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Charlton Heston: Hollywood's Last Icon – The Definitive Biography of an Oscar-Winning Actor with Unprecedented Personal Access
The most definitive biography of Hollywood icon Charlton Heston—one of the most popular, engrossingly complex and, at times, controversial personalities ever to emerge from American cinema.
Charlton Heston starred in American movies for more than six decades, in roles that ranged from the Biblical leader Moses in The Ten Commandments to the title role in William Wyler’s definitive Ben-Hur, to the heroic astronaut George Taylor in 1968’s sci-fi classic Planet of the Apes, in addition to hundreds of otherscreen, theater, and television roles. He also served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, and more controversially, as the head of the National Rifle Association, which placed him at odds with Hollywood’s then-prevalent left-leaning power elite.
New York Times bestselling author Marc Eliot’s definitive biography, which benefits from extraordinary access to friends, family, and private papers, unravels the epic life story of one of America’s most iconic actors, bringing to light Heston’s greatest achievements as well as his greatest failures and regrets—culminating in an account that is informed, moving, artful, and honest. In it, Eliot lays bare the story of how a boy from the backwoods of Michigan went on to become Hollywood’s go-to action and historical actor and left a legacy that helped define American movie heroes of the twentieth century. From Michigan to New York City to Hollywood, Eliot traces the footsteps of this extraordinary figure and sheds new light on one of America’s greatest stars.
In glistening detail, he examines and celebrates the lasting legacy of Charlton Heston, taking advantage of never-before-heard stories of Heston as husband, father, and unremitting actor whose stamp on Hollywood grows stronger every year.
Charlton Heston starred in American movies for more than six decades, in roles that ranged from the Biblical leader Moses in The Ten Commandments to the title role in William Wyler’s definitive Ben-Hur, to the heroic astronaut George Taylor in 1968’s sci-fi classic Planet of the Apes, in addition to hundreds of otherscreen, theater, and television roles. He also served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, and more controversially, as the head of the National Rifle Association, which placed him at odds with Hollywood’s then-prevalent left-leaning power elite.
New York Times bestselling author Marc Eliot’s definitive biography, which benefits from extraordinary access to friends, family, and private papers, unravels the epic life story of one of America’s most iconic actors, bringing to light Heston’s greatest achievements as well as his greatest failures and regrets—culminating in an account that is informed, moving, artful, and honest. In it, Eliot lays bare the story of how a boy from the backwoods of Michigan went on to become Hollywood’s go-to action and historical actor and left a legacy that helped define American movie heroes of the twentieth century. From Michigan to New York City to Hollywood, Eliot traces the footsteps of this extraordinary figure and sheds new light on one of America’s greatest stars.
In glistening detail, he examines and celebrates the lasting legacy of Charlton Heston, taking advantage of never-before-heard stories of Heston as husband, father, and unremitting actor whose stamp on Hollywood grows stronger every year.
566 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 14, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
March 14, 2017
Marc Eliot’s extraordinary new biography, Charlton Heston, Hollywood’s Last Icon, is clearly the definitive work on my father’s remarkable life and times. With unprecedented access to the Charlton Heston Archives, his personal papers, journals and correspondence, extensive interviews with family, friends and colleagues, and my mother’s huge collection of her own photos––many of them never-before-seen––Eliot has crafted a meticulously researched, eminently readable and compelling portrait. My father’s was a rich, rewarding and complex life, dedicated to his art, his family and to public service, in which he achieved not only the pinnacle of his profession but a significant role on the nation’s political stage. There are a lot of great stories in this book even I had not heard before. If you think you knew my father, think again, and read this book!
Eliot also happens to be a damn good writer––this book reads more like a novel than a biography––and like me, you won’t be able to put it down.
-Fraser C. Heston
Eliot also happens to be a damn good writer––this book reads more like a novel than a biography––and like me, you won’t be able to put it down.
-Fraser C. Heston
May 6, 2017
In our divisive times, it is easy to pigeonhole Charlton Heston as the older actor who became President of the NRA and who thrust a rifle and the air and said provocative things but he was so much more. In this first rate biography by veteran Hollywood author Marc Eliot we see Mr. Heston in all his complexity. A lonely child from a broken marriage, a devoted husband and father a dedicated actor and truly one of the last icons of a bygone film era. He learned his craft on Broadway and a wave to Cecil Be Demill put him in his first major film : The Greatest Show on Earth. Epics particularly historical film became his specialty. Off course there was The Ten Commandments, his Academy Award Performance in Ben Hur, El CID and The Agony and the Ecstasy. But he reinvented himself many times. He became a Sci- Fi stalwart in films such as Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green and the Omega Man. He starred in several disaster films such as Earthquake and Airport 1975. He and his wife were also active in live theater. He campaigned for civil rights and eventually he became involved in conservative causes. The Heston family cooperated with the author and he had access to Hestons diaries. This is a well written examination of a major actor and if you enjoy film this is for you.Charlton Heston was a multidimensional personality and this fine book brings him to life.
.
.
September 15, 2018
This is a straightforward, but quite interesting account of Charlton Heston's life that had me engrossed the entire way. I really enjoyed so many of his movies, so it was pleasant to read about each one: how he came to participate in the film, and some behind-the-scenes stories as well. I also liked reading about his marriage and his family, and how important they were to him. He had such an unusual marriage, in that it lasted over 60 years, which in itself is an achievement. He is to be admired for that, for his military service, and for other things. I didn't agree with his political beliefs during the latter part of his life, but that didn't detract from how much I enjoyed his films. His suffering with Alzheimer's Disease at the end of his life is sad, and I was angry at the cheap-shot, crude way Michael Moore ambushed him during an interview and then used that in one of his documentaries. All in all, a very well done biography of a Hollywood legend.
October 26, 2018
I wanted so much to like this book (an alternative to Heston's own sizable biographies that might shed different light on him and his career) and I did enjoy it -- to a point. It's a beautifully-rendered account of his youth and early career, clearly aided by the assistance of his family. It's also very in-depth regarding many of the man's movies, viewpoints and socio-political conflicts. What kept me from completely appreciating the book was two things, one was omission and the other was blatant inaccuracy, which leaves no choice but to question the validity of anything else it has to say.
First the omission, which is minor. There is no mention whatsoever, nothing, about Heston's 1980 film "The Awakening." Filmed by Mike Newell, who would late become a director of note, amid the real ruins of ancient Egypt and in the Cairo Museum (a first), it was an eventful shoot and a movie that had promise, though it failed. But it's failure is beside the point. There is no reference at all that it ever occurred!
Then inaccuracy. There's a point in the late-'60s when the author states that Heston never has another significant box office hit... Um, he was the top-billed, headlining star of both"Earthquake" (fifth highest grossing film of 1974) and "Airport 1975" (eighth highest grossing film of 1974) and also "Midway" (the tenth highest grossing film of 1976.) Just because the author may have disdain for the disaster movie genre doesn't give him the right to act as if Heston was no longer box office. Because he was.
Another raging inaccuracy comes in 1985 when the writer declares that Heston's guest role on "Dynasty" proved popular enough to spawn a spin-off of his own. That is sheer lunacy and even the most surface research would have demonstrated otherwise. Heston was the cornerstone of a very expensive spin-off ("Dynasty II: The Colbys") and had a full cast assembled around him. His appearances on "Dynasty" were nothing other than a way to introduce these characters to the parent show's audience in anticipation of a two-hour special event soon after. The entire show had been developed and was in pre-production long before Heston ever set foot in an episode of "Dynasty." The author clearly had contempt for the material and just glossed over/made up much of what he wrote about it.
