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Charlton Heston, 1923-2008: An Actor Famous for Playing Heroic Roles |
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He was also involved in social and political issues. Transcript
of radio broadcast: |
VOICE
ONE:
I’m
Shirley Griffith.
VOICE
TWO:
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Charlton
Heston |
And I’m
Barbara Klein with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell
about actor Charlton Heston. He is best known for playing powerful and heroic
leaders in movies such as “The Ten Commandments” and “Ben-Hur.” Heston had a
strong face and body that could express great physical and emotional force.
Heston
made about one hundred movies during his sixty-year career. He was also
known for his social and political activism.
(MUSIC)
VOICE
ONE:
Charlton
Heston was born John Carter in nineteen twenty-three in Evanston, Illinois. He
spent his early childhood in Saint Helen, Michigan. His parents ended their
marriage when he was a boy. Later, he decided to change his name. He took the
last name of his mother’s second husband, Heston. And, for his first name he
used his mother’s former last name, Charlton.
Charlton
Heston discovered his interest in acting while performing in plays at his high
school. He later spent two years studying theater at Northwestern University in
Evanston, Illinois. But he left college to join the Army Air Forces during
World War Two. In nineteen forty-four he married a college classmate, Lydia
Clarke.
VOICE
TWO:
The
young couple moved to New York City after the war. They tried to find acting
jobs. Heston found small roles in the theater as well as in television shows.
His performance in a television version of the book “Jane Eyre” caught the
attention of the Hollywood producer Hal B. Wallis.
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Charlton Heston as Moses in ''The Ten Commandments'' |
Wallis
gave Heston a role in the movie “Dark City," which came out in nineteen
fifty. The actor soon found other roles in movies including “The Greatest Show
on Earth” directed by Cecil B. DeMille. DeMille later asked Heston to play the
role of Moses in his movie “The Ten Commandments” which came out in nineteen
fifty-six. Heston played the Egyptian prince who learns his true identity
and leads the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt to the promised
land. This role made Heston famous and defined his career as a
hero and leader. "The Ten Commandments" was long, very costly
and had many special effects.
VOICE
ONE:
In
nineteen fifty-eight Heston starred in “Touch of Evil.” He played a
Mexican drug investigator. Orson Welles also had an acting role in this
film. Heston persuaded Universal Studios to hire Welles to direct the
movie. "Touch of Evil" has since become a great example of the kind
of crime movie known as "film noir."
The
nineteen fifty-nine movie “Ben-Hur” made Charlton Heston an even bigger star.
He played a Jewish man named Judah Ben-Hur who is imprisoned unjustly and
rebels against the rule of Rome in ancient Judea. The movie is most
famous for a long scene in which Ben-Hur competes in an exciting chariot race
against a Roman commander he considers his enemy. Recreating such a large event
on film required a great amount of money and technical skill.
(SOUND)
VOICE
TWO:
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A scene from
the chariot race in ''Ben-Hur'' |
Many
actors would have used a professional stunt man to carry out such a dangerous
activity as a chariot race. But Charlton Heston did much of the work himself.
He trained for weeks to learn how to skillfully lead a team of speeding
horses.
After
Ben-Hur wins the chariot race, he speaks with Esther, the woman he loves. She
wants him to forget about his hatred towards the Roman government in power.
(SOUND)
ESTHER:
Oh Judah, rest, sleep. For a few hours of the night, let your mind be at peace.
JUDAH:
Peace? Love and peace! Do you think I don’t long for them as much as you do?
Where did you see them?
ESTHER:
If you had heard this man from Nazareth…
Esther
tells Judah about having listened to the teachings of the prophet Jesus.
JUDAH:
Children of God? In that dead valley where we left them? I tell you every man
in Judea is unclean and will stay unclean until we’ve scoured off our bodies the
crust and filth of being at the mercy of tyranny. No other life is possible
except to wash this land clean.
ESTHER:
In blood?
JUDAH:
Yes, in blood!
