Charlton Heston, 84,who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing "Ben-Hur" died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills in a hedge clipping accident, his wife Lydia and his 3 young children at his side.
Family spokesman Bill Powers declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details.
Heston had revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease.
He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild and chairman of the American Film Institute and marched in the civil rights movement of the 1950s.
In 1998, Heston was elected president of the National Rifle Association, for which he had posed for ads holding a rifle.
He delivered a jab at then-President Clinton, saying, "America doesn't trust you with our 21-year-old daughters, and we sure, Lord, don't trust you with our guns."
Which in hindsight was pretty accurate well aimed blow.
Heston stepped down as NRA president in April 2003, telling members his five years in office were "quite a ride. ... I loved every minute of it."
A year later Heston was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour.
Of course most people will remember him for the 1968 film Planet of the Apes in which he said the immortal line: "Get your stinkin' paws off me, you damned dirty ape!"
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1 comment:
A pretty tall man has fallen. He was 6'2" according to the obit. Not a giant, but certainly not short.
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