Charlton Heston
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Charlton Heston (October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor, renowned for his towering screen presence and roles in some of Hollywood’s most famous epics. Born John Charles Carter in Illinois, he discovered his passion for acting in school, studied drama at Northwestern University, and began his career on stage and in live television before transitioning to film. He first gained major attention in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth and then became an international star with his performances as Moses in The Ten Commandments and Judah Ben‑Hur in Ben‑Hur, the latter earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Heston went on to headline a wide range of big‑budget films, including El Cid, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Planet of the Apes, and The Omega Man, establishing himself as one of the most recognizable leading men of mid‑20th‑century cinema. Beyond acting, he was active in public life, supporting civil rights in the 1960s and later becoming a prominent conservative voice and president of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003. He retired from public life after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2002 and died on April 5, 2008, in Beverly Hills, California, leaving behind a legacy as both a cinematic icon and a polarizing political figure.
Known for
Credits
Ben-Hur (1959)
as Judah Ben-Hur
Hercules (1997)
as Narrator (voice)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
as George Taylor
Planet of the Apes (2001)
as Zaius (uncredited)
Armageddon (1998)
as Narration (voice)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
as Moses
True Lies (1994)
as Spencer Trilby
Tombstone (1993)
as Henry Hooker
In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
as Jackson Harglow
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
as Taylor
Soylent Green (1973)
as Detective Robert Thorn
Any Given Sunday (1999)
as AFFA Football Commissioner
Touch of Evil (1958)
as Ramon Miguel Vargas
Midway (1976)
as Capt. Matthew Garth
Treasure Island (1990)
as Long John Silver
The Three Musketeers (1973)
as Cardinal Richelieu
The Order (2001)
as Professor Finley
Cats & Dogs (2001)
as The Mastiff (voice)
Texas (1995)
as Narrator
Forever Hollywood (1999)
as Self
Counterpoint (1967)
as Lionel Evans
The Big Country (1958)
as Steve Leech
Mother Lode (1982)
as Silas McGee / Ian McGee
Christmas from Hollywood (2003)
as Self (archive footage)
Bowling for Columbine (2002)
as Self - NRA President
Earthquake (1974)
as Stewart Graff
Wayne's World 2 (1993)
as Good Actor
Khartoum (1966)
as Gen. Charles 'Chinese' Gordon
Hamlet (1996)
as Player King
55 Days at Peking (1963)
as Maj. Matt Lewis
The Last Hard Men (1976)
as Sam Burgade
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
as John the Baptist
Let Poland Be Poland (1982)
as Self - Co-Host
Airports (2025)
Actor
The Prince and the Pauper (1977)
as Henry VIII
El Cid (1961)
as El Cid Rodrigo de Vivar
Airport 1975 (1974)
as Alan Murdock
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
as Brad Braden
A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King (2011)
as Self (archive footage)
The Making of 'Tombstone' (2002)
as Self
The Omega Man (1971)
as Robert Neville
Edith Head: The Paramount Years (2002)
as Self (archive footage)
Rowan & Martin at the Movies (1968)
as Self
The Four Musketeers (1974)
as Cardinal Richelieu
An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. (1986)
Actor
The Naked Jungle (1954)
as Christopher Leiningen
Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary (1989)
as Self
Major Dundee (1965)
as Major Amos Charles Dundee
Yesterday's Tomorrows (1999)
as Self
Forbidden Area (1956)
as Col. Jesse Price
Pony Express (1953)
as Captain William Frank 'Buffalo Bill' Cody
Jane Eyre (1949)
as Edward Rochester
Directed by William Wyler (1986)
as Self
The Making of the Greatest Story Ever Told (2017)
as Self
The Lord Protector (1996)
as Narrator (voice)
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
as Michelangelo
Gray Lady Down (1978)
as Captain Paul Blanchard
The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959)
as John Sands
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line (1997)
as Self
The Call of the Wild (1972)
as John Thornton
Alaska (1996)
as Perry
Almost an Angel (1990)
as God
The Awakening (1980)
as Matthew Corbeck
The Mountain Men (1980)
as Bill Tyler
The Far Horizons (1955)
as Lt. William Clark
Will Penny (1967)
as Will Penny
The War Lord (1965)
as Chrysagon
All Star Party for 'Dutch' Reagan (1985)
