Rest in Peace, Mr. Heston

This morning the Steeners were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of their (meaning Matt's) favorite actors, John Charles Carter, known to millions of adoring fans and stiff necked Israelites as Charlton Heston. So today, with heavy hearts, the Steeners bid farewell to one of America's most enduring film icons and staunch 2nd Amendment defenders. Let's take a look at some of his most memorable film moments.


The Ten Commandments (1956)



One of my favorite movies. The real Moses has a lot to live up to.


Planet of the Apes (1968)

This may have been Charlton Heston's first of many futuristic doomsday pics. In this masterpiece, Heston played an astronaut who, along with his companions, traveled in a "rocket ship" into space and were supposed to return to earth 1,000 or so years later only to find that they had apparently gone off course and landed on a strange planet ruled by talking apes! Drama and unintended hilarity ensue as Heston struggles against super intelligent Apes who herd, hunt, and generally treat humans (who are on the last rung of the evolutionary ladder) like animals!

In this famous "Apes" moment, the Apes are stunned to learn that their captive human can talk!


This is my second favorite sound byte from a Heston film:



The most controversial scene from "Apes" was the one at the end featuring a steamy kiss shared between Heston's character and a "darned dirty ape." Though controversial for its time, this brief, touching scene greatly accelerated the field of inter-primate research and also bred many more tender ape-human relationships.



Jane Goodall and an anonymous darned dirty ape




Soylent Green (1973)

This movie is great for two reasons, Charlton's ascot, and the very end. Arguably the most famous in Heston's "the future is going to be horrible" series, Heston plays a scientist who finds out the nasty, unpalatable truth about Soylent Green, the food of choice of billions of miserable earth dwellers in the 22nd century.

The ascot is the thing around Charlton's neck


One of the most famous lines in movie history! And my favorite Heston sound byte. Heston's character finds out the awful truth about Soylent Green! Sure it's disgusting, but what other choice is there in an overpopulated, famished world?