So what else was fudged? Who knows...?! So the book is marred in this respect. It's still an engaging read, especially for those interested in the key player, who was maligned by New Hollywood and people who either forgot or never knew the personal (and career) risks he took in order to stand up for the oppressed.
First the omission, which is minor. There is no mention whatsoever, nothing, about Heston's 1980 film "The Awakening." Filmed by Mike Newell, who would late become a director of note, amid the real ruins of ancient Egypt and in the Cairo Museum (a first), it was an eventful shoot and a movie that had promise, though it failed. But it's failure is beside the point. There is no reference at all that it ever occurred!
Then inaccuracy. There's a point in the late-'60s when the author states that Heston never has another significant box office hit... Um, he was the top-billed, headlining star of both"Earthquake" (fifth highest grossing film of 1974) and "Airport 1975" (eighth highest grossing film of 1974) and also "Midway" (the tenth highest grossing film of 1976.) Just because the author may have disdain for the disaster movie genre doesn't give him the right to act as if Heston was no longer box office. Because he was.
Another raging inaccuracy comes in 1985 when the writer declares that Heston's guest role on "Dynasty" proved popular enough to spawn a spin-off of his own. That is sheer lunacy and even the most surface research would have demonstrated otherwise. Heston was the cornerstone of a very expensive spin-off ("Dynasty II: The Colbys") and had a full cast assembled around him. His appearances on "Dynasty" were nothing other than a way to introduce these characters to the parent show's audience in anticipation of a two-hour special event soon after. The entire show had been developed and was in pre-production long before Heston ever set foot in an episode of "Dynasty." The author clearly had contempt for the material and just glossed over/made up much of what he wrote about it.
So what else was fudged? Who knows...?! So the book is marred in this respect. It's still an engaging read, especially for those interested in the key player, who was maligned by New Hollywood and people who either forgot or never knew the personal (and career) risks he took in order to stand up for the oppressed.
June 25, 2017
A well-researched, balanced biography. I learned a lot about Mr Heston - not all of it favorable. Definitely a man who stood by what he believed, and a good man for all that I disagree with some of what he stood for.
Looking forward to reading more of Mr Eliot’s work.
As usual, I wish the editing had been better - a few run-on sentences, fragments, typos, etc but minor in the scope of the work.
I received a free copy of this book for review purposes.
Looking forward to reading more of Mr Eliot’s work.
As usual, I wish the editing had been better - a few run-on sentences, fragments, typos, etc but minor in the scope of the work.
I received a free copy of this book for review purposes.
January 13, 2018
Pleasant bio of an actor that reveals more about his private family life and devotion to his family than to any in-depth look at his work, except for a few exceptions. Heston, as a man, was a mystery of sorts to this reader and always seemed that solid heroic presence of a mostly 'wooden' stature in emoting in his acting, but is revealed to be a true study of his parts and quite devoted to Shakespeare and his appreciation and friendship with actors and directors with whom he disagreed with politically. He was a Democrat and quite liberal early in his career and, sadly, the work he did in that cause is forgotten due to his quite feverish NRA activity at his end.
February 1, 2024
The vast majority of the book is about the same as his own autobiography (which I’ve read, twice!) with just additional interviews from family and friends. Towards the end, there’s more details surrounded the shitshow that is/was the NRA. The ending about his battle with Alzheimer’s is very moving.
May 6, 2024
A solid biography of one of Hollywood’s great actors. A WWII combat veteran, a devoted husband and father, a former 6-time president of the Screen Actors Guild and defender of American cultural institutions, Civil Rights activist (before it was popular), and public defender of the 2nd Amendment. While most modern Hollywood stars come across as vapid, Charlton Heston led a rather full life, willing to take unpopular stands for the things he believed in, even if it was harmful to his career. While I have long enjoyed many of his films (Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, Planet of the Apes, etc), I didn’t really know all that much about the man. This book certainly filled in the gaps and I would absolutely recommend it. Solid 3 stars.
What follows are my notes on the book:
Born John Charles Carter. He was raised in the backwoods of lower Michigan where his father taught him to hunt, fish, and shoot. His mother Lilla married Russell Carter, the first guy to come along and help her escape her strict Victorian upbringing in Chicago. But she soon felt stifled without the comforts of her cultured upbringing. She divorced Russell, left Michigan, and remarried Chester Heston. She later arbitrarily changed her son’s name from John Carter to Charlton Heston.
The divorce was devastating for young John (Charlton). He always blamed himself and as a child never understood why his father was no longer in his life. Plus he hated leaving his home in the country. The author makes the argument that this trauma dramatically shaped Heston’s later acting career and choice of roles. Like it was some sort of subconscious attempt to restore that lost world of his youth.
At high school in Chicago he began acting as a way to meet girls. After his growth spurt and his new booming voice he proved a natural actor, even if the high school productions were rather amateurish. He was approached by an amateur filmmaker with an offer to play a role for no pay. Charlton took it as long as he could film on weekends so he didn’t lose his job at the steel mill. When the director refused, he quit his job and took the acting gig.
He met Lydia Clark at Northwestern University. For Charlton it was love at first sight. But Lydia desperately wanted a career and had to be won over (she saw how her mother’s marriage ended her independent career). While their relationship started out cold and even combative, they eventually fell in love and married before he departed for the war. Charlton enlisted in 1941 upon hearing of Pearl Harbor. But he wasn’t called up until 1944. He was posted to the Aleutian Islands. He was trained as a radioman and B-25 waste gunner and flew several combat missions. In a freak accident, he was run over by an ambulance while assisting other airmen during a plane crash. He was reassigned to Anchorage for the remainder of the war.
After his discharge, he moved to NYC and lived in a tenement in Hell’s Kitchen while looking for work. They scoured the papers looking for acting jobs and did some modeling to pay the bills. He finally landed an acting/directing gig at a theater looking for veterans in Asheville, NC. His work was so respected their contract was extended.
When he returned to NYC, he and Lydia continued to struggle, occasionally landing a bit part in a Broadway play. When television came along, Charlton was one of the handful of underemployed 25-year olds who helped develop the new medium, gaining a large following. His performances on television caught the attention of Los Angeles based producer Hal Wallace who wanted to sign him to a film contract. But at the time, Heston loved the stage and wanted nothing to do with Hollywood.
His first Hollywood outing was a flop and he returned to NY. His wife encouraged him to return to Hollywood and give movies one more shot. He was yet again turned down but while leaving the studio had a chance encounter with Cecil B. DeMille who was struggling to find a lead for his new film. He cast him as the lead in his new circus-themed film “The Greatest Show on Earth.”
The film was a smash hit and launched Heston as a star. The movie would go on to win an upset best picture Oscar. Cheston’s contract was sold back to Paramount after his outspoken comments on the plight of the Sioux Indians, something he learned about in filming “The Savage.”
After several more hit or miss films, none of which lived up to The Greatest Show, the Hestons were considering moving back to NY and their work in television when two life altering events occurred. First, after 11 years of marriage, Lydia was pregnant. And second, Heston was cast in DeMille’s remake of “The Ten Commandments.”