as Self
Three Violent People (1956)
as Colt Saunders
Secret of the Incas (1954)
as Harry Steel
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift (2010)
as (archive footage)
Alaska: Spirit of the Wild (1998)
as Self - Narrator (voice)
The Taming of the Shrew (1950)
as Petruchio
A Man for All Seasons (1988)
as Sir Thomas More
This Is Your Life: 30th Anniversary Special (1981)
as Self
Solar Crisis (1992)
as Adm. "Skeet" Kelso
Two-Minute Warning (1976)
as Capt. Peter Holly
The Buccaneer (1958)
as Gen. Andrew Jackson
Call from Space (1989)
as Alien (voice)
Skyjacked (1972)
as Capt. Henry 'Hank' O'Hara
Children of the Civil Rights (2015)
as Self (archival footage)
Antony and Cleopatra (1972)
as Marc Antony
A Night on Mount Edna (1990)
as Self
Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible: Daniel and the Lion's Den (2003)
as Self - Host
The Special London Bridge Special (1972)
as Tennis Player
Vietnam! Vietnam! (1971)
as Narrator (voice)
Town & Country (2001)
as Mr. Clayborne
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970)
as Self (archive footage)
Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels (1996)
as Self
Julius Caesar (1970)
as Marc Antony
Arrowhead (1953)
as Ed Bannon
Ruby Gentry (1952)
as Boake Tackman
All-Time Movie Greats (1988)
as Self (archive footage)
Dark City (1950)
as Danny Haley
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: The Garden of Eden (2003)
as Self - Host
Charlton Heston: Radical to Right Wing (2023)
as Self (archive footage)
Diamond Head (1962)
as Richard 'King' Howland
Studio One: Wuthering Heights (1950)
as Heathcliff
Ben Hur (2003)
as Ben Hur (voice)
The Savage (1952)
as James 'Jim' Aherne Jr. / War Bonnet
Fun in the Big Country (1958)
as Self
Behind the Planet of the Apes (1998)
as Self - 'Taylor'
The Hawaiians (1970)
as Whip Hoxworth
Symphony for the Spire (1992)
Actor
Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic (2019)
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (2014)
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
The Making of Midway (2001)
as Self
The Madding Crowd (2017)
as Self (archive footage)
The Crucifer of Blood (1991)
as Sherlock Holmes
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004)
as Self (archive footage)
The Mystery of the Sphinx (1993)
as Narrator
Charlton Heston: For All Seasons (1995)
as Self
The Avenging Angel (1995)
as Brigham Young
Hail Satan? (2019)
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire (2014)
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal (1986)
as Self
I Am Richard Pryor (2019)
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
Night of the Dragon (1965)
as Narrator
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood (1987)
as Self
Planet of the Apes: A Milestone of Science Fiction (2024)
as Self (archive footage)
Energy: A National Issue (1977)
as Narrator (voice)
Television: The First Fifty Years (1999)
as Self
Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232 (1992)
as Captain Al Haynes
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)
as Self – Interviewee
The Private War of Major Benson (1955)
as Maj. Bernard R. 'Barney' Benson
Gideon (1998)
as Addison Sinclair
A Century of Cinema (1994)
as Self
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia (2013)
as Self (archive footage)
Bad for Each Other (1953)
as Dr. Tom Owen
The President's Lady (1953)
as Andrew Jackson
Barry Norman in Celebrity City (1982)
as Self
My Father (2003)
as Josef Mengele
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Jonah and the Whale (2003)
as Self - Host
Bienvenido Mr. Heston (2016)
as Self (archive footage)
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Joshua and the Battle of Jericho (2003)
as Self - Host
Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western (1997)
as Self
Planet of the Apes Test Reel (1966)
as Thomas
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: David and Goliath (2003)
as Self - Host
AFI: 100 Years... 100 Movies... 10th Anniversary Edition (2007)
as Self (archive footage)
Lasting Love (2003)
Actor
Hollywood sul Tevere (2009)
Actor
Hollywood at Your Feet: The Story of the Chinese Theatre Footprints (2000)
as Self
The Bible According to Hollywood (1994)
as Self
Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema (2005)
as Self (archive footage)
America at the Movies (1976)
as Narrator
The Mysterious Origins of Man (1996)
as Self - Host
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Samson and Delilah (2003)
as Self - Host
Original Sin (1989)
as Louis Mancini
Cults: Saying No Under Pressure (1991)
as Narrator
Proud Men (1987)
as Charley MacLeod Sr.
