Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter on October 4, 1923, although the year is usually given as 1924), is an American film actor noted for heroic roles, and his long involvement in political issues.

Off screen

Heston was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998, and it went into remission the next year following a course of radiation treatment. His wife, Lydia, was successfully treated for breast cancer. In August 2002, Heston publicly announced that he was diagnosed as suffering from symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. In July 2003, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, from President George W. Bush at the White House. In March 2005, various newspapers reported that family and friends of Heston were apparently shocked by the rapid progression of his illness, and that he is sometimes unable to get out of bed.

Related Topics:
Prostate cancer - Remission - Radiation - Alzheimer's disease - Presidential Medal of Freedom - George W. Bush - White House

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Political beliefs

In his earlier years, Heston was a Democrat, campaiging for Presidential candidates Adlai Stevenson in 1956 and John F. Kennedy in 1960. He was also a civil rights activist long before it became fashionable for other celebrities to do so, accompanying Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights march held in Washington, D.C. in 1963. In 1969 Heston was asked by some Democrats to run for the California State Senate, a move that would have likely had bipartisan support in the state. He declined because he wanted to continue acting.

Related Topics:
Democrat - Adlai Stevenson - 1956 - John F. Kennedy - 1960 - Civil rights - Martin Luther King Jr. - Washington, D.C. - 1963 - 1969

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In the 1980s, however, Heston began to support more conservative positions on such issues as affirmative action and gun control. He has campaigned for Republican candidates and Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

Related Topics:
Affirmative action - Gun control - Ronald Reagan - George H.W. Bush - George W. Bush

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He is an honorary life member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), and was its president and spokesman from 1998 until his resignation in 2003. As NRA president he is best known, while raising an antique rifle over his head at the 2000 NRA convention, for saying that Al Gore would take away his Second Amendment rights "from my cold, dead hands". (In announcing his resignation in 2003, he would again raise a rifle over his head, this time repeating only the famous five words of his 2000 speech.)

Related Topics:
National Rifle Association - 1998 - 2003 - Al Gore - Second Amendment

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Heston also serves on the National Advisory Board of Accuracy in Media (AIM), a conservative media watchdog group founded by the late Reed Irvine.

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