Charlton Heston, one of the few Heroes emerging Conservative from Hollywood, President of the NRA, dies at his home in Beverly Hills
There are very few true men who can have an illustrious Hollywood career and come through without becoming weak, drugged, pampered and leftist, gay, or otherwise changed to something unrecognizable as a man. Charlton Heston was a prime example of what American men could be, and should be. Like Ronald Reagan and John Wayne, Charlton Heston lived a great Conservative life and will be missed.
From the A.P. via Karl at PW…
In June 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.”
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.”
Later that year, Heston was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. ”The largeness of character that comes across the screen has also been seen throughout his life,” President Bush said at the time.” [emboldenings mine]
Charlton Heston gave a speech to NRA members August 9, 2002, after he was diagnosed with Alzheimers, bidding farewell…
A Message from Charlton Heston
My Dear Friends, Colleagues and Fans:
My physicians have recently told me I may have a neurological disorder whose symptoms are consistent with Alzheimer’s disease. So… I wanted to prepare a few words for you now, because when the time comes, I may not be able to.
I’ve lived my whole life on the stage and screen before you. I’ve found purpose and meaning in your response. For an actor there’s no greater loss than the loss of his audience. I can part the Red Sea, but I can’t part with you, which is why I won’t exclude you from this stage in my life.
For now, I’m not changing anything. I’ll insist on work when I can; the doctors will insist on rest when I must. If you see a little less spring in my step, if your name fails to leap to my lips, you’ll know why. And if I tell you a funny story for the second time, please laugh anyway.
I’m neither giving up nor giving in. I believe I’m still the fighter that Dr. King and JFK and Ronald Reagan knew, but it’s a fight I must someday call a draw. I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure. Please feel no sympathy for me. I don’t. I just may be a little less accessible to you, despite my wishes.
I also want you to know that I’m grateful beyond measure. My life has been blessed with good fortune. I’m grateful that I was born in America, that cradle of freedom and opportunity, where a kid from the Michigan Northwoods can work hard and make something of his life. I’m grateful for the gift of the greatest words ever written, that let me share with you the infinite scope of the human experience. As an actor, I’m thankful that I’ve lived not one life, but many.
Above all, I’m proud of my family… my wife Lydia, the queen of my heart, my children, Fraser and Holly, and my beloved grandchildren, Jack, Ridley and Charlie. They’re my biggest fans, my toughest critics and my proudest achievement. Through them, I can touch immortality.
Finally, I’m confident about the future of America. I believe in you. I know that the future of our country, our culture and our children is in good hands. I know you will continue to meet adversity with strength and resilience, as our ancestors did, and come through with flying colors - the ones on Old Glory.
William Shakespeare, at the end of his career, wrote his farewell through the words of Prospero, in The Tempest. It ends like this:
Be cheerful, sir.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
Thank you, and God bless you, everyone.
Sincerely,
Charlton Heston
Godspeed, Charlton Heston.
Bring back tablets.
crossed from home
I wonder if they took the firearm from his “cold dead hands“? You’re right. He was a great advocate of the Second Amendment.
I found this, later, from another great Charlton Heston speech…
Pretty much sums up the Liberal vs. Conservative, Leftist vs. Real, Solid, Strong and Successful Men tussle.
I wonder if they took the firearm from his “cold dead hands“?
Are you asking if he ate the muzzle? Redecorated the living room? Called ServPro?
.
Back to your monkey-scooter, g’nashty boy!
he was mentally ill, confused, exploited, not very smart
RIP brave soul.
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