Charlton Heston: R.I.P.
Chuck Heston was a class act who will be missed. I first met the legendary actor in 1996 when he was a guest on my then talk show, The Interview. We filmed the interview on a sitting area overlooking his tennis court and had to stop filming several times because of small planes buzzing overhead. Heston repeatedly apologized to me for this as if it were his fault. After an hour or so we were done, but I discovered to my horror a few days later that because of a manufacturing glitch with the betacam tapes we had shot on, that we would need to reshoot the interview. With great trepidation I called him up and told him of my predicament, fearing the worst. No problem, he said, just come on over and we'll shoot it again he told me. Thankfully, the tape technicians salvaged the tapes and a reshoot wasn't necessary but I never forgot his gracious response. I'll be posting the interview shortly.
During the interview I noticed that he was limping a bit and he told me he had had or was going to have hip replacement surgery. A few years later when my father needed the same operation, Chuck graciously introduced me to his own doctor and my Dad got a kick out of telling the doctor and his nurses that he was there on a referral from Moses himself.
A few years later Chuck came to speak to a group of us who worked in music and met regularly. I had asked him to speak about his life and career and any advice he had for aspiring artists. Arriving at the event he said "so you want me to recite poetry right?" "Well, actually, I was just hoping you'd just talk about your life and career," I replied. Without missing a beat, he looked me straight in the eyes and repeated: "So, you want me to recite poetry right?" I nodded. Who was I to argue with Moses. It was a memorable evening, with Heston regaling us with sections he had memorized from Shakespeare and The Bible.
He was a great man. But also a good man. And he will be missed by many.
Follow Mark Joseph on Twitter: www.twitter.com/markmjm
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My response to bmora:
No bmora - “some is good so a huge excess is great” is not logic I’ve ever supported. However, I’m also not a fan “one apple is bad so the whole bushel must go.” Let’s try this little mind-experiment: snap your fingers and magically make all guns in the US go away. There…feel safe? I’m sure no firearms will be smuggled up through Mexico since that border is so good at stopping the flow of illegal drugs and immigrants. How about homemade zip-guns that can be made in an average garage (or prison)? And since no one’s ever used a knife, club, car, or rock to commit a crime, well you’ve just solved the problem of violence in America! Now we’ll have to find jobs for all those cops suddenly out of work…
It turns out that in societies with violence problems who disarm their law-abiding citizens, they actually *increase* the firearms-related crime. Hate to rain on your dogma with hard data, but go the Bureau of Justice Statistics website and look it up for England. I think there’s a bumper sticker out there somwhere…”When Guns Are Outlawed…
Guns can’t guarantee your safety – nothing can. Maybe your mama or Hillary didn’t tell you, but the world is a dangerous place. Firearms put part of the responsibility for an individual’s safety back in their own hands, which is really all you can ask from a government of, by, and for the People.
So, if I snapped my fingers and got rid of all the guns, we would be the most dangerous country in the world. You can be condescending all you want but you logic is severely flawed no matter what statics you cite.
If guns are outlawed and I can make a zip gun, slingshot, thermo nuclear device, etc., what’s the big deal? By your own words, we will be safe no matter what. Rigggghhht.
I didn’t intend to be condescending – a little glib perhaps, a wee humorous maybe, but not condescending, so I apologize for that.
I’ll take your questions seriously though. Question one, no and then yes. No, America is not the most dangerous country – I didn’t say it was. Try Sudan. The gov’t disarms the local populace, then Janjaweed militias go and slaughter everyone. Often by machete. I’d say Sudan wins in the danger department. So do Afghanistan, Timor, the Congo, Columbia, and large swaths of the former USSR. A common theme is that groups of bad people victimize groups of the helpless. The weak don’t have the ability to fight back (often, but not always, “ability” translates into “weaponry”, although it’s usually more complicated than that)
However, yes, snap go your fingers, no more icky guns, and America is just as violent a place as it always was. Certainly fewer bad guys will be able to be as effective in their badacity. However, I believe that the data supports the conclusion that even *more* of the good people of the world would be less able to defend themselves. Big mean guys don’t *need* guns to assault purty little ladies. A gun sure helps the assaulted, though. Even the possibility of a potential victim having a gun is often deterrent enough. Again, I’m not making this up and I’ll gladly provide references, but since you’ll argue “no matter what statics [I] cite”, I’ll spare you the inconvenient truths…
Response to FilMishMish x 2 (and thanks Artisbey!)
You know, it's interesting. I have seen so many people who take the "non-violent" stand against firearms ownership get violent and angry during a gun control debate. I will concede one point - people without the emotional maturity to engage in reasonable political debate without resorting to name-calling should probably opt not to own a firearm.
However, on to your point Fil, you’re right; if there were no such things as guns, no one would be shot. If there were no such things as airplanes, no one would crash them. If wishes were fishes…well, market price on a good swordfish fillet would drop drastically.
