Editing Charlton Heston (section)

== Career ==
===1947–1955: Early theatre and film roles ===
[[File:Charlton Heston as Antony, 1950, B&W image by Chalmers Butterfield.jpg|thumb|left|Heston as [[Mark Antony]] in ''[[Julius Caesar (1950 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (1950)]]
After the war, the Hestons lived in [[Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan|Hell's Kitchen]], [[New York City]], where they worked as artists' models. Seeking a way to make it in theatre, they decided to manage a playhouse in [[Asheville, North Carolina]], in 1947, making $100 a week. In 1948, they returned to New York, where Heston was offered a supporting role in a [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] revival of Shakespeare's ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]'', starring [[Katharine Cornell]]. In television, Heston played a number of roles in [[CBS]]'s ''[[Studio One (American TV series)|Studio One]]'', one of the most popular [[Anthology series|anthology dramas]] of the 1950s. In 1949 Heston played [[Mark Antony]] in an independent film adaptation of ''[[Julius Caesar (1950 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (1950). Film producer [[Hal B. Wallis]] spotted Heston in a 1950 television production of ''[[Wuthering Heights]]'' and offered him a contract. When his wife reminded Heston they had decided to pursue theater and television, he replied, "Well, maybe just for one film to see what it's like."

[[File:Heston-Jurado-Arrowhead.jpg|thumb|right|Heston with [[Katy Jurado]] in ''[[Arrowhead (1953 film)|Arrowhead]]'' (1953)]]

Heston's first professional movie appearance was the leading role at age 26 in ''[[Dark City (1950 film)|Dark City]]'', a 1950 [[film noir]] produced by Hal Wallis. His breakthrough came when [[Cecil B. DeMille]] cast him as a circus manager in ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]'', which was named by the Motion Picture Academy as the Best Picture of 1952. It was also the most popular movie of that year. [[King Vidor]] used Heston in a melodrama with [[Jennifer Jones]], ''[[Ruby Gentry]]'' (1952). He followed it with a Western at Paramount, ''[[The Savage (1952 film)|The Savage]]'' (1952), playing a white man raised by Indians. [[20th Century Fox]] used him to play [[Andrew Jackson]] in ''[[The President's Lady]]'' (1953) opposite [[Susan Hayward]]. Back at Paramount he was [[Buffalo Bill]] in ''[[Pony Express (film)|Pony Express]]'' (1953). He followed this with another Western, ''[[Arrowhead (1953 film)|Arrowhead]]'' (1953).

In 1953, Heston was [[Billy Wilder]]'s first choice to play Sefton in ''[[Stalag 17]]''. However, the role was given to [[William Holden]], who won an [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Oscar]] for it. Hal Wallis reunited Heston with [[Lizabeth Scott]] in a melodrama ''[[Bad for Each Other]]'' (1953). In 1954, he made two adventure films for [[Paramount Pictures]]. ''[[The Naked Jungle]]'' had him battle a plague of killer ants. He played the lead in ''[[Secret of the Incas]]'', which was shot on location at the archeological site [[Machu Picchu]] and has numerous similarities to ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', which appeared a quarter of a century later. Heston played [[William Clark]], the explorer, in ''[[The Far Horizons]]'' (1955) alongside [[Fred MacMurray]] as [[Meriwether Lewis]]. He tried a comedy ''[[The Private War of Major Benson]]'' (1955) at Universal, then supported [[Jane Wyman]] in a drama ''[[Lucy Gallant]]'' (1955).

