Just learned via Instapundit that one of few conservative Hollywood legends has died. Charlton Heston died yesterday at his home. As the day allows, will revise the post to offer my reflections on this great man. He had such an amazing screen presence, dominating nearly every scene he was in.
There are times he was over the top or didn’t seem exactly right for the role he played, e.g., in Touch of Evil and his Julius Caesar, but whenever you watched one of his films, you always had the sense that he was giving the performance his all. He never “phoned” anything in.
I think he, like all real movie stars, understood that his job was to entertain, to move his audience. And he wanted to give moviegoers the best he had. He knew his performance was for them, not about himself.
Having met the man, Roger Simon found him always to be “gracious.” Given the man I saw on screen, that seems about right.
I’m sad that he is gone, but when I watch some of his great movies, especially Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments, I will be grateful for what he left behind. (And I even enjoy some of those flicks where he was, in my view, not exactly right for the role.)
UPDATE: Scott Johnson at Powerline offers a nice reflection on Heston. Check it out!
UP-UPDATE: Over at Libertas, Dirty Harry has a series of posts on this great man, noting the highlights of his life, including his early support for the Civil Rights’ Movement, offers some choice words from the star himself, provides a list of the Ten best Heston films and notes what others are saying. Just check out Libertas to read them all!
And on the darker side of life: Jawa Report gathers the Democratic Underground’s not-so-nice reflections on Heston.
Modern liberals… Always keepin’ it classy.
ILC, are these people so full of hate that they’ll kick a man when he’s dead.
Didn’t people used to show respect for the dead, even their adversaries? Â I guess hatred for the right is really what drives some on the left today. Â Sad.
He never “phoned†anything in.
Well, except for his last appearance on SNL. He was reading cue cards all the way through. My guess is that maybe he wasn’t good with the short rehearsal time frame they have or impromptu acting. Other than that, he was excellent in anything I’ve ever seen. Even his narration was awesome.
#4 – TGC, I don’t know when the SNL gig was, but around 2002 was when Heston was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s so if it was anywhere near that time, I’m sure it was having an effect on his short-term memory.
My fondest recollection of Heston was in two Biblical epics – "The Ten Commandments" and "Ben-Hur."Â And I also enjoyed him in the Planet of the Apes series, even though he did a cameo in the second one and played an elder ape in the 2001 remake.
RIP, Mr. Heston. Ronnie and the gang are waiting for you in The Great Beyond with open arms. Enter into eternal glory…
Regards,
Peter H.