It cost $13M to make the “Ten Commandments.” It made $87M in its year-long theatrical run... going on to become the second highest grossing film of all time after “Gone With the Wind.”
He returned to Broadway, performing the lead role in the play Mister Roberts.
While The Ten Commandments received 7 Oscar nominations, Heston was not nominated for best actor, which he bore with his usual stoicism.
Heston was eager to work with Orson Welles and convinvced the studio to hire him to direct his next film “A Touch of Evil.” Welles re-wrote the script, placing himself in the lead role and downgrading Heston’s role in the film. At the time Heston supported Welles and his creative decisions and was eager to work with him. The movie would flop in America.
Accepting another historical or period role. Heston agreed to play the title character in Ben Hur. He and Lydia and baby Fraser moved to Italy. The filming scheduled and demands were grueling. Lydia took up photography and worked with Heston on set.
The Ten Commandments was a Oscar blowout winning 11 awards. It missed out on best adapted screenplay which caused an uproar by thanking non-union, second billing writers in his acceptance speech.
His outspoken defense of his colleague caught the attention of Ronald Reagan, then a struggling actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) fighting on behalf of actors to receive “residuals” (i.e. royalties for their past work).
After returning from filming El Sid alongside Sophia Loren in Italy, Heston joined the Civil Rights March in 1961 at a time when it was not popular for Hollywood stars to do so.
Heston was elected as Vice President of SAG. His biopic of El Sid would never reach the same heights as Ben Hur or The Ten Commandments, but it would be a commercial success, grossing $60M off a $6M budget.
Heston met with Dr. Martin luther King Jr. and joined him in his famous march in Washignton D.C.
Heston had unintentionally branded (typecast) himself into historical roles that were growing increasingly less appealing to mass markets and worried about his future in the film industry.
He worked his way up the SAG hierarchy and became its president in 1965.
In 1966 he visited U.S. troops in remote areas of Vietnam. As a war veteran himself, the trip had a profound effect in him and he personally wrote letters to family members for any troop who asked him (and there were quite a few).
After Reagan won the California governorship, the GOP approached Heston and asked him to run for Senate. Heston flatly refused. He had seen how quickly Hollywood had turned on Reagan after his foray into politics and wanted nothing to do with it (he would be approached numerous times by both parties and always refused).
The assassinations of MLK Jr. and President Kennedy plus the decision of LBJ (someone Heston greatly admired for all his Civil Rights accomplishments) not to run for reelection over the Vietnam War led to much political and social soul searching by Heston. He grew increasingly frustrated with the fractures in the Democratic Party.
In 1968 he and Lydia adopted a daughter Holly Ann.
Also in 1968, Heston read the novel “Monkey Planet” and pitched it for a film. The Planet of the Apes who prove a popular blockbuster that helped to ignite the science fiction genera in Hollywood while breathing new life into his own career.
Heston was reelected 5 times as SAG president (6 terms total). His tenure was marked by his efforts to promote the making of films in Hollywood instead of overseas (where it was significantly cheaper) and fought for higher pay for actors in the Guild. Yet, his tenure was marked by hypocrisy as he personally continued to shoot films overseas despite his earnest efforts to the contrary.
During this stage of his life, he faced his share of marital struggles and fights as a result of his grueling schedule and Lydia’s natural resentment as the one who gave up her career to support him. Heston, who was forever scarred by his parent’s divorce, always did whatever was necessary to keep his marriage together.
As a WWII vet he was furious with the treatment of American soldiers coming home from Vietnam, most of whom were drafted and not responsible for the debacle. He shifted his support to Nixon in the hopes he would end the Vietnam War “with honor.”
He suffered a number of cinema failures at this stage in his career (Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Call of the Wild) but he also had a couple surprise smash hits including Omega Man (i.e. I Am Legend) and Soylent Green.
In an effort to help maintain government support for the American Film Institute, he invited Nixon to present the SAG lifetime achievement award. When Watergate later broke, Heston’s embrace of Nixon was the beginning of his professional shunning in Hollywood.
Heston clashed with President Reagan over proposed budget cuts to the National Endowment of the Arts. Everyone assumed Heston and Reagan were really close, but that was never really the case. Reagan eventually blinked and left the budget for the NEA in place. Heston received much of the praise for the coup in Hollywood.
Heston had always kept his personal political views out of SAG during his presidency. He detested the election of Edward Asner in 1980/1 to the SAG presidency and his insistence on left wing activism in his official capacity. Asner revoked or denied a planned lifetime achievement award for Ronald Reagan as a result of Reagan breaking the air traffic controller strike out of a sense of union solidarity. While Heston and Reagan were not close, Heston thought the move a new low of political activism.
In the 1980s, he worked on some films written by his son Fraser.
In 1985, SAG sanctioned Heston after he publicly supported Idaho’s “right to work” law. Heston believed that Union labor was driving up the cost of movie production and actually hurting the U.S. film industry resulting I fewer films being made in the U.S.
Heston was invited to participate in a public shooting event. While not a gun fanatic, his memories of shooting with his father in Michigan were among his fondest memories. This introduced him to the NRA and he spoke out against some California propositions to ban hand guns.
The NRA was a bipartisan, pro-second amendment group. Heston agreed to speak in support of pro-second amendment events in the mid-80s and helped propel the NRA into a political force in Washington. The author laments that most people in the current generation only know Heston for his 2nd Amendment activism (i.e. the adlibbed comment that "I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands") not his commendable acting career, his commitment to his family, or his civil rights advocacy. [Personal Note: For a great many Americans, none of these things are seen as mutually exclusive.]
Heston was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2002. After his diagnoses but before it was publicly known, he was ambushed at his home by Michael Moore for candid interviews for his Bowling for Columbine documentary. He died in 2008.
What follows are my notes on the book:
Born John Charles Carter. He was raised in the backwoods of lower Michigan where his father taught him to hunt, fish, and shoot. His mother Lilla married Russell Carter, the first guy to come along and help her escape her strict Victorian upbringing in Chicago. But she soon felt stifled without the comforts of her cultured upbringing. She divorced Russell, left Michigan, and remarried Chester Heston. She later arbitrarily changed her son’s name from John Carter to Charlton Heston.
The divorce was devastating for young John (Charlton). He always blamed himself and as a child never understood why his father was no longer in his life. Plus he hated leaving his home in the country. The author makes the argument that this trauma dramatically shaped Heston’s later acting career and choice of roles. Like it was some sort of subconscious attempt to restore that lost world of his youth.
At high school in Chicago he began acting as a way to meet girls. After his growth spurt and his new booming voice he proved a natural actor, even if the high school productions were rather amateurish. He was approached by an amateur filmmaker with an offer to play a role for no pay. Charlton took it as long as he could film on weekends so he didn’t lose his job at the steel mill. When the director refused, he quit his job and took the acting gig.
He met Lydia Clark at Northwestern University. For Charlton it was love at first sight. But Lydia desperately wanted a career and had to be won over (she saw how her mother’s marriage ended her independent career). While their relationship started out cold and even combative, they eventually fell in love and married before he departed for the war. Charlton enlisted in 1941 upon hearing of Pearl Harbor. But he wasn’t called up until 1944. He was posted to the Aleutian Islands. He was trained as a radioman and B-25 waste gunner and flew several combat missions. In a freak accident, he was run over by an ambulance while assisting other airmen during a plane crash. He was reassigned to Anchorage for the remainder of the war.
