Person
Charlton Heston
Wilmette, Illinois, USA
Charlton Heston (October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor, renowned for his towering screen presence and roles in some of Hollywood’s most famous epics. Born John Ch…
IMDbKnown for
Popular titles
Photos
More stills of Charlton Heston
Biography
A closer look
Read full biography
Charlton Heston (October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor, renowned for his towering screen presence and roles in some of Hollywood’s most famous epics. Born John Charles Carter in Illinois, he discovered his passion for acting in school, studied drama at Northwestern University, and began his career on stage and in live television before transitioning to film. He first gained major attention in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth and then became an international star with his performances as Moses in The Ten Commandments and Judah Ben‑Hur in Ben‑Hur, the latter earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Heston went on to headline a wide range of big‑budget films, including El Cid, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Planet of the Apes, and The Omega Man, establishing himself as one of the most recognizable leading men of mid‑20th‑century cinema. Beyond acting, he was active in public life, supporting civil rights in the 1960s and later becoming a prominent conservative voice and president of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003. He retired from public life after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2002 and died on April 5, 2008, in Beverly Hills, California, leaving behind a legacy as both a cinematic icon and a polarizing political figure.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
-
2025
Airports
Movie
-
2024
Planet of the Apes: A Milestone of Science Fiction
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2023
Charlton Heston: Radical to Right Wing
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2020
Yul Brynner, the Magnificent
Movie Self - Actor (archive footage)
-
2019
Todos los nombres de Sara
Movie Self - Actor (archive footage)
-
2019
Hail Satan?
Movie Self - Actor (archive footage)
-
2019
Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
Movie Self - Actor (archive footage)
-
2019
I Am Richard Pryor
Movie Self - Actor (archive footage)
-
2019
Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"
Movie (archive footage)
-
2017
The Madding Crowd
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2016
Bienvenido Mr. Heston
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2016
The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille
Movie Self
-
2015
Spanish Western
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2015
Children of the Civil Rights
Movie Self (archival footage)
-
2014
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
Movie Self - Actor (archive footage)
-
2014
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
Movie Self - Actor (archive footage)
More credits
-
2013
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2013
Talking Pictures
TV show Self (archive footage)
-
2011
A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2011
Charlton Heston and Ben-Hur: A Personal Journey
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2010
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
Movie (archive footage)
-
2010
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Movie Self – Interviewee
-
2009
Hollywood sul Tevere
Movie
-
2008
Greatest Heroes and Legends: The Story of Moses
Movie Self - Host / Moses
-
2007
AFI: 100 Years... 100 Movies... 10th Anniversary Edition
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2006
De Madrid a la Luna
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2005
Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2004
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2004
Remembering Reagan at His Ranch
Movie Host
-
2003
Christmas in Hollywood
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2003
The Making of The Ten Commandments
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2003
My Father
Movie Josef Mengele
-
2003
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: The Garden of Eden
Movie Self - Host
- 2003
-
2003
Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible: Daniel and the Lion's Den
Movie Self - Host
-
2003
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Jonah and the Whale
Movie Self - Host
-
2003
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: David and Goliath
Movie Self - Host
-
2003
Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Samson and Delilah
Movie Self - Host
-
2003
Ben Hur
Movie Ben Hur (voice)
-
2003
Lasting Love
Movie