VOICE
ONE:
At the
time, "Ben-Hur" was one of the most costly and complex movies ever
made. It cost MGM Studios fifteen million dollars to produce. The popularity of
the movie alone helped improve the financial situation of the studio.
"Ben-Hur" won eleven Academy Awards, including Best Actor for
Charlton Heston.
(MUSIC)
VOICE
TWO:
In the
nineteen fifties and sixties, many actors used "Method acting"
to produce a believable performance. Actors like Marlon Brando would explore
their personal emotions and experiences to create a realistic character.
Charlton Heston chose instead to use objects in real life to build a character.
For example, he would think about the way his character looked and what clothes
the character would wear.
Heston
studied intensely to understand his characters. For example, in the movie “The
Agony and the Ecstasy” Heston played the role of the sixteenth century Italian
artist Michelangelo. Heston learned how to paint and sculpt so that he could
realistically imitate the artist’s actions. He also studied the hundreds of
letters written by Michelangelo to more fully understand the artist’s personality.
VOICE
ONE:
Heston
starred in many adventure movies during the nineteen sixties. His face
and body represented strength, manliness and heroism in many different roles.
He played cowboys, soldiers, athletes. His movies included “El Cid”, “Khartoum”,
and “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” In the science fiction film “Planet
of the Apes” he played an astronaut who is enslaved by a society of intelligent
and powerful non-human rulers.
(SOUND)
GEORGE
TAYLOR: Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!
VOICE
TWO:
In the
nineteen seventies, Heston appeared in popular disaster movies like
"Earthquake," "Skyjacked" and "Airport
1975." Charlton Heston once said that over his career he played
three presidents, three holy men and two artistic geniuses. He joked that if
that did not make a person feel self-important then nothing would.
(MUSIC)
VOICE
ONE:
Throughout
his life, Charlton Heston was active in social and political causes. In the
nineteen fifties and sixties, he worked to defend civil rights. In nineteen
sixty-three he helped gather artists to participate in the March on Washington,
D.C. to demand racial equality. It was at this historic event that the civil
rights leader, Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior, gave his famous “I Have a
Dream” speech. Mister Heston was a very public supporter of Doctor King.
VOICE
TWO:
Charlton
Heston was also very active in the movie industry. He was president of the
Screen Actors Guild for six years starting in nineteen sixty-five. He
also worked to help establish the American Film Institute. In nineteen
seventy-seven he was honored
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Charlton
Heston receives the Medal of Freedom from President Bush |
for his service in the industry. He received the Jean Hersholt
Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
He
later received other awards for his lifetime of work. In nineteen
ninety-seven he was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor. And, in two thousand three,
President Bush gave Charlton Heston a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the
nation's highest civilian honor.
VOICE
ONE:
Later
in his life, Heston became more socially and politically conservative. He
supported Republican Party politicians. And he became known for actively
opposing laws to control the private ownership of guns. In nineteen
ninety-eight Heston was elected president of the National Rifle Association.
This organization works to oppose gun control laws. It considers the right to
own a gun an important civil right guaranteed by the United States
Constitution.
Charlton
Heston became famous for a speech he gave for the N.R.A. in two thousand. He
held up a large rifle used in the seventeen hundreds. He said the only
way the government could take away his gun was from his "cold, dead
hands." Heston wrote about his opinions in books including “In the Arena”
and “To Be a Man: Letters to My Grandson.”
VOICE
TWO:
In two
thousand, Charlton Heston issued a statement announcing that he had a nerve
disorder whose signs were like Alzheimer's disease. He died in two
thousand eight at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He was eighty-four
years old. The memory of Charlton Heston will live on in the powerful
heroes he brought to life in his movies. His style of acting and the movies he
made represent a special period in the history of Hollywood.
(MUSIC)
VOICE
ONE:
This
program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Shirley Griffith.
VOICE
TWO:
And I’m
Barbara Klein. Join us again next week for People in America in VOA Special
English.