[[File:Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments film trailer.jpg|thumb|left|Heston as [[Moses]] in [[Cecil B. DeMille]]'s ''[[The Ten Commandments (1956 film)|The Ten Commandments]]'' (1956)]]
Heston became an icon for playing [[Moses]] in the hugely successful biblical epic ''[[The Ten Commandments (1956 film)|The Ten Commandments]]'' (1956), selected by director Cecil B. DeMille, who thought Heston bore an uncanny resemblance to [[Michelangelo]]'s [[Moses (Michelangelo)|statue of Moses]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Orrison|first1=Katherine|authorlink1=Katherine Orrison|title=Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille's Epic The Ten Commandments|date=1999|publisher=Vestal Press|isbn=978-1461734819|page=15|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZfuBAAAAQBAJ|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-date=May 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526201357/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZfuBAAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> DeMille cast Heston's three-month-old son, [[Fraser Clarke Heston]], as the infant Moses. ''The Ten Commandments'' became one of the greatest box office successes of all time and is [[List of highest-grossing films#Highest-grossing films adjusted for inflation|the eighth-highest-grossing film adjusted for inflation]]. His portrayal of the Hebrew prophet and deliverer was praised by film critics. ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' described him as "splendid, handsome and princely (and human) in the scenes dealing with him as a young man, and majestic and terrible as his role demands it".<ref>{{cite news|title='The Ten Commandments': Read THR's 1956 Review|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ten-commandments-1956-movie-review-754677|access-date=August 22, 2017|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=October 5, 1956|archive-date=August 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823024031/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ten-commandments-1956-movie-review-754677|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''[[New York Daily News]]'' wrote that he "is remarkably effective as both the young, princely Moses and as the Patriarchal savior of his people".<ref>{{cite news|title=Flashback: Original 1956 review of 'The Ten Commandments' in the Daily News|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/flashback-stars-ten-commandment-article-1.2040699|access-date=August 22, 2017|work=[[New York Daily News]]|date=November 9, 1956|archive-date=August 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823022831/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/flashback-stars-ten-commandment-article-1.2040699|url-status=live}}</ref> His performance as Moses earned him his first nomination for the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama]] and [[Francoist Spain|Spain]]'s [[Fotogramas de Plata]] Award for Best Foreign Performer. When the Egyptian Theater reopened in December 1998, it screened Cecil B. DeMille's 1923 original ''[[The Ten Commandments (1923 film)|The Ten Commandments]]'', which had premiered there 75 years earlier. Charlton and Lydia Heston were honored guests at this opening showing and were seated with their longtime friends, brothers Charles Elias Disney and Daniel H. Disney.

[[File:Touch-of-Evil-1851-26.jpg|thumb|right|[[Orson Welles]], [[Victor Millan]], [[Joseph Calleia]], and Heston in ''[[Touch of Evil]]'' (1958)]]
Heston went back to Westerns with ''[[Three Violent People]]'' (1957). Universal tried to interest him in a thriller starring [[Orson Welles]], ''[[Touch of Evil]]''; Heston agreed to be in it if Welles directed. The film has come to be regarded as a classic masterpiece. He also played a rare supporting role in [[William Wyler]]'s ''[[The Big Country]]'' opposite [[Gregory Peck]] and [[Burl Ives]]. Heston got another chance to play [[Andrew Jackson]] in ''[[The Buccaneer (1958 film)|The Buccaneer]]'' (1958), produced by De Mille and starring [[Yul Brynner]].

===1956–1970: Film stardom ===
After [[Marlon Brando]], [[Burt Lancaster]], and [[Rock Hudson]]<ref name="bobthomas"/> turned down the title role in [[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|''Ben-Hur'']] (1959), Heston accepted the role, winning the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]], one of the unprecedented 11 Oscars the film earned. After Moses and ''Ben-Hur'', Heston became more identified with Biblical epics than any other actor. He later voiced Ben-Hur in an [[Ben Hur (2003 film)|animated television production]] of the [[Lew Wallace]] [[Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ|novel]] in 2003. Heston followed it with ''[[The Wreck of the Mary Deare (film)|The Wreck of the Mary Deare]]'' (1959) co-starring [[Gary Cooper]], which was a box office disappointment.
[[File:Charlton Heston in Ben Hur trailer.jpg|left|thumb|Heston in ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' (1959)]]
Heston turned down the lead opposite [[Marilyn Monroe]] in ''[[Let's Make Love]]'' to appear in [[Benn W. Levy]]'s play ''The Tumbler'', directed by [[Laurence Olivier]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Rovin|first=Jeff|title=The Films of Charlton Heston|year=1977|publisher=Lyle Stuart|location=New York|isbn=978-0806505619|page=224}}</ref> Called a "harrowingly pretentious verse drama" by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'',<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Theater: New Plays on Broadway|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,894730,00.html#ixzz2bV2R26xx|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=August 9, 2013|date=March 7, 1960|archive-date=July 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721174403/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,894730,00.html#ixzz2bV2R26xx|url-status=dead}}</ref> the production went through a troubled out-of-town tryout period in Boston and closed after five performances on Broadway in February 1960.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Tumbler|url=http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=2099|publisher=Internet Broadway Database|access-date=August 9, 2013|archive-date=October 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007121820/http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=2099|url-status=live}}</ref> Heston, a great admirer of Olivier the actor, took on the play to work with him as a director. After the play flopped, Heston told columnist [[Joe Hyams]], "I feel I am the only one who came out with a profit.&nbsp;... I got out of it precisely what I went in for—a chance to work with Olivier. I learned from him in six weeks things I never would have learned otherwise. I think I've ended up a better actor."<ref>{{cite news|last=Hyams|first=Joe|title=Heston Not Hurt By Flop Play|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19600303&id=xggwAAAAIBAJ&pg=7322,6153850|access-date=August 9, 2013|newspaper=Toledo Blade|date=March 3, 1960|archive-date=May 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526201357/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19600303&id=xggwAAAAIBAJ&pg=7322%2C6153850|url-status=live}}</ref>

