Charlton Heston, 84, Dead. Damn Dirty Apes Sought for Questioning
By PlumcakeI loved Charlton Heston.
I love Charlton Heston because as an honorary Texan, he held dear at least two, if not all three, of the Pillars of Texas Life, namely Jesus, guns and barbeque.
He was also the unchallenged master of the “Greased Up For Jesus” film genre and shaped an entire generation’s visual ideas of the Bible. Seriously, what does Moses look like in your head? Exactly.
In fact, I’m pretty sure that from 1956 to 1963 any religion that didn’t feature a cinematic spectacular with a ripped dude in an equally ripped loin cloth, all slicked up with vaseline and righteousness wasn’t even protected under the Bill of Rights.
We’ll miss you Chuck!
April 7th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Sorry Plumcake. Count me out of the “missing you” crowd. Can we now finally pry his gun from him? I also never found him to be a particularly good actor, quite the opposite in fact.
April 7th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I’m with you, Plumcake. What can you say about a guy who thought for himself, worked hard, and generally behaved with dignity? Certainly out of place in today’s Hollywood. Just because he supported some causes that were unpopular by the entertainment industry’s standards is no reason to take away the fact that he was a gentleman to his core. If he’d been a vocal supporter of more “acceptable” causes, this wouldn’t even be in question. Ah well! I’m going to tape a cotton-ball beard to my face and take my replica of the Statute of Liberty to the range and exercise my 2nd amendment rights to enjoy my husband’s 12-gauge in celebration of Mr. Heston’s life. And no, that’s not a euphemism. Although it does sound vaguely dirty.
April 7th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Just FYI - I always thought he was a bad actor, excuse me, a bad over actor. It had nothing to do with his political views. And I really don’t care what the “entertainment industry” standards are as I have my own set of standards and my own free will. It just so happens that my standards don’t include the promiscuous proliferation of weaponry as a healthy hobby.
April 7th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I guess it just seems that both your posts conflate Heston’s career with his political stances. That is, in the first sentence of your second post, you mention bad acting - and hey, I won’t argue with that, except to say that sometimes overacting makes for cracking good entertainment. Personally, sometimes I think Alan Rickman overacts in the Harry Potter films, but he’s still my favorite part of them. (Snape is just so EEEEEVILLL!) But then you mention his support of gun rights as a criticism in the last sentence. So you see, I think sometimes people are far more willing to be highly critical of an entertainment figure when they disagree with their stances. Take, on the other end of the spectrum, Jane Fonda as an example. I know people who can’t give their opinion about her work without mentioning “Hanoi Jane” and her support for liberal causes. And some actors - particularly the ones who can’t stop flogging their pet issue on every talk show, interview, plane ride, and phone call - make it nearly impossible to separate their political views from their work. But there are some people out there who conduct themselves in such a manner that it seems to me that your assessment of their career and their political views, and should, be separate things. Matt Damon springs to mind. As did, for me, Charlton Heston. I don’t see that he deserves the scorn heaped upon him as a person just for his support of certain hot-button issues.
Besides, maybe he wasn’t the greatest actor of his generation, but he acted in a tenor suiting the medium in which he was cast. I mean, how do you NOT overact playing (a) Moses, or (b) the dude who figures out the damn dirty apes destroyed the earth. He was acting in melodramas. It was okay to be melodramatic.
Oh, and by the way, Soylent Green is people.
April 7th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Dammit! I just lost a post. It was articulate, well-reasoned, and subtle, and it made a great Soylent Green joke.
Suffice it to say that I’m just saying I think people are too quick to judge a person’s character by his support for certain issues. Maybe you disagree vehemently with Heston, but I don’t think he as a person ever called for the scorn that was heaped upon him (see, e.g., “Bowling for Columbine”). I don’t understand the tendency we have today to conflate the quality of a person with his or her political views. It’s not limited to one end of the political spectrum or another, and I see it in myself as well. But I try to judge the person’s work and character, rather than their ideas. (I mean, I judge the ideas as ideas, but not as a reflection of whether the person has added something to the universe by his or her life.) Granted some people make it easier than others. I’m far more likely to give the benefit of the doubt to, for example, Matt Damon than Jane Fonda. But then, Matt is hot, and Jane is… Jane.
And re: the overacting - wasn’t that sort of called for in the roles he played? I mean, most of his famous roles were in grand melodramas. One of them featured guys dressed as apes fairly prominently. Seems to me that a subtle, nuanced performance wouldn’t have been as memorable.
April 7th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
valawhoo:
I think you might appreciate the following “article”:
http://www.imao.us/archives/009883.html#comments
Recognizing that many commenters endeavor to keep Manolo politics-free, I will note that the above link goes to a site that specializes in political satire. I provide the link only in response to valawhoo’s comment, because I think she will find it amusing. But it will certainly not be to everyone’s taste.
April 7th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I’d just like to say the anti-gun poster started it;)
April 7th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Damn dirty apes! YOU FINALLY DID IT!!!
If nothing else, where would Mystery Science Theater 3000 be without Heston.
And now if you’ll excuse me, the puppy is biting my toes to get my attention, so I’d better get off the Intertubes.
April 7th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
IT’S A MADHOUSE!!! A MADHOUSE!!!! He was an actor of his generation. Politics aside (yes, I said that! LOL!) I loved Solent Green and the Planet of the Apes. RIP.
April 8th, 2008 at 1:32 am
And now, Soylent Green can be Charlton Heston!
April 8th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Ewwww…that’s yucky, raincoaster!
Like him or not, he was one of the few remaining actors who had that “larger-than-life” aura about him. His roles were very memorable, and look how much they’ve penetrated our consciousness and popular culture. He definitely left his mark upon the world, and will not soon (if ever) be forgotten.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:39 am
My favorite Charlton Heston part was actually his rather small role as The Player King in Branaugh’s Hamlet, which I thought showed his subtlety as well as his stature. It was an interesting role toward the end of his public life. My thoughts go out to his family. A marriage of 63 years is unheard of in Hollywood these days. He was from a different time.
And gemdiva, don’t forget that Mr. Heston marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. (far before it was socially acceptable to be part of the civil rights movement), as well as being a vocal supporter of the Second Amendment. He stood up for his beliefs, whether or not they were popular, and his career did suffer. I wonder how many current actors in Hollywood would do the same?
April 15th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
La BellaDonna salutes Mr. Heston, his memory, his dedication, the pleasure he gave to those who enjoyed his work, his willingness to stand up for other people’s rights, whether it was popular or not, and her thoughts and well-wishes go out to his family.