[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hestonleftmug_9700.jpg]]

->''"The trouble with movies as a business is that it's an art, and the trouble with movies as art is that it's a business."''

John Charles Carter, [[StageNames better known]] as [[RhymingNames Charlton Heston]] (October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He was once described by Creator/OrsonWelles as "Hollywood's Only Boy Scout" due to his diligence as well as being a genuinely NiceGuy.

He's best known for his leading roles in {{Epic Movie}}s of the late '50s and early '60s, his many HistoricalDomainCharacter roles, as well as starring in some notable ScienceFiction movies such as ''Film/{{Planet of the Apes|1968}}'' and ''Film/SoylentGreen''. BigDamnHero moments happen a lot in his films, and he was something of a MrFanservice as well (having had quite a few {{Shirtless Scene}}s to show off his CarpetOfVirility in his career). He is sometimes unfairly dismissed as a LargeHam due to his tendency to play larger than life heroes and bellowing epic dialogue with that deep voice of his - though in some cases that's exactly why his fans love him. The man was very fond of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's plays and it showed.

In an interesting case of WhatCouldHaveBeen, a handful of his films were originally offered to Creator/BurtLancaster, specifically ''Dark City'' (Heston's film debut), ''[[Film/BenHur1959 Ben-Hur]]'' (for which Heston won his only Oscar for best actor), ''Film/TheAgonyAndTheEcstasy'', and ''Film/{{Khartoum}}''.

Heston was also known for his political activism. In TheFifties and TheSixties he was one of a handful of Hollywood actors to speak openly against racism and was an active supporter of the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement. Initially a moderate Democrat, he later supported conservative Republicans and was president of the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanGunPolitics National Rifle Association]] from 1998 to 2003. The (in)famous [[BadassBoast "You'll get my rifle when you pry it from my cold, dead hands!"]] has angered many gun control advocates while Creator/MichaelMoore's controversial ''Film/BowlingForColumbine'' seemed to hurt his image with some modern audiences. Sadly, he was also accused of being a homophobe later in life due to his apparent disagreement with the HoYay subtext of ''Ben-Hur'' and evidence suggesting the painter Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti, whom he portrayed in ''The Agony and the Ecstasy'', had been gay, even though Heston himself vehemently denied being a homophobe. Despite his critical stance on political correctness and affirmative action, he never preached what he couldn't practice, being able to shrug off a snarky comment by Creator/GeorgeClooney regarding his Alzheimer's affliction.

He was a large man with a deep voice and genuine off-screen gravitas. When he met Creator/GeorgeMacDonaldFraser at the premiere of ''Film/{{The Three Musketeers|1973}}'', he introduced himself from behind the writer by saying, "I'm Charlton Heston." Fraser turned around, startled, and replied, "By God, so you are!"

He passed away in 2008 a few months short of what would have been his 85th birthday due to complications from Alzheimer's and pneumonia. He is survived by his wife, Lydia Clarke (who also dabbled in acting for a time and even appears in 1968's ''Will Penny'', which Heston often cited as his personal favorite in his career), son Fraser Clarke (who actually played the infant Moses in ''The Ten Commandments'' and dabbled in screenwriting and directing for a time), adopted daughter Holly and a brood of grandchildren.
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!!Partial filmography:

* ''Julius Caesar'' (1950) as UsefulNotes/MarkAntony
* ''Film/TheGreatestShowOnEarth'' (1952) as Brad Braden
* ''Film/TheNakedJungle'' (1954) as Christopher Leiningen.
* ''{{Film/The Ten Commandments|1956}}'' (1956) as Moses and the voice of {{God}}
* ''Film/TouchOfEvil'' (1958) as Mike Vargas
* ''Film/TheBigCountry'' (1958) as Steve Leech
* ''[[Film/BenHur1959 Ben-Hur]]'' (1959) as Judah Ben-Hur
* ''Film/ElCid'' (1961) as [[UsefulNotes/ElCidCampeador Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar "El Cid"]]
* ''Film/FiftyFiveDaysAtPeking'' (1963) as Major Matt Lewis
* ''Film/TheGreatestStoryEverTold'' (1965) as John the Baptist
* ''Film/TheAgonyAndTheEcstasy'' (1965) as Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti
* ''Film/MajorDundee'' (1965) as Major Amos Charles Dundee
* ''Film/{{The War Lord|1965}}'' (1965) as Chrysagon de la Cruex
* ''Film/{{Khartoum}}'' (1966) as General Charles "Chinese" Gordon
* ''Film/Counterpoint1968'' as Lionel Evans
* ''Will Penny'' (1968) as Will Penny
* ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'':
** ''Film/{{Planet of the Apes|1968}}'' (1968) as George Taylor
** ''Film/BeneathThePlanetOfTheApes'' (1970) as George Taylor
** ''Film/{{Planet Of The Apes|2001}}'' (2001) as [[RemakeCameo Zaius]] (Thade's father)
* ''Film/{{Julius Caesar|1970}}'' (1970) as UsefulNotes/MarkAntony
* ''Film/TheOmegaMan'' (1971) as Robert Neville
* ''Theatre/AntonyAndCleopatra'' (1972 film) as UsefulNotes/MarkAntony
* ''Skyjacked'' (1972) as Captain Henry "Hank" O'Hara
* ''The Call of the Wild'' (1972) as John Thorton
* ''Film/SoylentGreen'' (1973) as Detective Frank Thorn
* ''Film/{{The Three Musketeers|1973}}'' (1973) as UsefulNotes/CardinalRichelieu
* ''[[Film/{{Airport}} Airport 1975]]'' (1974) as Alan Murdock
* ''Film/{{Earthquake}}'' (1974) as Stewart Graff
* ''Film/{{Midway|1976}}'' (1976) as Captain Matthew Garth
* ''Film/TwoMinuteWarning'' (1976) as Captain Peter Holly
* ''Film/TheLastHardMen'' (1976) as Sam Burgade
* ''Film/GrayLadyDown'' (1978) as Captain Paul Blanchard
* ''Series/{{Chiefs}}'' (1983) as Hugh Holmes
* ''Theatre/AManForAllSeasons'' (the 1988 made-for-TV remake) as Sir UsefulNotes/ThomasMore
* ''[[Film/TreasureIsland1990 Treasure Island]]'' (1990) as Long John Silver
* ''Film/SolarCrisis'' (1990) as Adm. 'Skeet' Kelso
* ''Theatre/TheCruciferOfBlood'' (1991) as Franchise/SherlockHolmes
* [[TheCameo Cameo]] in ''Film/WaynesWorld2'' (1993)
* ''Film/{{Tombstone}}'' (1993) as Henry Hooker
* ''Film/TrueLies'' (1994) as Spencer Trilby
* ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness'' (1995) as Jackson Harglow
* ''Film/{{Alaska}}'' (1996) as Colin Perry
* ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' (1996, the Creator/KennethBranagh adaptation) as the Player King
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' (1997) as the Narrator
* ''Film/{{Armageddon|1998}}'' (1998) as the Narrator
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'' (1998) {{as himself}}
* ''Film/AnyGivenSunday'' (1999) as the Commissioner
* ''Film/CatsAndDogs'' (2001) as The Mastiff
* ''Film/BowlingForColumbine'' (2002), interviewed by Michael Moore
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