"I have ceased to be. I will now stride off of this mortal coil to leave you mere mortals to face the world alone. Adieu"
In a day and age when our movie stars seem less iconic and more ironic, Charlton Heston represented a bygone era where movie stars were definable and stood upright in the glare of publicity. They were not celebrities - they were heroes.
More so than any other movie star before and since, Charlton Heston did not just play the hero - He WAS the hero. With His chiselled jaw and His big frame and His noble voice, noone said "hero" like Charlton Heston. While others acted the part and moved their bodies all over the screen to fill a role, He simply stood like a granite statue upon the silver screen and filled it with His majesty. It was as if He didn't actually act - He just was!
Of course He did act and He received an Oscar for Best Actor in 1959 for His leading role in Ben Hur but if ever a man was made for movies Charlton Heston was that man. He didn't play Moses, Judah-ben Hur or El Cid - He was Moses. He was Judah-ben Hur. He was El Cid.
You could hate Him or dislike Him or not agree with His political views but when He came on screen you could not help but be pulled into His presence. He was undoubtedly made for the movies.
When you look at today's gamut of stars, none stand out as sentinels of the silver screen. They tend to have much shorter life-spans, burning out in the glare of their own over-hyped publicity. But Charlton Heston was constant and he returned again and again as bright as ever. Though He may have departed to the realms of immortality His light will shine on for many years still because in this world that we call Hollywood He was definitely a God among monkeys.
