Some thoughts on the death of Charlton Heston . . .
Charlton Heston was one of those Hollywood actors I always considered to be of great stature. Even his name - Charlton Heston - carried a sense of majesty. Calling him "Chuck" didn't cut it. Because of his association with the National Rifle Association in his last years - not to mention the way Michael Moore inadvertently sandbagged him in Bowling For Columbine - younger generations will remember him less fondly, but I come here to praise, not bury.
Consider, if you will, his great performances in Ben Hur and El Cid as evidence of his talent and his craft, and consider also his artistic integrity: Heston wouldn't involve himself in any of the sequels to Planet of the Apes because he was opposed to the idea of movie franchises. Also, he was an avid supporter of the National Endowment of the Arts and considered Shakespeare to the the benchmark for any serious actor - even though he worked in Hollywood, the least serious place on the planet. He even had a capacity for self-deprecation (as anyone who remembers his guest hosting stint on "Saturday Night Live" will remember).
Put it all together, and Heston left a legacy in which the good outweighed the bad. As for his conservative politics . . . well, he always said it was a free country, and he had the right to be a Republican.
Seems sensible enough to me.
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