Charlton Gave Up His Gun

I was saddened to hear that Charlton Heston died last night at the age of 84. Recalling one of his most famous quotes made while he was at the helm of the NRA, I had this image of the undertaker finally having to pry the gun from his hand. I hope so, anyway.

Mr Heston, like John Wayne and Ronald Reagan, was "a man's man". In fact, I remember thinking, during Vice President Gore's somewhat embarassing attempt to be remade a man under Naomi Wolfe's tutelage, "Why on earth do we need another 'alpha male'? We've already got 'The Omega Man'."

Playwright David Mamet's recent conversion to the "right" side also made me think of Mr Heston and Hollywood's snubbing of him as his politics began to stray off the reservation. I have already read of some critics having "second thoughts" about their earlier glowing reviews of Mr Mamet's plays. It's a bit pathetic, if you ask me. Maybe Mr Mamet can get together with Dennis Miller and compare notes.

In fact, it always amazes how little a Hollywood liberal has to do to be considered "brave" or "daring" or even "talented." Hollywood conservatives are held to a much higher standard, if they are addressed at all. Of course, like our politicians and pundits, I think that it's made us have to be stronger, more reasoned, efficient. So I guess we should take it as a blessing.

Mr Heston had quite a distinguished career. People remember him for his later dystopian films like The Omega Man (based on the same story as the current I Am Legend with Will Smith) and The Planet of the Apes, but he started out playing Moses and Michelangelo - and went up from there. He won the Oscar for his portrayal of "Ben-Hur". He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild and chairman of the American Film Institute. Putting more stock in action than words, he marched with Civil Rights leaders in the 1950s. He was elected the president of the National Rifle Association in 1998 and he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003.

Mr Heston continued to speak out for the causes he believed in. He resigned from Actors Equity when they refused to allow a white actor to play the role of a eurasian in Miss Saigon. He thought it was "obscenely racist" and, given that he had marched shoulder to shoulder with Dr King numerous times, I'll defer to him on that. He also turned a few faces red when he, to protest the record company's promoting of violence and misogyny, read the lyrics from Cop Killer at a Time-Warner shareholders meeting. Mr Heston wrote in his book Into the Arena, "I'll surely never be offered another film by Warners, nor get a good review in Time. On the other hand, I doubt I'll get a traffic ticket very soon."

God bless you, sir, and may the Lord be with your family, especially Lydia, your wife of 64 years.