Reality doesn’t always line up with our Utopian desires. There are guns, knives, cars, baseball bats, and large chunks of concrete that we Americans tend to use to kill each other with at an alarming rate. For some reason we are very good at murder. What we have lost is the ability to hold those responsible…well, responsible.
Cho killed the students at VT. Not a Glock handgun, not the dealer that sold it, not the broken system that allowed it to be sold to a person with such a rich history of mental illness. Not even Gaston Glock himself. Cho killed those students. When we start holding people responsible for their actions, a generally long and escalating pattern of insane or criminal behavior that precedes homicide, only then will we reduce the murder rate in this country.
And no, Fil – I wasn’t comparing “a hobby with the holocaust”. I don’t consider the right to self defense a hobby, and apparently neither did those who founded the state of Israel in response to Hitler’s disarming, disenfranchising, and then disemboweling most of Europe’s Jewish population. However, my point was that there are two types of gun laws. Reasonable restrictions based on sound engineering principles, and restrictions designed to increase in scope and severity over time, with the ultimate goal of disarming law-abiding citizens. “Mission creep” is a standard tactic of the gun-control lobby.
He was one of the greats, there aren't anymore left......
I'm kind of surprised I haven't seen more in the media about Mr. Heston. I disagreed with his politics, but that had nothing to do with his talent. He had an amazing screen presence. Very "macho," when that word actually had meaning that didn't make one snicker.
I may not have agreed with many of Charlton Heston's political views or his position on guns, but he as given me many many hours of entertainment and for that I am grateful. Also his support for the Civil Rights Mov't which I didn't know, has given me new respect for him because of this. RIP Charlton Heston and I hope that the Historical people you portrayed are less critical of you take on them, then your critics were.
I hope they find someone who does as good a job to take over at the NRA.
The death of any human being , under any circumstances, should be mourned by all who knew them as well as those that did not because it serves as a reminder that we are all born to die! I am he and you are me and we are all together..
I never thought I would see a positive article about Charlton Heston on HuffPo. I am suprised and greatful to see one. Thank you.
Memo to Libs: Take note of this article and learn what it takes to be respectful of the living and the dead. Even when you disagree with their politics.
Thanks for the sermon but I've been to church.
If you want people to say nice things about you after you've died, be a good person.
Later in life, he was associated with protecting the citizens' right to keep and bear arms. Remember he was a civil rights advocate also, who actually marched ith Dr. King.
He will be missed. His movies live on, thankfully.
People forget that. I shuddered at his work with the NRA. But he marched with Dr. King. He was a civil rights advocate in the early 1960's. He had integrity and courage. So we should look at the man in full. I wasn't a big fan of his acting or his NRA work, but I do believe that, when assessed in full, he was a good man. A friend once played a tape of a book about Nietzche and Mr. Heston was the narrator . . . he did a splendid job with that kind of voice-over work. I imagine his recitations of Shakespeare and Bible passages were alot of fun.
Mr.Heston was an entertainer who was very competent at his trade.I was never that crazy about his portrayals of many of his characters,I somehow always fealt he was a master at turning the grimace into an art form of his own creation.
Still that doesn't detract from the fact that he was a very competent entertainer,and was very well compensated for his abilities in the field.
I have never cared one bit for his advocacy of,so called "Second Ammendment Gun Rights"!His role as president of and spokesman for the NRA,I found quite repugnant.
Or was he stll,as a talented entertainer,playing just another well paying role?
In the acting community, Chuck's acting achievements are largely viewed with...wel
His support of the NRA, and its support of things like concealed handguns on college campuses and AK47s in the hands of "hunters" and fight against any sort of gun registration, must be part of how he is viewed, again with skepticism.
Soylent Green is people, jojojo!! Oh well, nothing like a person's death to enable the feasting of the ad hominem vultures.
I know this is tough for some folks to understand, but those of us who support the rights of firearms owners are not actually hoping for a world of rampant death and destruction. Quite the opposite – we honestly believe that disarming a free populace is the shortest path to more a dangerous society. I understand that that may seem paradoxical to you and many others, but being dismissive or insulting of our argument does not actually constitute debate – only childish or boorish behavior
"Quite the opposite " we honestly believe that disarming a free populace is the shortest path to more a dangerous society."
So we should hand out guns to every man, woman and child to be more safe. The more the better, right?
Actually, the U.S. ranks up there with gun ownership per household, so by yourNRA logic, we should be the safiest country in the world. Riggghhhtt
The NRA does not support hunting with AK47’s. The AK47 is a fully automatic firearm. Fully automatic firearms have been illegal since the 1930’s. The NRA does not support lifting that ban. However, just because a SEMI-automatic rifle has a design similar to an AK-series military arm does not make it inherently more “dangerous” than any other rifle. The assault weapons bans of the past 15+ years are flawed pieces of legislation because they don’t use rational, engineering-based, characteristics to determine the legality of owning a particular firearm – only whether a gun looks icky. The true purpose of these laws is to subvert legal firearms ownership by making some guns “good” and some “bad”. Once that is done, it is a simple media campaign to move other types of firearms from the good side to the bad side. “And then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew”. This has already been done in some states – that is why as a Californian I cannot own the 60 year old SKS that I used to own. And no - most 7-11's aren't stuck-up with a 9 lb. pre-WWII Russian antique. Too bad, it was a pretty decent small-game hunting rifle…
You're comparing a hobby with the holocaust???? If I could give you a gift it would be the gift of self-reflection.
