not quite. It’s actually rather ingenuous what he’s done.
You see, by just putting up a picture with the years of life on it, he seems to be just “noting their passing” or he can claim to be honoring them, absolving himself of blame and even trying to eke out a few “points”.
But his followers and hangers-on will see it for what he intends it as, for what it really is: gloating. They’ll recognize it for the “Another one down, boys!” that it’s meant as. Thus he earns favor with them.
Moore is, as usual, gesturing with one hand and grabbing for a rabbit with the other.
For me, it’s a toss-up between “The Ten Commandments” and “Planet of the Apes.” The reason I first starting coming to Moorewatch was Charlton Heston. I happened to stumble upon “Bowling for Columbine” while staying at a hotel. I turned it right before Moore’s interview with Heston. That was the first time I’d ever seen any of Michael Moore’s garbage. I got really angry watching way Moore misled Heston into allowing an interview, and then ambushed him with questions he wasn’t prepared to answer.
Anyway, Moore can’t hurt him anymore.
Posted by sch180 on 04/07/2008 at 05:33 AM (Link to this comment | )
“At the height of his popularity he marched with Dr King in support of the civil rights movement. He later became more conservative.”
?
There’s nothing nonconservative about marching with King....
I loved Hamlet but I will agree with you that Heston’s performance there was a revelation.
I went to check MM’s site and noticed that the front page had a picture of a kid who was killed by a 15 year old with a gun.
I was wondering the significance of why the picture was there and then I scrolled down a bit...there are about 4-5 stories of people getting killed with guns and then right below that is the picuture of Heston.
And right below that is a “For the record” which links to Moore’s interview with Heston in BFC and a time line of information of when Heston said he had Alzheimers, then BFC was released, Moore won the oscar and about a month later Heston stepped down as president of NRA.
So to answer your question...no...Moore is not ashamed one iota.
That piece of…
God damn him.
You may notice on his website, he has a picture of Charlton Heston and several stories of gun violence. He is using the tragic death of Charlton Heston to blame the NRA for all of the nations gun problems.
I’m sure he is trumpeting his victory over the evil NRA King Heston. Probably thinks he is the one who did him in and not that he was 84 with Alzheimer’s. You know if he still isn’t in mourning about the passing of Krispy Kreme.
He is a piece of human shit.
Last night on Larry King Live, Michael Moore stated that he respected Charlton Heston. If he “respected” Charlton Heston, I would hate to be a person he disrespected. He respected Heston so much that he left a picture of an unfortunate victim of gun violence at Heston’s doorstep. He respected Heston so much, that when he passed away Moore posted Heston’s picture on his website and surrounded it by unfortunate stories of gun violence.
If I were the Heston family Michael.I would tell you to shove your “respect”. However I am not a member of the Heston family. They have shown respect and dignity. Traits you have never shown.
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Yeah an actor with the courage of his convictions is rare nowadays.
Planet of the Apes is one of my favorite movies ever.
R.I.P Chuck.