Charlton Heston

Known for ActingBorn 1923-10-04Died 2008-04-05Wilmette, Illinois, USA

Charlton Heston was an American actor renowned for his towering screen presence and roles in some of Hollywood’s most famous epics. Born John Charles Carter on October 4, 1923, 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.Read more

Movies & web series

Christmas in Hollywood

The Face of Evil: Reinhard Heydrich

Charlton Heston Presents the Bible

Love in Hollywood

Elizabeth the Queen

F.D.R.

Spécial cinéma

The Making of Midway

Hollywood at Your Feet: The Story of the Chinese Theatre Footprints

Andersonville Diaries

The Legacy of Malthus

Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects

The Orson Welles Story

Charlton Heston: Radical to Right Wing

Planet of the Apes: A Milestone of Science Fiction

Studio One: Wuthering Heights

Yesterday's Tomorrows

Bambi

Symphony for the Spire

Call from Space

Friends

Forever Hollywood

A Century of Cinema

Hallmark Hall of Fame

The Weber Show

Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade

The Making of The Ten Commandments

The Making of 'Tombstone'

Charlton Heston Presents the Bible: Genesis

Eco-Challenge

Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia

Air Force One: The Planes and the Presidents

Cults: Saying No Under Pressure

A Night on Mount Edna

Proud Men

Chiefs

Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary

The Special London Bridge Special

Space Ghost Coast to Coast

Charlton Heston and Ben-Hur: A Personal Journey

Yul Brynner, the Magnificent

Edith Head: The Paramount Years

Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line

The Outer Limits

The Patriots

The Mystery of the Sphinx

Bowling for Columbine

Tombstone