Heston enjoyed acting on stage, believing it revivified him as an actor. He never returned to Broadway but acted in regional theatres. His most frequent stage roles included the title role in ''[[Macbeth]]'', and Mark Antony in both ''Julius Caesar'' and ''Antony and Cleopatra''.<ref>{{cite news|title=This Heston was a fan of the Bard|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-dec-26-et-heston26-story.html|access-date=October 30, 2022|newspaper=L.A. Times|date=December 26, 2008}}</ref> Heston considered himself to be a Shakespearean actor and collected significant works by and about [[William Shakespeare]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Charlton Heston's rare Shakespeare collection to go up for auction|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/mar/14/charlton-hestons-rare-shakespeare-collection-auction|access-date=October 30, 2022|newspaper=The Guardian (UK)|date=March 14, 2016}}</ref> He played Sir [[Thomas More]] in ''[[A Man for All Seasons (play)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' in several regional productions in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, eventually playing it in [[London's West End]]. The play was a success and the West End production was taken to [[Aberdeen]], Scotland, for a week, where it was staged at [[His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen|His Majesty's Theatre]].{{sfn|Heston|1995|pages=358, 376-377, 488-489, 504-505}} [[Samuel Bronston]] pursued Heston to play the title role in an epic shot in Spain, ''[[El Cid (film)|El Cid]]'' (1961), which was a big success. He was in a war film for Paramount, ''[[The Pigeon That Took Rome]]'' (1962), and a melodrama shot in Hawaii, ''[[Diamond Head (film)|Diamond Head]]'' (1963). Bronston wanted him for another epic and the result was ''[[55 Days at Peking]]'' (1963), which was a box office disappointment.

Heston focused on epics: he was [[John the Baptist]] in ''[[The Greatest Story Ever Told]]'' (1965); [[Michelangelo]] in ''[[The Agony and the Ecstasy (film)|The Agony and the Ecstasy]]'' (1965) opposite [[Rex Harrison]]; the title role in ''[[Major Dundee]]'' (1965), directed by [[Sam Peckinpah]]. ''[[The War Lord]]'' (1965), directed by [[Franklin J. Schaffner]], was on a smaller scale and critically acclaimed, though commercially it fared poorly. In ''[[Khartoum (film)|Khartoum]]'' (1966) Heston played [[General Charles Gordon]]. From 1965 until 1971, Heston served as president of the [[Screen Actors Guild]]. The Guild had been created in 1933 for the benefit of actors, who had different interests from the producers and directors who controlled the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]. He was more conservative than most actors and publicly clashed with outspoken liberal actors such as [[Ed Asner]].<ref>Emilie Raymond, "The Agony and the Ecstasy: Charlton Heston and the Screen Actors Guild", ''Journal of Policy History'' (2005) 17#2, pp 217–39.<!--ISBN/ISSN needed--></ref> ''[[Counterpoint (1968 film)|Counterpoint]]'' (1968) was a war film that was not particularly successful at the box office. Neither was the Western ''[[Will Penny]]'' (1968), directed by [[Tom Gries]]; however, Heston received excellent reviews and it was one of his favorite films.

