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Sunday, April 6, 2008

Charlton Heston

Actor and former National Rifle association president Charlton Heston has passed away at the age of 84. Heston had the leading role in a number of classic films, The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, Planet of the Apes, Solyent Green and many others, but my personal favorite was The Agony and the Ecstacy in which he portrayed Michaelangelo opposite Rex Harrison's Pope Julius II. Pope Julius commissioned the great artist to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which, to those who have been lucky enough to see it in person, ranks as perhaps the greatest achievement of one man in the history of art. The historical accuracy of the movie has been questioned, but it's still a wonderful film, and the interplay between Heston's Michaelangelo and Harrison's Julius is outstanding.

Heston was a great figure in America's culture and culture wars during the second half of the twentieth century and conservatives will always be grateful for his memorable contributions to both our film heritage and to our political debates over the second amendment.

See the link for more details.

RLC