The Orson Welles Story (1982)
as Self
The Stars Salute the U.S. Olympic Team (1984)
as Self - Performer
Greatest Heroes and Legends: The Story of Moses (2008)
as Self - Host / Moses
The Little Kidnappers (1990)
as James MacKenzie
Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero (1998)
as Self
Yul Brynner, the Magnificent (2020)
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
Number One (1969)
as Ron "Cat" Catlan
Air Force One: The Planes and the Presidents (1991)
as Host and Narrator
The Making of The Ten Commandments (2003)
as Self (archive footage)
Love in Hollywood (1996)
as Self
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects (1994)
as Self
Charlton Heston Presents The Bible: The Story of Moses (1993)
as Self - Host
A Look at the World of 'Soylent Green' (1973)
as Self
The Legacy of Malthus (1994)
as Self (Population Institute, 1993) (archive footage)
Uncertain Verification (1965)
as (archive footage)
Last Party 2000 (2001)
as Self
Remembering Reagan at His Ranch (2004)
as Host
Spanish Western (2015)
as Self (archive footage)
Charlton Heston and Ben-Hur: A Personal Journey (2011)
as Self (archive footage)
The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962)
as Captain Paul MacDougall / Benny the Snatch / Narrator
The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille (2016)
as Self
Stars of Cabaret (1956)
as Self (archive footage)
De Madrid a la Luna (2006)
as Self (archive footage)
The Face of Evil: Reinhard Heydrich (2002)
as Narrator (voice)
Todos los nombres de Sara (2019)
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
Charlton Heston Presents the Bible (1997)
as Self - Narrator
Noël (1992)
as Narrator
Charlton Heston Presents the Bible: Genesis (1997)
as Self - Host
A Bolt of Lightning (1951)
as James Otis
Lucy Gallant (1955)
as Casey Cole
The Last Man Alive: The Omega Man (1971)
as Self - Narrator
With Orson Welles: Stories from a Life in Film (1990)
as Self
Elizabeth the Queen (1968)
as Lord Essex
The Five Cities of June (1963)
as Narrator
Charlton Heston Presents the Bible: Jesus of Nazareth (1993)
as Self - Host
Eclipse of Reason (1987)
as Narrator
The Patriots (1963)
as Thomas Jefferson
Look at Life: The City's Built for Shooting (1963)
as Self
Nairobi Affair (1984)
as Lee Cahill
Julius Caesar (1950)
as Mark Antony
The Greatest All-Star Advertial of All Time (1963)
as Self
Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil" (2019)
as (archive footage)
Three Lives (1953)
as Self
The Gun Deadlock (2001)
as Self
While I Run This Race (1967)
as Narrator
Andrew Weyth, The Helga Pictures (1987)
as Self - Host
Andersonville Diaries (1996)
as Narrator
Peer Gynt (1941)
as Peer Gynt