Thanks, man. That's the best obit I've seen yet. A lot of people don't like him because of the cold dead hands thing. I don't hold it against him and I'm glad you don't either. Nice that some can seperated his later politics from his acting career.
Not a lot of people I've talked with since his demise knew that he switched parties - they automatically assumed he was a Republican since he played Moses and John the Baptist.
His role in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet was a bit part, but despite his age his voice - that magnificent voice - was still in good fighting trim.
He was one of a kind.
heston always approached his craft as more of an artisan than an artist. his, now out of print, book, an actor's life, was made out of the diaries he kept on the sets and stages where he worked. it is filled with the little things that build the performance.
many times, with musicians i have known, or with other artists, i wish sometimes people could simply look at their body of work and leave it at that. people like steve goodman or townes van zandt really only lived in the songs they brought us. heston's performances were his life's work, and his legacy. leave it at that.
i wrote about my favorite heston movie which, like yours, is Will Penny. i asked people to put aside his life offscreen and offstage, instead to simply comment on the body of work he has left us.
they complained about his fucking politics.
What Wanderer said. I saw him in Hamlet and thought, damn, now that is a piece of stunt casting that ain't. Heston in his winter echoed the King Denmark had lost, the Father Hamlet had lost.
And young ... OMG, as a tween & teen I crushed majorly. His voice was Daddy, but his body was SEX. A dangerous gaze. Popcorn, ad infinitum.
Heston as Cardinal Richelieu in 3/4 Musketeers. Brilliant.
Thank you for this. It was easy to lower ourselves to the inevitable "cold dead hands" snark and roll around in it. You have elevated all of us with your thoughtful, yet honest assessment of a human being.
I'd like to suggest one revision: Touch of Evil was Orson Welles' last great HOLLYWOOD movie, not his last great movie full stop. The Trial, Chimes at Midnight and F For Fake are all masterpieces, and Chimes might be his greatest work ever, including Citizen Kane.
As they say, you can admire Sinatra's work without admiring Sinatra the person.
I don't think Heston was a bad person (certainly not like the boorishness Sinatra often displayed in public), I didn't care for his later gun-lobby politics (loved how Michael Moore got the better of him in Bowling for Columbine), but yes, he was a very talented actor and should be properly recognized for his art. Nice job, LM.
despite his age his voice - that magnificent voice - was still in good fighting trim.
I've started to associate outstandingly beautiful voices with Hollywood's golden age. It seems there were so many actors and actresses with recognizable and magnificent voices.
One of my favorite Oscar moments was a few years ago when James Coburn presented an award. Hearing his voice reading the nominees was an almost orgasmic experience. Can't think of many actors nowadays who could read a list of names so awesomely...
I've admired Will Penny since I first saw it on TV back in the late 60s. It was quite a surprise to me, after seeing Heston in so many larger-than-life roles.
IMO, there's another of Heston's lesser-known movies which at least deserves honorable mention: The War Lord.
Besides being one of the most accurate depictions you'll ever see of life in a Medieval backwater, Heston turns in a very believable performance as a bitter, war-weary, impoverished knight sent by his Duke to defend a bit of North Sea marshland and its half-pagan inhabitants from Frisian raiders.
His character is almost the anti-Cid, as he ends up betraying both his Duke and the people he was sent to defend, because of his obsession with a peasant girl.
Although not epic in scope, there are some great battle scenes, and lots of fine character actors like Richard Boone, Maurice Denham, and Niall MacGinnis in supporting roles. (Not to mention Henry "Ohhhh Ratf*ck!" Wilcoxon as the Frisian King.)
There's a brooding and melancholy -- almost claustrophobic -- air to this movie that's very atypical for a Heston flick.
As for his politics, well, it's a rare individual who gets less conservative with age.
LM,
Great obit but you can't forget his rabid anti-abortion stance, which alas your piece didn't cover. He narrated and threw funds behind some of the most vile distortionary anti-choice propaganda, much of which is still shown on national TV.
What if Heston joined the Klan later in life? Would you still give him props? When I see Heston I see someone who wanted to reduce women back to the status of chattel and breeders. I can't honor that.
Jen, we agreed not to discuss his politics, remember? No one said we honored his POLITICS.
I respect the craftsmanship -- and occasional artistry -- he demonstrated in his chosen profession.
I'd have admired him as a citizen and human being if he'd refrained from associating himself with so many vile wingnut causes.
Which is entirely different from, say, Burt Lancaster, who was both a tremendous actor and damned fine person. Just start thinking of the range and breadth of his body of work, and you can name five or six classics right off the top of your head.
But Heston will probably only be remembered for one great film -- Touch of Evil (and that's mostly because it was directed by the incomparable Welles) -- and a couple of good films: Ben Hur and Planet of the Apes.
And that's it.
My own theory is that it takes a fair streak of liberalism to be a really great actor. It may have something to do with that "empathy" thing ...
Burt Lancaster, an actor I loved watching at his craft, was also lead astray by his political biases.
I watched and listened, openmouthed, as he argued in an otherwise splendid documentary, The Unknown War, that the Katyn Massacre didn't happen.
I linked to the Google searches deliberately. Look over the first page of hits for each.
Lefties can also march off of cliffs. All it really takes is shutting your eyes and ears, and doing what you're told.
We forget this at our own peril.
Merl,
Show me where it says I can't mention his politics.
Like I said, if he had joined the Klan later in life--and in my book, going after a woman's right to choose is morally equivalent--would everyone be so willing to turn a blind eye?
OoooOOoooH I FORGOT! LIBERALS aren't supposed to say MEAN THINGS about BAD PEOPLE because that then somehow makes us BAD PEOPLE as well. I'll be sure to have flowers sent to his grave and send Randall Terry a box of chocolates to make up and play nice.
Mrs.Charlton Heston is the last of the great Hollywood movie stars.Heston is wonderful in Ben Hur. Thanks so much for the information about your connection through family to Heston. Charlton "Chuck"Heston FOR EVER!!
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