After his discharge, he moved to NYC and lived in a tenement in Hell’s Kitchen while looking for work. They scoured the papers looking for acting jobs and did some modeling to pay the bills. He finally landed an acting/directing gig at a theater looking for veterans in Asheville, NC. His work was so respected their contract was extended.
When he returned to NYC, he and Lydia continued to struggle, occasionally landing a bit part in a Broadway play. When television came along, Charlton was one of the handful of underemployed 25-year olds who helped develop the new medium, gaining a large following. His performances on television caught the attention of Los Angeles based producer Hal Wallace who wanted to sign him to a film contract. But at the time, Heston loved the stage and wanted nothing to do with Hollywood.
His first Hollywood outing was a flop and he returned to NY. His wife encouraged him to return to Hollywood and give movies one more shot. He was yet again turned down but while leaving the studio had a chance encounter with Cecil B. DeMille who was struggling to find a lead for his new film. He cast him as the lead in his new circus-themed film “The Greatest Show on Earth.”
The film was a smash hit and launched Heston as a star. The movie would go on to win an upset best picture Oscar. Cheston’s contract was sold back to Paramount after his outspoken comments on the plight of the Sioux Indians, something he learned about in filming “The Savage.”
After several more hit or miss films, none of which lived up to The Greatest Show, the Hestons were considering moving back to NY and their work in television when two life altering events occurred. First, after 11 years of marriage, Lydia was pregnant. And second, Heston was cast in DeMille’s remake of “The Ten Commandments.”
It cost $13M to make the “Ten Commandments.” It made $87M in its year-long theatrical run... going on to become the second highest grossing film of all time after “Gone With the Wind.”
He returned to Broadway, performing the lead role in the play Mister Roberts.
While The Ten Commandments received 7 Oscar nominations, Heston was not nominated for best actor, which he bore with his usual stoicism.
Heston was eager to work with Orson Welles and convinvced the studio to hire him to direct his next film “A Touch of Evil.” Welles re-wrote the script, placing himself in the lead role and downgrading Heston’s role in the film. At the time Heston supported Welles and his creative decisions and was eager to work with him. The movie would flop in America.
Accepting another historical or period role. Heston agreed to play the title character in Ben Hur. He and Lydia and baby Fraser moved to Italy. The filming scheduled and demands were grueling. Lydia took up photography and worked with Heston on set.
The Ten Commandments was a Oscar blowout winning 11 awards. It missed out on best adapted screenplay which caused an uproar by thanking non-union, second billing writers in his acceptance speech.
His outspoken defense of his colleague caught the attention of Ronald Reagan, then a struggling actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) fighting on behalf of actors to receive “residuals” (i.e. royalties for their past work).
After returning from filming El Sid alongside Sophia Loren in Italy, Heston joined the Civil Rights March in 1961 at a time when it was not popular for Hollywood stars to do so.
Heston was elected as Vice President of SAG. His biopic of El Sid would never reach the same heights as Ben Hur or The Ten Commandments, but it would be a commercial success, grossing $60M off a $6M budget.
Heston met with Dr. Martin luther King Jr. and joined him in his famous march in Washignton D.C.
Heston had unintentionally branded (typecast) himself into historical roles that were growing increasingly less appealing to mass markets and worried about his future in the film industry.
He worked his way up the SAG hierarchy and became its president in 1965.
In 1966 he visited U.S. troops in remote areas of Vietnam. As a war veteran himself, the trip had a profound effect in him and he personally wrote letters to family members for any troop who asked him (and there were quite a few).
After Reagan won the California governorship, the GOP approached Heston and asked him to run for Senate. Heston flatly refused. He had seen how quickly Hollywood had turned on Reagan after his foray into politics and wanted nothing to do with it (he would be approached numerous times by both parties and always refused).
The assassinations of MLK Jr. and President Kennedy plus the decision of LBJ (someone Heston greatly admired for all his Civil Rights accomplishments) not to run for reelection over the Vietnam War led to much political and social soul searching by Heston. He grew increasingly frustrated with the fractures in the Democratic Party.
In 1968 he and Lydia adopted a daughter Holly Ann.
Also in 1968, Heston read the novel “Monkey Planet” and pitched it for a film. The Planet of the Apes who prove a popular blockbuster that helped to ignite the science fiction genera in Hollywood while breathing new life into his own career.
Heston was reelected 5 times as SAG president (6 terms total). His tenure was marked by his efforts to promote the making of films in Hollywood instead of overseas (where it was significantly cheaper) and fought for higher pay for actors in the Guild. Yet, his tenure was marked by hypocrisy as he personally continued to shoot films overseas despite his earnest efforts to the contrary.
During this stage of his life, he faced his share of marital struggles and fights as a result of his grueling schedule and Lydia’s natural resentment as the one who gave up her career to support him. Heston, who was forever scarred by his parent’s divorce, always did whatever was necessary to keep his marriage together.
As a WWII vet he was furious with the treatment of American soldiers coming home from Vietnam, most of whom were drafted and not responsible for the debacle. He shifted his support to Nixon in the hopes he would end the Vietnam War “with honor.”
He suffered a number of cinema failures at this stage in his career (Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Call of the Wild) but he also had a couple surprise smash hits including Omega Man (i.e. I Am Legend) and Soylent Green.
In an effort to help maintain government support for the American Film Institute, he invited Nixon to present the SAG lifetime achievement award. When Watergate later broke, Heston’s embrace of Nixon was the beginning of his professional shunning in Hollywood.
Heston clashed with President Reagan over proposed budget cuts to the National Endowment of the Arts. Everyone assumed Heston and Reagan were really close, but that was never really the case. Reagan eventually blinked and left the budget for the NEA in place. Heston received much of the praise for the coup in Hollywood.
Heston had always kept his personal political views out of SAG during his presidency. He detested the election of Edward Asner in 1980/1 to the SAG presidency and his insistence on left wing activism in his official capacity. Asner revoked or denied a planned lifetime achievement award for Ronald Reagan as a result of Reagan breaking the air traffic controller strike out of a sense of union solidarity. While Heston and Reagan were not close, Heston thought the move a new low of political activism.
In the 1980s, he worked on some films written by his son Fraser.
In 1985, SAG sanctioned Heston after he publicly supported Idaho’s “right to work” law. Heston believed that Union labor was driving up the cost of movie production and actually hurting the U.S. film industry resulting I fewer films being made in the U.S.
Heston was invited to participate in a public shooting event. While not a gun fanatic, his memories of shooting with his father in Michigan were among his fondest memories. This introduced him to the NRA and he spoke out against some California propositions to ban hand guns.
The NRA was a bipartisan, pro-second amendment group. Heston agreed to speak in support of pro-second amendment events in the mid-80s and helped propel the NRA into a political force in Washington. The author laments that most people in the current generation only know Heston for his 2nd Amendment activism (i.e. the adlibbed comment that "I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands") not his commendable acting career, his commitment to his family, or his civil rights advocacy. [Personal Note: For a great many Americans, none of these things are seen as mutually exclusive.]
Heston was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2002. After his diagnoses but before it was publicly known, he was ambushed at his home by Michael Moore for candid interviews for his Bowling for Columbine documentary. He died in 2008.
