They used to say with heavy sarcasm of aspiring actors 'well he's no Chuck Heston but he ain't bad' so good an actor was he that he was better known for selling guns which was more lucrative.
He knew of course which side to be on during the Reagan years, a man with no principles whatever and very little talent either.
I think it's misleading and bogus to call people like Heston, Connery, Caine Etc. actors they are film stars, not IMO the same thing, real acting is to be found on the stage where you only get one shot at the line, it's a scary place.
Film locations are relaxed by comparison, you can always shoot the scene again and again until you get it right, is that really acting ?
Heston made movies where the movie was the star and anyone could have replaced him without any difference, people went to see epics like 'The Ten Commandments' and 'Ben Hur' to see the 'parting of the sea' and the 'chariot race' not him.
He became more and more reactionary as he got older and his championing of the right to bear arms was shameful, done for money of course.
I sometimes wonder if he ever felt any responsibility when he read or heard about shootings in schools and bars where innocent people lost their lives, it's my belief that he should have, the movie industry will survive.
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48 comments:
Terry, Terry, Terry,
Facts never were a major strength of yours, were they?
Mr Heston enjoyed early success on the stage, followed by a succesful film career and then, if memory serves, appeared on the London stage in, amongst other plays, 'A Man for all Seasons.'
He also supported the Civil Rights movement and actively campaigned against racism.
All in all, apart from his guns, he really was a jolly good egg, leaving even Castro and Uncle Joe trailing far behind.
Of course, he didn't kill nearly as many people as those two either, which probably marks him down in your book.
Do you feel any conscience for the hundreds of thousands who are dead in Iraq because of the Government you worked so tirelessly to put in power, and then subsequently keep in power?
Usual hypocritical rubbish from you.
RIP Chuck, you were a far better man than any Castro who did murder deliberately and coldly to suit his ideology.
As usual you attack a person not able to answer back.
(Macnasty) 08/04/08
I’ve now read 6 obituaries of Heston and none of them mention his ‘early stage success’ as you call it, because it’s a myth.
His early radicalism was opportunism, it was the thing to be at that time.
Self advancement and self preservation were his only true motivators, I’m not surprised you’re a fan.
(Anonymous) 08/04/08
I regret the loss of any life.
From Heston to Iraq to Castro ?
A bit loosely wrapped are you not ?
(Anonymous) 08/04/08
Guilty as charged M’lud dead people can’t answer back.
Did it take you long to hit on this ?
Kelly @ 5.46
Avoid the Morning Star and Socialist Worker and try Wikeipedia for a summary of Mr Heston's early stage successes.
But, that on one side, you haven't contradicted me about his later appearances on the London stage. Doesn't this lack of contradiction knock your 'proper actor' rant base over apex?
And as for his stance on Civil Rights and Racism being 'opportunist,' well, you support the same causes, so tell me, Mouth of the Clyde, what's your motivation?
'When an Oklahoma movie theater premiering his movie was segregated, Heston joined a picket line outside in 1961.During the civil rights march held in Washington, D.C. in 1963, he accompanied Martin Luther King Jr.'
As I'm sure you mat recall in 1961 Civil Rights protests were frequently under attack by racists.
1. In Anniston, Alabama 1961, one bus of Freedom Riderswas firebombed, forcing its passengers to flee for their lives.
2.In Birmingham, Alabama 1961, an FBI informant reported that Public Safety Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor gave Ku Klux Klan members 15 minutes to attack an incoming group of freedom riders before having police "protect" them. The riders were severely beaten.
3. Mob violence in Anniston and Birmingham temporarily halted the rides until SNCC activists arrived in Birmingham to resume them. In Montgomery, Alabama a mob charged another bus load of riders, knocking John Lewis unconscious with a crate and smashing Life photographer Don Urbrock in the face with his own camera. A dozen men surrounded Jim Zwerg, a white student from Fisk University, and beat him in the face with a suitcase, knocking out his teeth.
