Charlton Heston

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Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston, a.k.a. "Moses", (October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was the figurehead of the National Rifle Association for many years. He was an actor, and a half decent one by most accounts, but that has been largely overshadowed by his legacy as a gun rights spokesperson.

Heston's role as an N.R.A. activist is perhaps best remembered for his coining of the slogan "from my cold, dead hands." In his 2002 documentary film Bowling for Columbine filmmaker Michael Moore ambushed conducted an interview with Heston in which it was apparent that the actor was quite obviously suffering from dementia, but Moore still used the footage to stand as an explanation for the logic of Second Amendment activists.

Heston's legacy stands as a reminder of how complex and contradictory human beings can be: While he had a solid career and worked for good causes, in all likelihood he will, unfortunately, be remembered for his embrace of an extreme position in later life.

[edit] Reasons to like him

Heston with Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte on a 1963 civil rights march in Washington DC

Because of his gun totin' antics in later life, people forget his achievements, especially those of a so called "liberal" character:

  • He was a vocal campaigner for the cause of African-American equality, and one of the most prominent white celebrities to support the civil rights struggle.
  • He opposed the Vietnam War at the time (although later recanted)
  • He supported JFK.
  • He was open about his problems with alcohol and Alzheimers.
  • He starred in Planet of the Apes, an excellent satire of religious fundamentalism, and racism.
  • He also starred in Ben-Hur, The Big Country, El Cid, Touch of Evil, Major Dundee, The Three Musketeers, The Omega Man, Soylent Green, The Agony and the Ecstacy and many other great performances.

[edit] The case the other way

Heston seems to have undergone a kind of political transformation in the eighties. Maybe he just became a grumpy old man.

  • He narrated some dodgy documentaries on various aspects of pseudohistory etc.
  • He supported the Iraq war.
  • He supported Reagan, and both the elder and the younger George Bush.i dont see why 4 hour long biblical epics are, on their own, a "bad thing"
  • He was a creationist.
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