May 4, 2017
Although Charlton Heston wrote several excellent autobiographies (including "The Actor's Life: Journals 1956-1976" and "In the Arena"), Marc Eliot's hefty, compelling and intimate biography stands as the definitive portrait of the complicated and controversial Oscar-winning actor and political activist.
Prolific biographer Eliot ("Cary Grant") creates a captivating portrait with the help of Heston's son and daughter (who had no editorial control) and new interviews with dozens of Heston's friends and foes. Eliot also uses the actor's files and unpublished journals. Surprisingly blunt about Heston's acting style, Eliot writes, "He played his characters literally, on their and his surface, at least in part because he was never asked to do more." And after "Touch of Evil"'s box office failure in 1958, "he would henceforth seek out the conventional, the mainstream, and the commercial, and resist films that were personal artistic statements."
CHARLTON HESTON offers plenty of juicy, behind-the-scenes tales of the making of some of his classic films, including "Planet of the Apes," "Ben-Hur" and "The Ten Commandments" (where Yul Brynner and director Cecil B. DeMille kept their exhausting pace thanks to amphetamine injections and pills). Even more fascinating is Heston's political evolution: from a liberal Kennedy supporter, marching with Martin Luther King in 1963, to a disillusioned independent who eventually--right around the time his film career sputtered out in the 1980s--became a Republican gun rights advocate and NRA spokesperson. Eliot's CHARLTON HESTON: HOLLYWOOD'S LAST ICON is an absorbing, haunting and richly detailed portrait of the iconic actor.
Fascinating and intimate, CHARLTON HESTON follows the enormously popular film star's evolution and offers a complex study in contradictions.
Prolific biographer Eliot ("Cary Grant") creates a captivating portrait with the help of Heston's son and daughter (who had no editorial control) and new interviews with dozens of Heston's friends and foes. Eliot also uses the actor's files and unpublished journals. Surprisingly blunt about Heston's acting style, Eliot writes, "He played his characters literally, on their and his surface, at least in part because he was never asked to do more." And after "Touch of Evil"'s box office failure in 1958, "he would henceforth seek out the conventional, the mainstream, and the commercial, and resist films that were personal artistic statements."
CHARLTON HESTON offers plenty of juicy, behind-the-scenes tales of the making of some of his classic films, including "Planet of the Apes," "Ben-Hur" and "The Ten Commandments" (where Yul Brynner and director Cecil B. DeMille kept their exhausting pace thanks to amphetamine injections and pills). Even more fascinating is Heston's political evolution: from a liberal Kennedy supporter, marching with Martin Luther King in 1963, to a disillusioned independent who eventually--right around the time his film career sputtered out in the 1980s--became a Republican gun rights advocate and NRA spokesperson. Eliot's CHARLTON HESTON: HOLLYWOOD'S LAST ICON is an absorbing, haunting and richly detailed portrait of the iconic actor.
Fascinating and intimate, CHARLTON HESTON follows the enormously popular film star's evolution and offers a complex study in contradictions.
August 25, 2019
I greatly enjoyed this insightful biography into one of Hollywood’s classic actors. Charlton Heston led a fascinating life. One of my favorite films has always been Ben Hur, an outstanding production that showcased Heston’s charisma.
Until this point I had not been aware of how integral Heston was in the early days of Hollywood. And even beyond that his involvement with key players and organizations during the 1960s. While the author examines much of his life in depth, my one complaint is there is far less of his personal life then there is of his show biz. There are excellent detailed accounts of the filming of such movies as El Cid and The Ten Commandments. I found these in size to be a lot of fun and they sparked my curiosity in other contemporaries to Heston.
It is admirable that the author spent a lot of time interviewing people who really knew Heston, especially those of his family. But some of it does feel like an apology for the actors right wing views and his stances on some issues that I found appealing. I would’ve rather seen a celebration of his perspective than a deconstruction that sometimes seems to put it in a negative light.
Overall this is a worthwhile read and I would highly recommend it.
Until this point I had not been aware of how integral Heston was in the early days of Hollywood. And even beyond that his involvement with key players and organizations during the 1960s. While the author examines much of his life in depth, my one complaint is there is far less of his personal life then there is of his show biz. There are excellent detailed accounts of the filming of such movies as El Cid and The Ten Commandments. I found these in size to be a lot of fun and they sparked my curiosity in other contemporaries to Heston.
It is admirable that the author spent a lot of time interviewing people who really knew Heston, especially those of his family. But some of it does feel like an apology for the actors right wing views and his stances on some issues that I found appealing. I would’ve rather seen a celebration of his perspective than a deconstruction that sometimes seems to put it in a negative light.
Overall this is a worthwhile read and I would highly recommend it.
March 8, 2023
Great audiobook. Chuck Heston definitely had an interesting life. Three of my top ten classic movies are The Planet of the Apes, Ben-Hur, and The Ten Commandments, and it was fun to read about these movies being made. Also, it was interesting how Mr. Heston drastically changed his political affiliations, which definitely tarnished his reputation towards the end. I never knew that he had marched with MLK Jr and had meetings with him about SAG’s responsibility to include more blacks in the film business. I’m assuming most people of a certain age only remember his gun rants and fights with Democrats about changes to gun laws (especially the cringeworthy golden gun NRA viral moment, ugh). Definitely a great biography!
August 19, 2017
No matter what you thought of Charlton Heston's politics, you can't help but admit that he made some terrific movies. This was a very entertaining read, full of all sorts of behind-the-scenes details and facts. There was no "dirt" on this guy because he led a very straightforward life, married to the same woman for over sixty years and a loving father, grandfather, and friend. I enjoyed it all and especially enjoyed the details about some of my favorite movies. Reading about how the famous Roman chariot race in BEN HUR was made was absolutely fascinating, and so were other interesting tidbits about some of those great movies from long ago.
January 7, 2025
A miss
What could have been a decent book becomes a chore to get through because of the lack of fact checking. One of the most glaring is a publicity shot from Planet of the Apes, claiming that the gorilla holding Hestons leash is Roddy McDowall, when he played a chimpanzee. This and the meandering path this book takes made it a chore to get through.
What could have been a decent book becomes a chore to get through because of the lack of fact checking. One of the most glaring is a publicity shot from Planet of the Apes, claiming that the gorilla holding Hestons leash is Roddy McDowall, when he played a chimpanzee. This and the meandering path this book takes made it a chore to get through.
January 2, 2024
He was an interesting man, this book seems well researched. It was great to read that he and his wife thought of themselves as a team.
June 23, 2024
Another biased, poorly-written and almost unmanageable book from Marc Eliot. He takes all sorts of details about Heston’s life, mixes them together, and comes up with a bland stew that has no sense of balance or consistency.
At times it seems like a film history reference book; at others, the author totally rushes past Heston’s work and ignores details about productions (like his soap opera appearances near the end of his career?). Then Eliot turns the story into a political power play. Along the way are all sorts of asides that have literally nothing to do with Heston. A good hundred pages could have been trimmed and the whole thing needs a reorganized edit.
The writer inserts his opinions that are unnecessary and makes unfair implications (trying to paint Heston as anti-gay during the actor’s liberal years and questioning some of the man’s amazing early-1960s anti-racism stances). Eliot includes that others consider Heston a "bad actor" but it doesn't stick--the guy won an Oscar, received raves for multiple stage productions, and had many popular box office hits.
