Since then, Heston has starred in more than 70 motion pictures, nearly as many theatre productions, and innumerable television shows and appearances. Among his many achievements, Heston won an Academy Award for Best Actor in BEN HUR, a second Oscar for the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, as well as similar international citations, was elected six times as president of the Screen Actors Guild, served as the first Chairman and President of the American Film Institute and authored five books.
Throughout his richly varied and duty-conscious life, Charlton Heston has never shied away from public service. The Michigan actor, conservative spokesman and patriot achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant with the 11th Air Force during World War II, serving for two years in the Pacific Theatre. In the early sixties, by then a major star, Heston campaigned for racial equality throughout the Southwest, well before that was a popular stance. In 1963 the noted performer headed a contingent from the arts community for Dr. Martin Luther King's march on Washington, DC, an event that led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Later, as president of the Screen Actors Guild, Heston worked once again with Dr. King, helping black Americans gain entry into the Hollywood technical work force.
Heston has lent his time, talent and energy to a number of federal agencies including the USIA and the Departments of Energy and Agriculture. He's done chores for every branch of the armed services, films for a variety of governmental departments and, in 1982, traveled to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to film a documentary designed to wage war against agricultural failure and the resulting famine.
In 1984, the tireless activist went to Ethiopia on behalf of the Red Cross, where he reported on the political and economic impact of widespread famine. Heston also visited Afghanistan guerilla camps to see for himself how Afghan freedom fighters were faring in their struggle against Soviet aggression. The politically astute actor remains a strong voice in behalf of NATO, and has traveled to France, Belgium and Germany on assignment for the multi-national defense organization.
In 1981, Heston was named co-chairman of President Ronald Reagan's Task Force on the Arts and Humanities. The following year he was in Mexico City for the State Department as an observer at the UNESCO Conference on the arts. Heston has served as the official US delegate to numerous film festivals and undertaken assignments to cultural embassies in England, Egypt, Nigeria, Australia and West Berlin. The widely traveled film star has been a member of the National Council on the Arts, and was the first chairman and president of the American Film Institute.
In recent years, Heston has been no less active on the stage and screen, starring in the 1996 feature film ALASKA, giving an acclaimed performance as the Player King in Kenneth Branagh's HAMLET, and performing with his wife, Lydia, in LOVE LETTERS, a two-person romantic comedy that's been among the couple's favorites for years.
In 1997 Heston was a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime achievement in the performing arts, one of just 105 individuals ever to receive, as the national cultural center describes it, "America's equivalent of a knighthood in Britain, or the French Legion of Honor, the quintessential reward for a lifetime's endeavor."
Charlton Heston's impact on the American political scene has been as powerful as his undeniable film presence. Heston often has testified before state agencies and congressional committees and he remains a tireless and feared campaigner for those who share his political philosophy. He currently serves as President of the National Rifle Association.
Charlton and Lydia Heston live a busy but informal life on a ridge in Beverly Hills that Heston describes as "a modest home attached to my wife's state of the art photographic studio." Lydia's career as a photographer is burgeoning, with several exhibitions scheduled. Charlton Heston has two books planned for this year.
Among Mr. Heston?s memorable film roles are The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, El Cid, Touch of Evil, The Naked Jungle, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Planet of the Apes, Will Penny, The Hawaiians, Earthquake, The Battle of Midway, Antony & Cleopatra, Omega Man, Skyjacked, The Mountain Men, Mother Lode, Treasure Island and Tombstone.
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