4.The freedom riders continued their rides into Jackson, Mississippi, where they were arrested for "breaching the peace" by using "white only" facilities. New freedom rides were organized by many different organizations. As riders arrived in Jackson, they were arrested. By the end of summer, more than 300 had been jailed in Mississippi.
The jailed freedom riders were treated harshly, crammed into tiny, filthy cells and sporadically beaten. In Jackson, Mississippi, some male prisoners were forced to do hard labor in 100-degree heat. Others were transferred to Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, where their food was deliberately oversalted and their mattresses were removed. Sometimes the men were suspended by "wrist breakers" from the walls. Typically, the windows of their cells were shut tight on hot days, making it hard for them to breathe.
Against that background of brutality and oppression it strikes me as inconceivable that Heston was willing to stand up and support the Civil Rights movement because it was the in thing. To overcome the natural fear of being exposed to such violence one would have to believe passionately in the cause -otherwise why put yourself in the firing line?
And before you start I've never rated Heston as an actor, I support gun control and am to the left politically. I therefore deplore his later actions but can commend his earlier support of the civil rights movement. People are a mix of good and bad and I expect the late Mr Heston was much the same.
You regret the loss of life? That is the stock answer of the coward who never directly got his hands dirty, but who would, regretably of course, support it. You must be very proud of your regret at the loss of life. George Galloway has more integrity than you because at least he stood up for his beliefs.
You attack anyone you can get away with attacking.
You are a coward.
Born John Charles Carter, Charlton Heston wasn't a regular stage actor, his screen debut was in Peer Gynt in 1941 but it wasn't until 1952 when he starred in The Greatest Show on Earth that his screen career really took off.
Although later to become President of the NRA, Heston was a vocal supporter of the Gun Control Act which President Lyndon B Johnson signed into law in 1968.
Volunteered his time and effort to the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, and even marched alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on a number of occasions, including the 1963 March on Washington.
He had been married to his wife Lydia Clarke since 1944.
Source: www.imdb.com
"I think it's misleading and bogus to call people like Heston, Connery, Caine Etc. actors"
I think it's misleading to call yourself a labour councillor. A racist hypocritical bigot would be much closer to the mark.
Heston was much more a man than you could ever aspire to be.
You wouldn't know an actor if you saw one. Judging from you recent photo's Fatty Arbuckle may just fit the bill.
(Macnasty) 09/04/08
You seem to be on your own, none of the obits. Mention his stage acting abilities.
“what's your motivation” ? to do what I think is right and not to sell out.
Don't waste your time trying to understand.
(Paul Williamson) 09/04/08
I really don’t know why you went to all this trouble to tell us what is already well known.
He was a liberal when it was fashionable and spent most of his life as a reactionary, he let people down, he betrayed those people, I have no time for someone like that.
I’m not about to change my mind about him simply because he’s dead, he sullied anything good that he might have done.
From civil rights liberal to gun toting reactionary Reaganite/Bushite is some journey.
(Anonymous) 09/04/08
Your argument would have more to it if you had mentioned the fact that I opposed the Iraq war and still do.
“You are a coward” ---- and you, are ‘Anonymous’!
(Serpico) 07:36
I get the feeling you are trying to say something here but, I can’t see anything new.
(Daniel Dravot) 07:45
Always happy to publish a well thought out and cleverly made argument.
“what's your motivation” ? to do what I think is right and not to sell out.
Says you who putand kept New Labour and Tony Bliar in power! Reql people doing what is right are laughing at you.
Your argument would have more to it if you had mentioned the fact that I opposed the Iraq war and still do.
Yep, and many members of the NAZI party opposed the death camps...you sound just like them.
As I said...a coward using a stock answer...you'll be telling us next that you were only following orders...
You really are a piece of dirt.
The reason I went to all that trouble
was to get the point over that when Heston supported civil rights people who did so were under the very real threat of violence which suggests something a bit deeper than wishing to appear fashionable.