It's filled with conjecture and rewriting history. At one point in the making of The Greatest Show on Earth, the author scoffs at other biographers' stories and claims, "If this all sound preposterous, it's because it is....More likely it was because..." then goes on to create an unsupported scenario with no factual basis simply because Eliot does not believe what others wrote! He even claims that some of Heston's own stories from his autobiography are "obviously apocryphal" with zero evidence to prove it, and even questions the honesty of the entries in Heston's own private diaries, which the writer was given special access to. Who does this jerk think he is?
But what are a few made up theories and misplaced details to this writer? He contradicts himself throughout. At one point he claims The Hawaiians was a "failure" by opening to only $2.3 million at the box office; then two months later the film Skyjacked is a "hit" opening at $2.5 million. The author also doesn't have a clue what a "cameo" is (claiming that almost everyone in the cast of the original Airport and sequel Airport 1975 were doing cameos--including Helen Hayes, who won an Oscar!).
Eliot has mistakes as well. He reports that the Robert Kennedy assassination was "one month" after Martin Luther King's similar fate (actually they were two months and one day apart). The writer also fails to understand how TV viewing works, saying that the annual TV presentation of The Ten Commandments only increases in viewership as the film progresses because the opening half is more talky, not seeing that the four-hour movie starts at 6 p.m. central time each year and on every night of the week for any broadcast TV viewing peaks between 8 and 9 p.m. central. Namely, you can't trust the guy's amateur speculations.
After reading this I greatly admire Charlton Heston for being on the right side of all sorts of issues. To see his maturing from Democrat to Republican, all in the same name of fighting for individual rights and freedoms, ends up showing how shallow and intolerant modern leftist Hollywood can be. They all love his union leadership and star status until he suddenly supports Richard Nixon and the NRA, then they defame him, threaten lawsuits, and besmirch his history. Typical bitter, lop-sided Democrats whose "tolerance" is meant only for the politically correct.
Eliot may have meant to expose Heston as illogical or too conservative but actually makes Ed Asner, George Clooney and other unfair liberals look like nutjobs that do the opposite of their claimed tolerance, representation, and inclusivity. They are hypocrites wanting to use the government and taxpayer dollars (meaning the money we average wage earners are forced to give to D.C.) toward their narrow, selfish, elitist ends while taking away rights from those they don't agree with. That is the opposite of what Charlton Heston fought for.
He's not just Hollywood's Last Icon, he was the last marquee name to use his fame to consistently fight for true Constitutional fairness and freedom for all Americans, no matter what it cost his reputation. Too bad Marc Eliot muddies the legacy by failing to put together a coherent and objective biography of a great man.
At times it seems like a film history reference book; at others, the author totally rushes past Heston’s work and ignores details about productions (like his soap opera appearances near the end of his career?). Then Eliot turns the story into a political power play. Along the way are all sorts of asides that have literally nothing to do with Heston. A good hundred pages could have been trimmed and the whole thing needs a reorganized edit.
The writer inserts his opinions that are unnecessary and makes unfair implications (trying to paint Heston as anti-gay during the actor’s liberal years and questioning some of the man’s amazing early-1960s anti-racism stances). Eliot includes that others consider Heston a "bad actor" but it doesn't stick--the guy won an Oscar, received raves for multiple stage productions, and had many popular box office hits.
It's filled with conjecture and rewriting history. At one point in the making of The Greatest Show on Earth, the author scoffs at other biographers' stories and claims, "If this all sound preposterous, it's because it is....More likely it was because..." then goes on to create an unsupported scenario with no factual basis simply because Eliot does not believe what others wrote! He even claims that some of Heston's own stories from his autobiography are "obviously apocryphal" with zero evidence to prove it, and even questions the honesty of the entries in Heston's own private diaries, which the writer was given special access to. Who does this jerk think he is?
But what are a few made up theories and misplaced details to this writer? He contradicts himself throughout. At one point he claims The Hawaiians was a "failure" by opening to only $2.3 million at the box office; then two months later the film Skyjacked is a "hit" opening at $2.5 million. The author also doesn't have a clue what a "cameo" is (claiming that almost everyone in the cast of the original Airport and sequel Airport 1975 were doing cameos--including Helen Hayes, who won an Oscar!).
Eliot has mistakes as well. He reports that the Robert Kennedy assassination was "one month" after Martin Luther King's similar fate (actually they were two months and one day apart). The writer also fails to understand how TV viewing works, saying that the annual TV presentation of The Ten Commandments only increases in viewership as the film progresses because the opening half is more talky, not seeing that the four-hour movie starts at 6 p.m. central time each year and on every night of the week for any broadcast TV viewing peaks between 8 and 9 p.m. central. Namely, you can't trust the guy's amateur speculations.
After reading this I greatly admire Charlton Heston for being on the right side of all sorts of issues. To see his maturing from Democrat to Republican, all in the same name of fighting for individual rights and freedoms, ends up showing how shallow and intolerant modern leftist Hollywood can be. They all love his union leadership and star status until he suddenly supports Richard Nixon and the NRA, then they defame him, threaten lawsuits, and besmirch his history. Typical bitter, lop-sided Democrats whose "tolerance" is meant only for the politically correct.
Eliot may have meant to expose Heston as illogical or too conservative but actually makes Ed Asner, George Clooney and other unfair liberals look like nutjobs that do the opposite of their claimed tolerance, representation, and inclusivity. They are hypocrites wanting to use the government and taxpayer dollars (meaning the money we average wage earners are forced to give to D.C.) toward their narrow, selfish, elitist ends while taking away rights from those they don't agree with. That is the opposite of what Charlton Heston fought for.
He's not just Hollywood's Last Icon, he was the last marquee name to use his fame to consistently fight for true Constitutional fairness and freedom for all Americans, no matter what it cost his reputation. Too bad Marc Eliot muddies the legacy by failing to put together a coherent and objective biography of a great man.
May 3, 2025
I've always admired Charlton Heston as one of the great actors of the 20th Century. Everyone knows him as Moses in the movie, The Ten Commandments, and some fans remember him as the chief protagonist in Planet of the Apes. I also remember him as the tough ranch hand in the movie "The Big Country" where he famously dukes it out in a memorable scene with Gregory Peck. It was this latter movie role that got me interested in knowing the man behind the movie character.
This biography by Marc Eliot is as good as it gets. (Eliot is a well-known celebrity biographer). The boom often reads like a novel, tracing Heston's childhood roots and broken home to absolute mega-movie stardom to the sad and unfortunate end resulting from the tragic scourge of Alzheimer's Disease.
One theme that seems to be common to so many Hollywood celebrities is the level of insecurity they harbor. While they can appear so masterful on the screen and seem so relaxed and confident in interviews, inside they are often exceptionally insecure about their acting ability, how they are received by audiences, and whether their career could abruptly end with several stinker movies. Despite his phenomenal success, Heston was no exception. He worried whether he'd have enough money saved up when the movie offers ceased. He worried he could not adequately express the souls of the movie characters he took on. He worried about how his work and fame would affect his family - could he be a good father to his children and a good husband for his devoted wife, Lydia?
The fact that Heston constantly dwelt on these matters tells me he deeply cared about his wife, his children, and his career.
Heston was not at all like so many leading men of his era, narcissists having affairs with his actress co-stars, partying all night long, or getting addicted to drugs or alcohol. Heston treasured his family and his life with them. They travelled together to his film locations. He was uncomfortable in romantic scenes with his leading ladies, not allowing a romance to develop on set. He made it a point to be home with his family after a day of shooting film.
