Charlton Heston Dies At 84

“From my cold, dead hands!”

Legendary actor, civil rights leader and political activist Charlton Heston passed away today, at the age of 84. He died at his home with Lydia, his wife of 64 years, at his side.

The Oscar-winning actor who played some of the most famous roles in Hollywood history including Moses parting the Red Sea, Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel and Ben-Hur driving a Roman chariot,
has died, his family said.

Heston had suffered from symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease since 2002. He died at home with his wife of 64 years, Lydia, by his side. He was loved by his two children, Fraser Clarke Heston and Holly Heston Rochell, and his three grandchildren, Jack Alexander Heston, Ridley Rochell and Charlie Rochell.

Here is a press release by his family:
“To his loving friends, colleagues and fans, we appreciate your
heartfelt prayers and support. Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. He was known for his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders and resonating voice, and, of course, for the roles he played. Indeed, he
committed himself to every role with passion, and pursued every cause with unmatched enthusiasm and integrity.”

Heston stood 6-feet-3-inches, and his baritone voice, iron jaw, aquiline nose and rippling muscles lent masculine strength and sex appeal to many of his roles, any number of which he played bare-chested. He gained fame as Moses in the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille epic, “The Ten Commandments”.

Heston was the head of the Screen Actors Guild and chairman of the American Film Institute. A Democrat who supported civil rights, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. in the early 1960s, Heston, like his friend Ronald Reagan, became conservative.

Heston became a staunch opponent of gun control. He was elected president of the National Rifle Association in 1998, he proved to be a powerful campaigner against what he saw as the government’s attempt to infringe on a Constitutional guarantee — the right to bear arms.

In Mr. Heston, the N.R.A. found its embodiment of pioneer values — pride, independence and valor. In a speech at the N.R.A.’s annual convention in 2000, he brought the audience to its feet with a ringing attack on gun-control advocates. Paraphrasing an N.R.A. bumper sticker (“I’ll give you my gun when you take it from my cold, dead hands”) he waved a replica of a colonial musket above his head and shouted defiantly, “From my cold, dead hands!”

Heston won the Academy Award for his role in Ben Her in 1959. He starred in over 100 films in his career. Heston was known for his infectious sense of humor. In his own words, “I have lived such a wonderful life! I’ve lived enough for two people.”