Charlton Heston was born on October 4, 1923 in Evanston, Illinois, USA and died on April 5, 2008 in Beverly Hills, California, USA. He was an American Academy Award–winning actor of film, theater and television.

He made his film debut in an amateur production of Peer Gynt (1941) and, after air force war service and further theatre experience, his Broadway debut in Antony and Cleopatra (1947).

He parted the Red Sea as Moses in The Ten Commandments (1956) and won an unforgettable chariot race in Ben Hur (1959), which won 11 Oscars, including best actor for Heston.

He also played an 11th-century Spanish warrior in El Cid (1961), British Gen. Charles "Chinese" Gordon fighting an Islamic warrior priest in Khartoum (1966) and an astronaut held captive by a society of intelligent gorilla rulers in Planet of the Apes (1968).

Beginning with The Three Musketeers (1973), Heston's time as a Hollywood leading man began to draw to a close and he was seen in an increasing number of supporting roles and cameos. He starred in the prime-time soap, The Colbys from 1985 to 1987, his only stint on series television.

Heston married Lydia Marie Clarke in 1944. They have a son, director Fraser Clarke Heston and an adopted daughter, Holly Ann Heston.

In later years Heston applied his rugged good looks and dignified manner to conservative political causes; most notably, he became president of the National Rifle Association. Heston announced in August of 2002 that he had early symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease. He finished his NRA term in April of 2003, and made no further public appearances until his death in 2008. He wrote the memoirs The Actor's Life (1978) and In the Arena (1995).

Filmography

• My Father, Rua Alguem 5555 (2003)
• Ben Hur (2003) (TV) (voice)
• The Order (2001)
• Planet of the Apes (2001)
• Cats & Dogs (2001) (voice)
• Town & Country (2001)
• "The Outer Limits" (1 episode, 2000)
• Any Given Sunday (1999)
• Gideon (1999)
• "Camino de Santiago" (1999) (mini) TV mini-series
• Bagpipe: Instrument of War - Part 1 (1998) (TV)
• "Sworn to Secrecy: Secrets of War" (1998) TV series
• Armageddon (1998/I) (voice)
• Bagpipe: Instrument of War - Part 2 (1998) (TV)
• Hercules (1997) (voice)
• Hamlet (1996)
• Alaska (1996)
• The Dark Mist (1996) (voice)
• In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
• The Avenging Angel (1995) (TV)
• "The Great Battles of the Civil War" (1994) (mini) TV mini-series (voice)
• True Lies (1994)
• "SeaQuest DSV" (1 episode, 1994)
• Texas (1994) (TV)
• Tombstone (1993)
• Wayne's World 2 (1993)
• "Saturday Night Live" (2 episodes, 1987-1993)
• Noel (1992) (TV) (voice)
• Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232 (1992) (TV)
• Gengis Khan (1992)
• The Crucifer of Blood (1991) (TV)
• Cults: Saying No Under Pressure (1991) (V)
• Almost an Angel (1990)
• The Little Kidnappers (1990) (TV)
• Solar Crisis (1990)
• Treasure Island (1990) (TV)
• Original Sin (1989) (TV)
• Call from Space (1989) (voice)
• A Man for All Seasons (1988) (TV)
• Christmas Night with the Two Ronnies (1987) (TV)
• "The Two Ronnies" (1 episode, 1987)
• Proud Men (1987) (TV)
• "The Colbys" (49 episodes, 1985-1987)
• "Dynasty" (3 episodes, 1985)
• Nairobi Affair (1984) (TV)
• "Chiefs" (1983) (mini) TV mini-series
• Mother Lode (1982)
• The Awakening (1980)
• The Mountain Men (1980)
• Gray Lady Down (1978)
• Crossed Swords (1977)
• Two-Minute Warning (1976)
• Midway (1976)
• The Last Hard Men (1976)
• The Fun of Your Life (1975)
• Earthquake (1974)
• The Four Musketeers (1974)
• Airport 1975 (1974)
• The Three Musketeers (1973)
• Soylent Green (1973)
• The Call of the Wild (1972)
• Skyjacked (1972)
• The Special London Bridge Special (1972)
• Antony and Cleopatra (1972)
• The Omega Man (1971)
• The Hawaiians (1970)
• Julius Caesar (1970)
• Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
• Number One (1969)
• Will Penny (1968)
• Planet of the Apes (1968)
• "Hallmark Hall of Fame" (2 episodes, 1963-1968)
• Counterpoint (1967)
• All About People (1967)
• Khartoum (1966)
• "A Whole Scene Going" (1 episode, 1966)
• What Is a Boy (1966) (TV)
• The War Lord (1965)
• The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
• Major Dundee (1965)
• The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
• The Patriots (1963) (TV)
• 55 Days at Peking (1963)
• Diamond Head (1963)
• The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962)
• El Cid (1961)
• "Alcoa Premiere" (1 episode, 1961)
• Ben-Hur (1959)
• The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959)
• The Buccaneer (1958)
• The Big Country (1958)
• Touch of Evil (1958)
• Screen Snapshots: Salute to Hollywood (1958)
• "Playhouse 90" (2 episodes, 1956-1958)
• "Shirley Temple's Storybook" (1 episode, 1958)
• "Climax!" (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
• "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" (2 episodes, 1951-1957)
• Three Violent People (1956)
• The Ten Commandments (1956)
• "General Electric Theater" (1 episode, 1955)
• Lucy Gallant (1955)
• "Omnibus" (1 episode, 1955)
• "Robert Montgomery Presents" (3 episodes, 1952-1955)
• The Private War of Major Benson (1955)
• The Far Horizons (1955)
• Secret of the Incas (1954)
• The Naked Jungle (1954)
• "Danger" (1 episode, 1954)
• "Your Show of Shows" (3 episodes, 1951-1954)
• Bad for Each Other (1953)
• "Medallion Theatre" (1 episode, 1953)
• Arrowhead (1953)
• Pony Express (1953)
• The President's Lady (1953)
• "The Philco Television Playhouse" (2 episodes, 1950-1953)
• Ruby Gentry (1952)
• The Savage (1952)
• "Curtain Call" (1 episode, 1952)
• "Studio One" (12 episodes, 1949-1952)
• The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
• "Lux Video Theatre" (1 episode, 1951)
• "Suspense" (3 episodes, 1949-1951)
• Dark City (1950)
• Julius Caesar (1950)
• "The Clock" (1 episode, 1950)
• Peer Gynt (1941)

Awards

• Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement 1997
• ShoWest Award Lifetime Achievement 1984
• Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award 1978
• Screen Actors Guild Award Life Achievement 1972
• Cecil B. DeMille Award 1967
• Golden Globe Award World Film Favorite - Male 1962
• Academy Award Best Actor in a Leading Role "Ben-Hur" 1960
• Theatre World Award 1950