In essence, Charlton Heston was a good and decent man who tried to balance his career demands and stardom with his family needs. His wife gave up her own promising acting career to raise their two children, and Heston fully realized and was ever appreciative of the sacrifices she made for him. He doted on his children, and each summer they'd go on an extended vacation together as a family.
Later in his career, Heston got deeply involved with promoting the Second Amendment right to bear arms, and became a spokesperson for the NRA, which caused him to lose friends, likely lose film opportunities, and garner great criticism from many of his more liberal Hollywood coworkers. He got into a particularly bitter war of words with Ed Asner, a politically left actor. This did not deter Heston in any way. He was a man of his convictions and he consistently acted upon those convictions.
Author Marc Eliot fills this rather lengthy volume with many such details and in the process, he fleshes out Charlton Heston and reveals a man of exceptional character and talent. I came away with the conviction that Heston was a rare star in Hollywood who did not let the intense fame and notoriety of his superb achievements go to his head and inflate his ego. In his private life, which he guarded carefully, he remained a regular man, devoted to his children, wife, marriage, and his firm set of moral values.
I enjoyed this book from start to finish as it gave me a rare and insightful look behind the tinseltown veneer of a certifiable legendary movie star. Best of all, I truly liked the man behind the veneer.
James C. Koenig
This biography by Marc Eliot is as good as it gets. (Eliot is a well-known celebrity biographer). The boom often reads like a novel, tracing Heston's childhood roots and broken home to absolute mega-movie stardom to the sad and unfortunate end resulting from the tragic scourge of Alzheimer's Disease.
One theme that seems to be common to so many Hollywood celebrities is the level of insecurity they harbor. While they can appear so masterful on the screen and seem so relaxed and confident in interviews, inside they are often exceptionally insecure about their acting ability, how they are received by audiences, and whether their career could abruptly end with several stinker movies. Despite his phenomenal success, Heston was no exception. He worried whether he'd have enough money saved up when the movie offers ceased. He worried he could not adequately express the souls of the movie characters he took on. He worried about how his work and fame would affect his family - could he be a good father to his children and a good husband for his devoted wife, Lydia?
The fact that Heston constantly dwelt on these matters tells me he deeply cared about his wife, his children, and his career.
Heston was not at all like so many leading men of his era, narcissists having affairs with his actress co-stars, partying all night long, or getting addicted to drugs or alcohol. Heston treasured his family and his life with them. They travelled together to his film locations. He was uncomfortable in romantic scenes with his leading ladies, not allowing a romance to develop on set. He made it a point to be home with his family after a day of shooting film.
In essence, Charlton Heston was a good and decent man who tried to balance his career demands and stardom with his family needs. His wife gave up her own promising acting career to raise their two children, and Heston fully realized and was ever appreciative of the sacrifices she made for him. He doted on his children, and each summer they'd go on an extended vacation together as a family.
Later in his career, Heston got deeply involved with promoting the Second Amendment right to bear arms, and became a spokesperson for the NRA, which caused him to lose friends, likely lose film opportunities, and garner great criticism from many of his more liberal Hollywood coworkers. He got into a particularly bitter war of words with Ed Asner, a politically left actor. This did not deter Heston in any way. He was a man of his convictions and he consistently acted upon those convictions.
Author Marc Eliot fills this rather lengthy volume with many such details and in the process, he fleshes out Charlton Heston and reveals a man of exceptional character and talent. I came away with the conviction that Heston was a rare star in Hollywood who did not let the intense fame and notoriety of his superb achievements go to his head and inflate his ego. In his private life, which he guarded carefully, he remained a regular man, devoted to his children, wife, marriage, and his firm set of moral values.
I enjoyed this book from start to finish as it gave me a rare and insightful look behind the tinseltown veneer of a certifiable legendary movie star. Best of all, I truly liked the man behind the veneer.
James C. Koenig
August 10, 2020
The movie stars, along with other celebrities whose livelihood is predicated on physical attributes, are not my usual figures of admiration. A biography or a memoir of personality, especially a film star, with an ostentatious narrative of "Rag-To-Riches" or "Angst-to Enlightenment," is not a read I delve into, nor a mental pacifier to appease revolting boredom. In consideration of those mentioned above, it is a deviation from my staple reading sustenance that I read this biography of Charlton Heston by Marc Eliot to my liking and that I resolved to write about it to my surprise. After all, who would have resisted reading the elevated version of the Vanity Fair offering insightful glimpses into a story of the epochal screen face in the backstage?
Charlton Heston (1923-2008) was an American actor whose impressive performances as Moses in "The Ten Commandments" and "Ben-Hur" conferred upon him armigerous status in the show business. But do not let the screen persona cloud his real-life persona as the author, a close confidante of the Hestons skillfully and fluidly relates in the book. Heston was a smart businessman, as well as a controversial figure whose political stance shifted from democratic liberalism to republican conservatism as he rode along the crest of tidal waves of time. It was Heston's modus vivendi in adhering to his set of values and principles in the ethos of times that he believed would keep him alive and purposeful until his sense and faculty of mind would permit him. He had a reasonable degree of the screen star paranoid, which dictated the livelihood and selfhood.
In addition to the life of the Hollywood titan, the intelligence about the movie business, the cast, and behind-the-curtain tidbits related to the films Heston starred is a bonus gem of the book. For example, the reason that the west coast became the capital of the movie industry was that Thomas Alba Edison, President of Motion Picture Patents Company, expelled the prurient nickelodeon movies produced mainly by the Jewish moguls from New Jersey and New York. There is more to it. Orson Wells's chronic bouts of erratic behaviors; Sophia Lauren's general tardiness on sets; and Richard Harris's perspective on Heston as being irrevocably stuck-up are amusing introspection on the personas of actors and actresses that do not seem too surprising. I believe that they played off the gleam of their real personalities in the guise of the fictional characters on screen.
This book is a comprehensive, well-written book that tells about the star of the silver screen whose roles in the movies are so monumentally remarkable that his tale of life is worthier than any of Hollywood scandals or paparazzi pictures showing celebs in lousy appearance. The contained passion from the phosphorene of his blue eyes, the arduousness of his forward chin, and the powerful torso made Heston as the perfect Pygmalion that even the most stubborn director cannot oversee or denigrate. He was one of the few actors whose laconic flatness worked up internal aspects of the characters through voice and a minimum of gestures that did not come across as a flamboyant flair of or a lack of method acting. For this reason alone, this book is worth reading.
Charlton Heston (1923-2008) was an American actor whose impressive performances as Moses in "The Ten Commandments" and "Ben-Hur" conferred upon him armigerous status in the show business. But do not let the screen persona cloud his real-life persona as the author, a close confidante of the Hestons skillfully and fluidly relates in the book. Heston was a smart businessman, as well as a controversial figure whose political stance shifted from democratic liberalism to republican conservatism as he rode along the crest of tidal waves of time. It was Heston's modus vivendi in adhering to his set of values and principles in the ethos of times that he believed would keep him alive and purposeful until his sense and faculty of mind would permit him. He had a reasonable degree of the screen star paranoid, which dictated the livelihood and selfhood.
