Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston, born October 4, 1923 in Evanston, Illinois, and died April 5, 2008 in Beverly Hills, California, was an American actor who became famous primarily for his monumental roles in historical epics. With his distinctive appearance and powerful stage presence, Charlton Heston left a lasting mark on Hollywood cinema of the 1950s and 1960s.

Charlton Heston had his breakthrough in 1952 in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Greatest Show on Earth," but his most iconic performances followed in the years after. In 1956, he portrayed Moses in DeMille's monumental biblical film "The Ten Commandments," a role that made him a star. Charlton Heston reached the peak of his career in 1959 with the lead role in William Wyler's "Ben-Hur," for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor. The ancient epic with its legendary chariot race sequence became one of the greatest successes in film history.

In the following years, Charlton Heston established himself as a portrayer of heroic figures in epic productions. He played El Cid in "El Cid" (1961), Michelangelo in "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (1965), and appeared in science fiction classics like "Planet of the Apes" (1968) and "The Omega Man" (1971). Charlton Heston worked with directors like Franklin J. Schaffner and Sam Peckinpah and remained active into the 1990s.