It will be debated for years what it was about him that made him and the characters he portrayed so memorable.  From Moses to Ben-Hur, from Andrew Jackson to Michelangelo, he left his imprint on the characters as he played them.  Some say it was his chiseled looks, some will argue it was the fire and emotion he brought to those characters.  He joked that he had a face that belonged in another century.  Whatever it was, Charlton Heston left his mark on his craft with a body of work that will stand for years to come with approx. 126 roles, according to IMDB.com.

SciFi fans will always remember him for his roles in “The Omega Man” as the last man on Earth (which was remade recently with Will Smith taking that role in “I Am Legend”), and as Detective Robert Thorn in “Soylent Green”.  But perhaps, he will be best remembered for his role of Taylor in “Planet of the Apes”.  He even put on the gorilla makeup to appear in the remake of “Planet of the Apes”, playing Zaius, General Thade's father in an unaccredited role (but that voice was a dead giveaway).  Which one of us doesn't remember him, bound in the net, full of angry and fury, yelling out the line which the American Film Institute listed as number 66 in the Top 100 Movie Quotes, “Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape.”  It should be noted that the remake paid homage to that line, by reversing it and having a gorilla (played by Michael Clarke Duncan) telling a human to get his hands off him!

Personally, there are three movies I remember him best in.  The first is “The Greatest Show on Earth” where he played the road manager for the circus.  The second was “The Ten Commandments” where he played Moses, one of two roles he will forever be linked to.  Even his friends, on numerous occasions, would refer to him as Moses on stage, like the time he was late for his cue at the Oscars.

The third is the one that I believe was his greatest role as Judah Ben-Hur in the epic “Ben-Hur”.  I remember as a kid, watching that chariot race and absolutely loving it!  The most amazing thing to me was that he actually drove that thing in all of the race scenes.  Reports following his death quoted him speaking about those scenes, “I couldn't drive it well, but that wasn't necessary.  All I had to do was stay on board so they could shoot me there.  I didn't have to worry.  MGM guaranteed I would win the race.”

His was an incredible life, which has now ended at the age of 84.  He leaves behind his wife and family, friends, and an incredible legacy of work, which will stand the test of time.

We send our thoughts and prayers to his loved ones.  Thank you for sharing him with all of us.

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