1923-2008
This son of a lumber mill owner played memorable
lead performances in Ben Hur and The Ten Commandments,
El Cid, and The Agony and the Ecstasy.
Charlton had a memorable career as an actor, his ruggedly
handsome face becoming almost iconic of American character during the
late 1950's, through the 1960's, 70's
and 1980's.
Born Charles Carter, he took his mother's maiden
name and his stepfather's last name and made his fortune and fame.
During WWII, Charlton stationed in the
Aleutian Islands
while serving in the Army Air Force. He attended
Northwestern
University, renowned for its top-rate theatrical program.
Charlton made his Broadway stage debut in ANTONY
AND CLEOPATRA in 1947 and became one of the first stars in the
emerging medium of television
with leading roles on Studio One.
Other TV roles included
televised productions of Jane Eyre,
Wuthering
Heights, The Taming Of The Shrew, and MacBeth.
His film debut was the film noir thriller
Dark
City
. However, his
role in Cecille B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth,
planted the seed for what became one of his greatest roles as Moses in The
Ten Commandments. The
biggest was yet to come, and that was his Oscar winning role as the
title character in Ben Hur.
The 1960's also produced some memorable roles,
including the Spanish hero El Cid in El Cid, Michelangelo in
The Agony and the Ecstasy, John the Baptist in The Greatest Story
Ever Told, the science fiction classic Planet of the Apes.
He started to direct in 1973 with Anthony and Cleopatra.
The 1970's provided Heston with much of his great work,
including two science fiction thrillers, The Omega Man and Soylent
Green. Other major films
include Midway, Airport 1975, Earthquake, as Cardinal
Richelieu in both The Three Musketeers, and the the sequel,
the Four Musketeers. Other films include Gray Lady Down, Two
Minute Warning, and a strong performance as Henry VIII in Crossed
Swords.
