The Immortal Charlton Heston: An Iconic Father Figure

Sunday morning's paper arrived with the sad news of Charlton Heston's death. Charlton Heston was an iconic Hollywood star who will be justly revered for his superb acting skills. But I never could warm up to him.

Heston, 84, died on the evening of Saturday, April 5, 2008, at his California home. He had waged a six-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. According to a New York Times obituary, he made 100 films during his 60-year acting career.

Charlton Heston will be best remembered for the larger-than-life roles he played in "The Ten Commandments" (1956) and "Ben Hur" (1959). In "Ten Commandments," Mr. Heston played Moses, the Old Testament prophet who liberated the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. How striking it is that Mr. Heston's death coincides with the 40th anniversary of the passing of a modern day Moses, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

One particularly windy day in early 1968, I was outside my coastal home with my father. Hurling my seven-year-old body against a wall of cold air, I spread my arms and bellowed in my best baritone, "Behold His mighty hand!" I was immitating Heston's Moses in the Red Sea-parting scene of "Ten Commandments." My dad found my display hilarious. Once in awhile, I still have fun with that gag, especially in March, when the wind is at peak strength. Now that both my father and Charlton Heston are gone, it has taken on special meaning.

Young boys tend to think of their dads as Superman, and I was no exception. It was only when I was older that I saw my father as the imperfect mortal we all are. Heston's Moses was a biblical Superman who was able to channel wind, fire, and water to defeat the most powerful army in the ancient world. Mr. Heston's resonant, erudite voice, combined with bravura special effects, made "Ten Commandments" a Hollywood classic. Charlton Heston was the original E.F. Hutton. When he talked, people listened. Mr. Heston's good looks and imposing, athletic physique cemented his stage presence.