On to your other point, I have a question: What would have happened at Virginia Tech that horrible day last year if only one student had a concealed weapons permit and a firearm on campus and in the building where mass-murderer Seung-Hui Cho when he killed all of those defenseless students? Compare VT to the SLC Utah Trolley square incident and I think you might see things differently.
I live in Chicago. 22 Chicago public schoolchildren have been murdered this school year, all but two or three by gunfire. How many of those kids would still be alive if their killers weren't able to get their hands on a gun? I'm guessing around 17 or 18 kids still alive today.
I also believe that the owners of those guns should be tried for negligent homicide. It's amazing what you're not able to do without the tool needed to do it. And what if Cho had no recourse for obtaining those firearms you idiot? Then all of them would be alive--not just a fraction saved by some business major with a Glock in his backpack.
Very nice homage ..
Pardon me, his racial begotry negates all of his good deeds, when one Human fails to see all as equal, nothing else shall matter...
What the hell - how can you just throw that out? What bigotry? The man was a civil rights leader in the Hollywood community.
Whether you agree or not, the man believed in civil rights - you know, those unalienable rights that aren't "given to us" by some document or government, but were so well delineated in the Bill of Rights. 1st, 2nd, 3rd (what's that one again...), 4th... He stood up for ALL of them. And all of us.
Whatever you say about the man's politics, his Cameo in Wayne's World 2 was great.
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Indeed, he was a gifted actor - I saw him, either at the Dorothy Chandler or the Mark Tape, perforning, quite well, in "The Crucible".
In addition, serving our nation as a radio-gunner in the Aleutians in WW11 said much for the man.
However, it is two tales from "Ben-Hur" that I recall - The first concerned his training by that great stunt man and stunts and action director, Yakima Knutt. Mr Knutt was responsible for the chariot training. Heston was a good student, but, was terrified about riding that dangerous vehicle around the ring. When, they were ready for the first shot, Heston was standing by the chariot, shaking. Knutt grabbed him by the shoulders and yelled, "Charlton, you're going to win, you're going to win". Yeah, right, the "Wise Guys" had their money on the Two Chariot for a reason.
The second tale was told by Gore Vidal - He had not told Heston about the gay relationship between the character played by Heston and that of Stephen Boyd's character - However, Boyd had been told. If you ever see a rerun of the movie, look for the gleam in Boyd's eyes when he and Heston meet on camera for the first time. Boyd was extremely close to cracking up - Heston did not learn of this moment until much later.
Rest thee well, Mr Heston
FYI-- It's Yakima Canute.
I love your 2 anecdotes.
FYI - It's Yakima Canutt
I was dismayed at Mr. Heston's political stances later in his life, but I always thought he was a terrific actor, and even more fun to watch as he aged and took on more character parts. In 1975's "The Three Musketeers", he stands out in a powerhouse cast. His portrayal of Cardinal Richelieu: cold, amoral and utterly ruthless. His dismissal of D'Artagnan at the end is masterful, just two flips of his hand. Heston never took the easy way out, and always tried to give the best performance he could give. He was my wife's favorite actor. She met him at the premiere of "Number One" back in 1969. She presented him with some handkerchiefs, and he made a point of having her fold one so he could wear it in his breast pocket, then spent more than half an hour answering all her questions. Heston was touring the show "Love Letters" in Dallas, and the performance we saw was 25 years to the day after the first time she had met him. My wife wrote him a note on a napkin that said when she had met him, and could she speak to him again? I didn't think much of our chances, but the stagehand came back in just a couple of minutes and brought us backstage. The Hestons were very gracious. I'll never forget that. Say what you want about his politics, Charlton Heston was a great actor and a good man.
I'm glad the comments on this site are nowhere near as hateful and petty as what I saw on Kos. I can remember how conservatives went apeshit about Jane Fonda. I also remember thinking it wa pretty cool that liberals weren't such assholes. Shows ya what I know.
There was a poll recently that showed conservatives were far more likely to avoid any entertainment if they disagreed with the performer's politics. You wouldn't know it based on some of the posts I've seen on the left side of the blogosphere.
That said, Heston created memorable characters on screen from Moses to Michealangelo. He was also partly responsible for making "Planet of the Apes" a classic. (Quick, name another actor that would do as well).
I disagreed with his politics, but would gladly watch any movie he was in.
Thanks, Chuck
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