I am deeply saddened by the passing of the one and only Charlton Heston.
Regardless of how you feel about the political stances he took late in life, there's no denying his brilliance as an actor.
Those far more eloquent than I have written moving exposition on why he will be missed.
Case in point, see my husband's blog: http://popculturepetridish.blogspot.com/
But I'd like to toss in a brief 2 cents of my own.
I think my first exposure to Charlton Heston was probably Ben Hur- I remember watching it as a small child with my mother. Chuck was a miraculous combination of every man and every man's ideal. He brought a kind of gutsy realism to his performance that I find hard to capture in words. His performance was riveting.
Then I saw the Planet of the Apes, a film which still gives me goosebumps to this day. The fact that an actor of his caliber would choose to be in a science fiction film lent a seriousness to the film that lesser actors might not have been able to pull off, especially in 1967!
His "Taylor" is not exactly likable (as is often the case with Heston's sci-fi characters) but despite his machismo and gruff, disgruntled, sick-of-mankind exterior, he's got enough depth and sensitivity to draw you in completely, until you as an audience member feel inexorably intertwined with his character. His earth-shattering (literally) discovery is your earth-shattering discovery. Gives me goosebumps every time.
I have many other beloved performances that I could mention (Soylent Green, Omega Man, Three Musketeers, Airport 75, Skyjacked, Earthquake, 55 days at Peking, The 10 Commandments, etc). But I will just close with this thought:
Is there an actor alive that can deliver screams of frustration and anger better than Chuck?!
Thank you Mr. Heston, for everything.
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