Heston had not been in a big hit for a number of years but in 1968 he starred in ''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]]'', directed by Schaffner, which was hugely popular. Less so was a football drama, ''[[Number One (1969 film)|Number One]]'' (1969) directed by Gries. Heston had a smaller supporting role in ''[[Beneath the Planet of the Apes]]'' (1970), which was popular. However, ''[[The Hawaiians (film)|The Hawaiians]]'' (1970), directed by Gries, was not. In 1970, he portrayed Mark Antony again in another [[Julius Caesar (1970 film)|film version]] of Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar''. His co-stars included [[Jason Robards]] as [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Brutus]], [[Richard Chamberlain]] as [[Augustus|Octavius]], [[Robert Vaughn]] as [[Publius Servilius Casca|Casca]], and English actors [[Richard Johnson (actor)|Richard Johnson]] as [[Gaius Cassius Longinus|Cassius]], [[John Gielgud]] as [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]], and [[Diana Rigg]] as [[Porcia (wife of Brutus)|Portia]].
[[File:Charlton Heston 1959.jpg|thumb|Drawing of Heston after he won an Oscar for ''Ben-Hur'' in 1959 (artist: [[Nicholas Volpe]])]]

===1971–1984: Established star ===
In 1971, he starred in the post-apocalyptic science-fiction film ''[[The Omega Man]]'', which has received mixed critical reviews, but was popular, and has become a [[cult film]] in the years since release. It was also during this time he became a gun rights advocate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/omega_man/ |title=The Omega Man |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=August 23, 2015 |archive-date=August 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810103711/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/omega_man/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1972, Heston made his directorial debut and starred as Mark Antony in an [[Antony and Cleopatra (1972 film)|adaptation]] of the William Shakespeare play he had performed earlier in his theater career, ''[[Antony and Cleopatra (1972 film)|Antony and Cleopatra]]''. [[Hildegarde Neil]] was Cleopatra and English actor [[Eric Porter]] was [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32 BC)|Ahenobarbus]]. After receiving scathing reviews, the film was never released to theaters and is rarely seen on television.

His next film, ''[[Skyjacked (film)|Skyjacked]]'' (1972) was a hit.<ref>{{cite web|title=Skyjacked (1972)|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/31483|last=Soares|first=Emily|publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]] (TCM)|website=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=August 16, 2018|archive-date=March 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330181741/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/31483%7C0/Skyjacked.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However ''[[The Call of the Wild (1972 film)|The Call of the Wild]]'' (1972) was a flop, one of Heston's least favorite films.  He quickly recovered with a string of memorable hits: ''[[Soylent Green]]'' (1973), another [[dystopian]] science fiction film that has achieved cult status; ''[[The Three Musketeers (1973 live-action film)|The Three Musketeers]]'' (1973), playing [[Cardinal Richelieu]] as part an all-star cast ensemble; two back-to-back [[disaster film]]s, the hugely successful ''[[Earthquake (1974 film)|Earthquake]]'' (1974), and ''[[Airport 1975]]'' (1974), also a success; and ''[[Midway (1976 film)|Midway]]'' (1976) a war film.

Heston's long run at the box office ended with ''[[Two-Minute Warning]]'' (1976), a suspense film, and ''[[The Last Hard Men (film)|The Last Hard Men]]'' (1976), a Western. He played [[King Henry VIII]] for ''[[The Prince and the Pauper (1977 film)|The Prince and the Pauper]]'' (1977), from the ''Musketeers'' team, then starred in a disaster film, ''[[Gray Lady Down]]'' (1978). Heston was in a Western written by his son, ''[[The Mountain Men]]'' (1980), and a horror film, ''[[The Awakening (1980 film)|The Awakening]]'' (1980). He made his second film as a director ''[[Mother Lode (1982 film)|Mother Lode]]'' (1982) also written by his son, and it was a commercial disappointment.