What he became later was appalling but what he was in the sixties was not. I am not asking you to have time for Heston I certainly didn't.
I just find it hard to believe that
his involvement in the civil rights movement was not sincere. If you have other evidence then I will of course review that opinion.
(Anonymous) 10/04/08
“You really are a piece of dirt”
Someone who writes something like this and hides behind anonymity is the real piece of dirt.
(Paul Williamson) 10/04/08
I know why you wrote all that I just can’t think why it was necessary.
Think back to the McCarthy days, I see Heston as another Sterling Hayden, Ronald Reagan or Elia Kazan, a revolting character.
"Think back to the McCarthy days, I see Heston as another Sterling Hayden, Ronald Reagan or Elia Kazan, a revolting character"
There are those in your party who see you fr what you are, another Quisling.
"He became more and more reactionary as he got older and his championing of the right to bear arms was shameful, done for money of course."
Could you provide some evidence that Heston was paid for his work on behalf of the NRA? You might not agree with his principles, but I don't think there's any suggestion that they were less than genuine.
Shame on you. I will be so annoyed if this rant gets picked up by some US or foreign media outlet and you bring more shame on Scotland.
and by the way, your title is oh so witty. (Also said "with heavy sarcasm")
(Daniel Deviot) 14:35
I love it when champion debaters visit my site.
(Anonymous) 15:01
The profile it gave him was worth millions it kept a ham actor in the limelight for years, you couldn’t buy that publicity.
If I wanted to bring shame on Scotland I would say that Heston was a talented actor and a real nice guy, that would be shameful.
(Anonymous) 15:02
Even if I do say so myself it was quite sharp and witty and your reaction makes you look like a churlish moron.
Blogger Cllr Terry Kelly said...
(Anonymous) 10/04/08
“You really are a piece of dirt”
Someone who writes something like this and hides behind anonymity is the real piece of dirt.
Once again...a stock answer from a stock coward.
"The profile it gave him was worth millions it kept a ham actor in the limelight for years, you couldn’t buy that publicity"
No - don't try to wriggle out of it now - the phrase "done for money, of course" makes it abundantly clear that you think he was remunerated for his efforts. Yet again, the fearless class warrior is only too willing to abandon his statements when confronted with the awkward facts. I suspect Mr Heston's grieving family have more important things to worry about right now, but I would not be upset if they decided to sue you for your odious and cruel libel.
(Anonymous) 16:51
And you are still hiding.
(Anonymous) 17:08
“No - don't try to wriggle out of it now - the phrase "done for money, of course" makes it abundantly clear that you think he was remunerated for his efforts”
Wrong, how would I know what kind of payment he got ? I know that when America swung to the right so did he, and I know that his support for right wing politicians and his opposition to gun control kept him there as a big name actor, for which he was well paid.
Do you think he did that job for nothing ? I don’t think people like Heston ever do anything for nothing.
If that was his motivation, he would have associated his name with uncontroversial causes that everyone agreed with - cuddling seals, giving soup to homeless, etc. But he chose to take a stand on a highly controversial and emotive issue, and probably made sure that millions of Americans never saw another one of his movies. Your hastily contrived rebuke to being nabbed has fallen at the first hurdle, I'm afraid.
He was a man who took a stand for his principles, and no matter what I think of them, I respect that. If he'd been a Scottish socialist, he would have had the balls to walk away from New Labour - and Wendy in particular - a long time ago.
(Anonymous) 11/04/08
Cuddling seals and giving soup to the poor are not uncontroversial, they mark you out as a Liberal.
Being in favour of guns is not highly controversial it’s massively popular.
So much so that you couldn’t get a presidential candidate to campaign for a gun ban.
He would have had to find some principles first before taking a stand for them, I fear that you and many Americans are easily conned and big Chuck was the ringmaster when it came to the art of populism.
Has it occurred to you that the libertarian values espoused by the Republican party of Ronald Reagan were the same values that were espoused by Martin Luther King? Why do you think it's impossible to be a Republican and also be pro-civil rights?
