Charlton Heston
Acting
- Born:
- 1923-10-04
- Died:
- 2008-04-05
- Place of birth:
- Wilmette, Illinois, USA
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
Charlton Heston: Radical to Right Wing
Yul Brynner, the Magnificent
Todos los nombres de Sara
Hail Satan?
Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
I Am Richard Pryor
Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"
The Madding Crowd
Bienvenido Mr. Heston
The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille
Spanish Western
Children of the Civil Rights
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia
Talking Pictures
A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King
Charlton Heston and Ben-Hur: A Personal Journey
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Hollywood sul Tevere
Greatest Heroes and Legends: The Story of Moses
AFI: 100 Years... 100 Movies... 10th Anniversary Edition
De Madrid a la Luna
Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Remembering Reagan at His Ranch
Christmas from Hollywood
The Making of The Ten Commandments
My Father
Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible: Daniel and the Lion's Den
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: David and Goliath
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Jonah and the Whale
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Samson and Delilah
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: The Garden of Eden
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Joshua and the Battle of Jericho
Ben Hur
Lasting Love
Edith Head: The Paramount Years
The Face of Evil: Reinhard Heydrich
Bowling for Columbine
The Making of 'Tombstone'
Last Party 2000
The Making of Midway
Planet of the Apes
Cats & Dogs
The Gun Deadlock
The Order
Town & Country
The Weber Show
Hollywood at Your Feet: The Story of the Chinese Theatre Footprints
Any Given Sunday
Camino de Santiago
Yesterday's Tomorrows
Television: The First Fifty Years
Forever Hollywood
Secrets of War: Shadows of The Reich
Gideon
Sworn to Secrecy: Secrets of War
Behind the Planet of the Apes
Alaska: Spirit of the Wild
Armageddon
Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero
Charlton Heston Presents the Bible: Genesis
Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western
Hercules
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
Charlton Heston Presents the Bible
Hamlet
Love in Hollywood
Alaska
Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels
Andersonville Diaries
The Mysterious Origins of Man
The Lord Protector
MADtv
Texas
Eco-Challenge
The Outer Limits
Charlton Heston: For All Seasons
In the Mouth of Madness
The Avenging Angel
Friends
True Lies
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
The Legacy of Malthus
The Bible According to Hollywood
A Century of Cinema
Tombstone
Wayne's World 2
The Mystery of the Sphinx
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
seaQuest DSV
Charlton Heston Presents the Bible: Jesus of Nazareth
Charlton Heston Presents The Bible: The Story of Moses
Noël
Solar Crisis
Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232
Symphony for the Spire
Noel's House Party
The Crucifer of Blood
Pebble Mill
Cults: Saying No Under Pressure
Air Force One: The Planes and the Presidents
Almost an Angel
A Night on Mount Edna
The Little Kidnappers
Treasure Island
With Orson Welles: Stories from a Life in Film
Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary
Original Sin
Call from Space
A Man for All Seasons
Korea: The Unknown War
All-Time Movie Greats
Proud Men
The Dame Edna Experience
Andrew Weyth, The Helga Pictures
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
Eclipse of Reason
The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal
Directed by William Wyler
An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
All Star Party for 'Dutch' Reagan
The Colbys
The Stars Salute the U.S. Olympic Team
Nairobi Affair
Chiefs
Barry Norman in Celebrity City
Mother Lode
The Orson Welles Story
Wogan
Let Poland Be Poland
This Is Your Life: 30th Anniversary Special
Dynasty
The Awakening
The Mountain Men
The Kennedy Center Honors
Gray Lady Down
Energy: A National Issue
The Prince and the Pauper
Two-Minute Warning
America at the Movies
Midway
The Last Hard Men
Saturday Night Live
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Earthquake
The Four Musketeers
Dinah!
Airport 1975
Spécial cinéma
The Three Musketeers
Soylent Green
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
A Look at the World of 'Soylent Green'
The Call of the Wild
Skyjacked
Antony and Cleopatra
The Special London Bridge Special
Film '72
Vietnam! Vietnam!
The Omega Man
V.I.P. Schaukel
The Last Man Alive: The Omega Man
The Hawaiians
Julius Caesar
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Number One
The Dick Cavett Show
Planet of the Apes
Elizabeth the Queen
Rowan & Martin at the Movies
Counterpoint
Will Penny
While I Run This Race
Khartoum
Planet of the Apes Test Reel
The War Lord
Night of the Dragon
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Uncertain Verification
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Major Dundee
F.D.R.
The Patriots
The Five Cities of June
55 Days at Peking
The Greatest All-Star Advertial of All Time
Look at Life: The City's Built for Shooting
Diamond Head
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Merv Griffin Show
The Pigeon That Took Rome
The Mike Douglas Show
El Cid
Kraft Mystery Theatre
Ben-Hur
The Wreck of the Mary Deare
The Buccaneer
The Big Country
Touch of Evil
Shirley Temple's Storybook
Fun in the Big Country
Three Violent People
The Ten Commandments
Forbidden Area
Playhouse 90
The Steve Allen Show
Stars of Cabaret
Lucy Gallant
The Private War of Major Benson
The Far Horizons
The $64,000 Question
Climax!
Secret of the Incas
The Naked Jungle
Bad for Each Other
Three Lives
Arrowhead
Pony Express
The President's Lady
The Oscars
General Electric Theater
Ruby Gentry
Omnibus
The Savage
The Greatest Show on Earth
Hallmark Hall of Fame
A Bolt of Lightning
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Studio One: Wuthering Heights
Dark City
The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Taming of the Shrew
Julius Caesar
Your Show of Shows
What's My Line?
Robert Montgomery Presents
Jane Eyre
Suspense
Studio One
The Philco Television Playhouse
The Ed Sullivan Show
Bambi
Golden Globe Awards
Peer Gynt
The Making of the Greatest Story Ever Told
Science Fiction Film Awards