John T. Chance wrote on 4/6/08 that:
I know there are many on this board who hated the man for his later-in-life politics, but I personally have no doubt that his rich film legacy will stand the test of time, with new audiences enjoying his films for decades after his NRA spokesman days are long forgotten.
That isn't quite true. As a left-winger and a Jew I should hate him for his support of white supremacists Strom Thurmond and Jessie Helms. I should hold a grudge against him for some borderline anti-Jewish stuff he said (at public events and in front of cameras) in the early part of this decade and yet such was the good feeling he created in his films and in most of his public appearances prior to the 2000s I cut him tons O' slack. Let's just say I'm disappointed in him for some of his political stands especially since they do seem at odds with how the man actually dealt with people one on one. As for the NRA stuff (which I still think is fair game for kidding about the guy) I think the NRA took advantage of Mr. Heston's declining mental health as much as did Michael Moore in his film Bowling for Columbine. If Heston had been 100% there's no question that he would've handled Michael Moore's snarky ambushing and turned it back on him and have done it with grace and charm. For a guy who walked to such a different drummer as he did (Bill Warren or someone should cite the story about him during the filming of The Naked Jungle) he had a pretty good sense of humor about himself.


Back in the late 1940s, throughout the 1950s, and up through the early 1960s Mr. Heston took a stand supporting civil rights back when it took balls to do so. Plus he really did do some great work. As much as The Greatest Show on Earth is one of my
is one of my favorite unintentional comedies just imagine if someone other than Charton Heston had to play those scenes and deliver that dialog. Boy! That was acting! I often describe The 10 Commandments as Anne Baxter does the heavy lifting, Yul Brynner comes out looking the best, and Heston bravely soldiers on. Again … to make it through that film took major acting ability and an incredible skill at keeping a straight face. As for his stuff in the 1960s and the 1970s (he had a much longer career than most actors … so much for the claim that his right-wing politics hurt his career) I saw most of it in theaters and believe me his stuff was among the really good stuff.

So I will remember the films and his good stuff and I tend to blame the bad stuff on the Alzheimer's.

opticalguy1954@yahoo.com (Spencer Gill)
Last Edited By: opticalguy Apr 7 08 1:09 PM. Edited 1 times.