On this day in 1924, Charlton Heston was born in Evanston, Illinois. Known for such epic roles as Moses in The Ten Commandments (1956), and Judah Ben Hur in Ben Hur (1959), Heston’s larger-than-life acting has seared some of the most histrionic onscreen moments into the consciousness of popular culture. Whether cursing the loss of planet Earth to a bunch of apes (Planet of the Apes, 1968), or attempting to spread the revelation to the masses that “Soylent Green is people,” (Soylent Green, 1973) Heston embodies the American vision of what we would hope to be in such devastating moments: steel-jawed, resolute, yet utterly heartbroken at such a loss of innocence.
Factoid: Charlton Heston served as President of the Screen Actor’s Guild from 1965 to 1971, President of the American Film Institute from 1983 to 2002, and was one of the first members of the National Council on the Arts.
Photo courtesy of A.M.P.A.S.
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