Renowned for playing a long list of historical figures, particularly in Biblical epics, the tall, well-built and ruggedly handsome Charlton Heston is one of Hollywood's greatest leading men and remained active in front of movie cameras for over sixty years.
Heston was born John Charles Carter on October 4th 1924 in Evanston, Illinois, and made his feature film debut as the lead character in a 16mm production of Peer Gynt (1941), based on the Henrik Ibsen play. Shortly thereafter, he played 'Marc Antony' in HYPERLINK Julius Caesar (1950), however Heston firmly stamped himself as genuine leading man material with his performance as circus manager 'Brad Braden' in the Cecil B. DeMille spectacular The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), also starring James Stewart and Cornel Wilde. The now very popular actor remained perpetually busy during the 1950s, both on TV and on the silver screen with audience pleasing performances in the steamy thriller The Naked Jungle (1954), as a treasure hunter in Secret of the Incas (1954) and another barn storming performance for Cecil B. DeMille as Moses in the blockbuster The Ten Commandments (1956). Heston delivered further dynamic performances in the oily film noir thriller Touch of Evil (1958), and then alongside Gregory Peck in the western The Big Country (1958) before scoring the role for which he is arguably best known, that of the wronged Jewish prince who seeks his freedom and revenge in the William Wyler directed Ben-Hur (1959).
Never one to rest on his laurels, steely Heston remained the preferred choice of directors to lead the cast in major historical productions and during the 1960s he starred as Spanish legend Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar in El Cid (1961), as a US soldier battling hostile Chinese boxers during 55 Days at Peking (1963), played the ill-fated John the Baptist in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), the masterful painter Michelangelo battling Pope Julius II in The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), and an English general in Khartoum (1966). In 1968, Heston filmed the unusual western Will Penny (1968) about an aging and lonely cowboy befriending a lost woman and her son, which Heston has often referred to as his favorite piece of work on screen.
In 1968, Heston starred as time traveling astronaut George Taylor, in the Planet of the Apes (1968) with it's now legendary conclusion as Heston realizes the true horror of his destination.
During the remainder of the 1970s, Heston appeared in two very popular disaster movies contributing lead roles in Airport 1975 (1974), plus in the star laden Earthquake (1974).
He also narrated numerous TV specials and lent his vocal talents to the animated movie Hercules (1997), the family comedy Cats & Dogs (2001) and an animated version of Ben Hur (2003) (TV).
Heston has been married to Lydia Marie Clark Heston since March 1944, and they have two children. In 2002, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and has not appeared in a film or TV production since 2003.