(Anonymous) 09:01
You need to check the difference between ‘libertarian’ and ’liberal’ you clearly haven’t got a clue.
“Why do you think it's impossible to be a Republican and also be pro-civil rights”
I don’t, and that’s even more stupid than the first gaff.
Thanks for telling me I haven't got a clue. I would be willing to wager any amount of money that I know more about American politics than you.
I was merely explaining that libertarians/conservatives believe in freedom - whether it be freedom to sit where you like on the bus or freedom to own a gun and have low taxes. Heston didn't neccessarily "sell out" - it's just that he sided with the anti-segregation Left and then later with the pro-gun Right. He sided with different politicians to protect different freedoms at different parts of his life.
For the record, I do not share Heston's views about guns, I just find your attitude towards him repulsive.
(Anonymous) 15:33
You have just lost all credibility by clinging to the bizarre statement that M.L.K. shared Ronald Reagan’s ‘libertarian’ political philosophy.
I wouldn’t brag about my knowledge of American history while making statements like that if I were you.
Best to remain anonymous and avoid the ridicule eh ?
Actually, I gave a very clear indication of why I think that's the case. I would be grateful if you, the sage of Renfrewshire, could explain why my reasonable, if controversial, argument had "no credibility" and was "ridiculous" instead of simply chucking insults around.
The rubbish that comment here beggar belief. Can you not keep going but get a new audience. ;)
Have you ever had a turn on stage? If not what are your creative pursuits?
I am about to say 'but I am toorkish'
in a play and I don't mind telling you all I am nervous.
"Best to remain anonymous and avoid the ridicule eh ?"
Oh the irony!
(Anonymous) 13/04/08
You’ll have to give me a hint of what you are on about.
(Art) 14/04/08
I agree, most of it is pretty drab but, I still sometimes get a laugh out of it.
(Fiona) 14/04/08
Movies, Theatre, Books, current affairs, politics, watching sports, music, I’m also an astronaut, do they count ?
‘but I am toorkish’ you’ve got me there.
But nervousness on stage is no bad thing, ‘break a leg’ good luck.
jack mcgurk - Absolutely.
"You'll have to explain to me what you are on about."
OK.
I did not say that MLK was a libertarain - he was a Liberal, in the American sense. What I said was that libertarians - like Heston - could easily support him and then later support Reagan, and still be consistent in their ideology. (Even if Heston did veer right, what's wrong with that? I've changed my views over the years.)
You replied by calling that argument "ridiculous" and "without credibility". I responded by asking you to explain why. You then responded by asking me what I was on about.
I'm a very patient man, and I always tend to think that if somebody hasn't understood me, it's because I haven't explained myself well. But, to be honest, I don't really see how you could not understand what I was on about - it was crystal clear.
Now, once again, could you explain exactly why my original argument was stupid and ridiculous?
Or could we just accept that you are a bigoted, blinkered, trade unionist slob and party political hack who is utterly unfit to represent the people of Renfrewshire at any level of government, and demonstrates everything that is wrong with Scotland?
(Anonymous) 14/04/08
“Has it occurred to you that the libertarian values espoused by the Republican party of Ronald Reagan were the same values that were espoused by Martin Luther King? Why do you think it's impossible to be a Republican and also be pro-civil rights?”
“I'm a very patient man”
No you’re not, you’re are man who is not as smart as he would like to think he is and, who has made a fool of himself and, doesn’t have the sense to stop digging.
I’m happy for people to read the above paragraph and have a good laugh.
Your last para. Is more like the real you isn’t it ?
Terry, it seems that you yourself are about to become a major star on the internet. Someone has made a charming MV about you on YouTube.
You can watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssyuM8A6zF4
(Jehovah Heston) 13:36
If you are a reader of my site you will know that I never advertise on behalf of people who send comments but I just have to make an exception for this. Thank you for pointing this out to me.
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