===1985–2000: Later film roles ===
From 1985 until 1987, he starred in his only prime time stint on a television series in the soap, ''[[The Colbys]]''. With his son Fraser, he produced and starred in several TV movies, including remakes of ''[[Treasure Island (1990 film)|Treasure Island]]'' and ''[[A Man for All Seasons (1988 film)|A Man for All Seasons]]''. In 1992, Heston appeared on the [[A&E (TV channel)|A&E cable network]] in a short series of videos, ''Charlton Heston Presents the [[Bible]]'', reading passages from the [[Authorized Version|King James version]].

In 1993, Heston teamed up with [[John Anthony West]] and [[Robert M. Schoch]] in an [[Emmy Award]]-winning [[NBC]] special, ''[[The Mystery of the Sphinx]]''. West and Schoch had proposed a much earlier date for the construction of the [[Great Sphinx]] than the one which is generally accepted. They had suggested that the main type of [[weathering]] evident on the Great Sphinx and surrounding enclosure walls could only have been caused by prolonged and extensive rainfall and that the whole structure was carved out of [[limestone]] bedrock by an ancient advanced culture (such as the [[Heavy Neolithic]] [[Qaraoun culture]]).<ref name="Schoch (1992)">Schoch, Robert M. (1992). [http://www.robertschoch.net/Redating%20the%20Great%20Sphinx%20of%20Giza.htm "Redating the Great Sphinx of Giza"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204134600/http://www.robertschoch.net/Redating%20the%20Great%20Sphinx%20of%20Giza.htm |date=February 4, 2016 }} in ''Circular Times'' (ed. Collette M. Dowell); retrieved December 17, 2008.</ref> Never taking himself too seriously, he also made a few appearances as "Chuck" in [[Dame Edna Everage]]'s shows, both on stage and on television. Heston appeared in 1993 in a cameo role in ''[[Wayne's World 2]]'', in a scene where Wayne Campbell ([[Mike Myers]]) requests casting a better actor for a small role. After the scene is reshot with Heston, Campbell weeps in awe. That same year, Heston hosted ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. He had cameos in the films ''[[Hamlet (1996 film)|Hamlet]]'', ''[[Tombstone (film)|Tombstone]]'', and ''[[True Lies]]''.

He starred in many theatre productions at the [[Los Angeles Music Center]], where he appeared in ''[[Detective Story (play)|Detective Story]]'' and ''[[The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (play)|The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial]]'', and as [[Sherlock Holmes]] in ''[[The Crucifer of Blood]]'', opposite [[Richard Johnson (actor)|Richard Johnson]] as [[Dr. Watson]]. In 2001, he made a cameo appearance as an elderly, dying chimpanzee in [[Tim Burton]]'s [[Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|remake of ''Planet of the Apes'']]. His last film role was as [[Josef Mengele]] in ''[[Rua Alguem 5555: My Father]]'', which had limited release (mainly to festivals) in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cockrell|first=Eddie|title=My Father Rua Alguem 5555|date=February 12, 2004|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|url=https://variety.com/2004/film/reviews/my-father-rua-alguem-5555-1200536498/|access-date=April 3, 2020|archive-date=August 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804073700/http://variety.com/2004/film/reviews/my-father-rua-alguem-5555-1200536498/|url-status=live}}</ref> Heston's distinctive voice landed him roles as a film narrator, including the opening scenes of ''[[Armageddon (1998 film)|Armageddon]]'' and [[Disney]]'s ''[[Hercules (1997 film)|Hercules]]''. He played the title role in ''[[Mister Roberts (play)|Mister Roberts]]'' three times and cited it as one of his favorite roles. In the early 1990s, he tried unsuccessfully to revive and direct the show with [[Tom Selleck]] in the title role.<ref>Heston, Charlton: ''In The Arena'', Simon & Schuster, 1995, p. 479; {{ISBN|0-684-80394-1}}.</ref> In 1998, Heston had a cameo role playing himself in the American television series ''[[Friends]]'', in the episode "[[The One with Joey's Dirty Day]]". In 2000, he played Chief Justice Haden Wainwright in ''[[The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' episode "Final Appeal".