In addition to the life of the Hollywood titan, the intelligence about the movie business, the cast, and behind-the-curtain tidbits related to the films Heston starred is a bonus gem of the book. For example, the reason that the west coast became the capital of the movie industry was that Thomas Alba Edison, President of Motion Picture Patents Company, expelled the prurient nickelodeon movies produced mainly by the Jewish moguls from New Jersey and New York. There is more to it. Orson Wells's chronic bouts of erratic behaviors; Sophia Lauren's general tardiness on sets; and Richard Harris's perspective on Heston as being irrevocably stuck-up are amusing introspection on the personas of actors and actresses that do not seem too surprising. I believe that they played off the gleam of their real personalities in the guise of the fictional characters on screen.
This book is a comprehensive, well-written book that tells about the star of the silver screen whose roles in the movies are so monumentally remarkable that his tale of life is worthier than any of Hollywood scandals or paparazzi pictures showing celebs in lousy appearance. The contained passion from the phosphorene of his blue eyes, the arduousness of his forward chin, and the powerful torso made Heston as the perfect Pygmalion that even the most stubborn director cannot oversee or denigrate. He was one of the few actors whose laconic flatness worked up internal aspects of the characters through voice and a minimum of gestures that did not come across as a flamboyant flair of or a lack of method acting. For this reason alone, this book is worth reading.
October 11, 2018
Marc Eliot has published many biographies of Hollywood stars, though this is the first I've read. The book's pace is just about perfect, moving quickly through his childhood into his early struggle to establish himself as an actor. After reluctantly taking film roles in Hollywood, Heston landed the role of Moses in Cecil B DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" early in his career, which, after some fits and starts, established him as a leading actor. Eliot's book is at its best while weaving Charlton Heston's personal life around the series of acting roles he took on. This well-written biography was enjoyable to read, presenting a definitive though not exhausting account of the actor's life.
July 22, 2019
I have long been a fan of Charlton Heston - several of his films are on my all time favorites list. I was aware of some details of his life; I found it very interesting that he lived in Wilmette, IL which is also my mother's home town. And he also attended New Trier High School as did my mother, tho she was 7 years ahead of him. I knew his movies, of course, and his political activism, especially his NRA involvement. Now, thanks to this book, I know so much more. Especially admirable is his 64 year marriage to the only woman he ever dated! This is a very well written, well researched and very fair account of the amazing life of Charlton Heston.
October 15, 2022
initially tightly written this shares his childhood, parents divorced when he was young, he gets a new name, school, chase skirt, school acting, marry, wwii, get out, move to nyc for live tv jobs, movies.
difficulties with directors, co-stars, and funding$. makes it big but no good follow up material, string of unmemorable films, children, travel. eventually some better films.
approached about running for office by desperate political operators, he declines, participates in sag, presidential encounters, visit war zones.
a nasty exchange with ed asner causes him to act in tv and on stage before eventually to the big screen. insightful, swearing, rip.
difficulties with directors, co-stars, and funding$. makes it big but no good follow up material, string of unmemorable films, children, travel. eventually some better films.
approached about running for office by desperate political operators, he declines, participates in sag, presidential encounters, visit war zones.
a nasty exchange with ed asner causes him to act in tv and on stage before eventually to the big screen. insightful, swearing, rip.
June 1, 2017
Marc Eliot presents a thorough description of a good man who loved his job...but never let his "job" get in the way of his convictions. He describes, sometimes in less-than-flattering-terms, Charlton Heston as an actor, a husband, a father, an advocate, and a controversial figure who wasn't afraid of a fight. I was always a side-line Charlton Heston fan (I liked his work, but never "followed" him), but this book makes me appreciate what he achieved in his lifetime. A good read for anyone who wants to know what made Mr. Heston "tick".
August 13, 2017
A well researched book. Charlton Heston accomplished a lot during his time. If I divided the book into thirds. Then I enjoyed the first third and the last third the most. The story unfolded and moved vey quickly in those sections. The middle of the book was a bit slower. It dealt with each movie Chuck was in. Who directed the movie, who the co-stars were, where did the story come from and where did the money come from to make the movie. But overall, a great book. The movie "Moses, and the Ten Commandments," is still, one of my favorite movies to this day.
November 9, 2020
Not sure. After being published after the passing of his brother,sister and his mother to write another book. A lot of information found about his family once his sister in law died. Like they entire family are all Carter’s. All have the same father and mother and his siblings changed their name to Heston after their father died Russell Whitford Carter they wanted there step fathers last name, but waited until their biological father passed. Kinda Sad. Interesting Man excellent actor his grand nephew following in his footsteps.
June 4, 2022
Highly informative and an enjoyable read. I could not put this book down. It read so well. It also described the life of CH in great detail. His acting, his personal life, and his politics, plus interesting snippets of triva, all in a balanced manner. I was surprised at times. I never knew or suspected that Heston had suffered from an unhappy divorce as a child. Also, I never knew or suspected that he felt the pangs of doubt about his career and his acting. Great book. Recommended.
RIP Charlton Heston.
RIP Charlton Heston.
November 24, 2018
I enjoyed the beginning, covering more of Heston's personal life than the remainder of the book, which shifted to the typical mish-mash of film roles/production/direction, interspersed with political activism/guild bickering - every bit of which can easily be found online.
The author isn't responsible for the multiple editing mistakes, but I thought the inclusion of his personal opinions scattered throughout were unnecessary.
The author isn't responsible for the multiple editing mistakes, but I thought the inclusion of his personal opinions scattered throughout were unnecessary.
May 27, 2024
Charlton Heston: Hollywood's last icon
As always I learned so much. I am not impressed with his acting ability but rather his huge list of performances on screen, on TV and on stage. His enthusiasm was daunting allowing him to make choices that often did not burnish his reputation. I find it very interesting to watch some of his movies now that I know more about what went on behind the scenes. Absolutely fascinating I had
As always I learned so much. I am not impressed with his acting ability but rather his huge list of performances on screen, on TV and on stage. His enthusiasm was daunting allowing him to make choices that often did not burnish his reputation. I find it very interesting to watch some of his movies now that I know more about what went on behind the scenes. Absolutely fascinating I had
November 3, 2017
Yawn. I thought his life more interesting before he became a star. I know his son gave access to personal artifacts but the only insight I gained is Heston was a product of his time and basically thought actresses were background. And after seeing Planet of the Apes recently, his acting was very mediocre. So is this book
April 13, 2018
A goodreads giveaway
An interesting biography of one of Hollywood's leading actors. I knew about the high points of Heston's public life but learned much about Heston's life and personality. The book is well written and an easy read. My only complaint is many of the footnotes are a distraction and do not add to the understanding of the events.
An interesting biography of one of Hollywood's leading actors. I knew about the high points of Heston's public life but learned much about Heston's life and personality. The book is well written and an easy read. My only complaint is many of the footnotes are a distraction and do not add to the understanding of the events.
May 10, 2025
I had read this book out of curiosity. I enjoyed reading this book because I learned more about Charlton Heston's childhood, his family, his education, his service in the air force, his marriage to Lydia, their children, and his acting career. I loved that it was both informative and engaging. I though the book was well written. It is a must read.
May 17, 2017
Great read!!
As a fan of Mr. Heston's film and television work, I was completely surprised by this book and how much I didn't know about the man and the star. I'm an even bigger fan now!! Highly recommend this book!
As a fan of Mr. Heston's film and television work, I was completely surprised by this book and how much I didn't know about the man and the star. I'm an even bigger fan now!! Highly recommend this book!
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