Charlton Heston Dies

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 3:13 pm

LOS ANGELES - Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing "Ben-Hur" and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the '50s and '60s, has died. He was 83 and would have been 84 on October 4.

The actor died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said. He declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details.

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:49 pm

Man that sucks. He was a great actor.

~Update~
According to some sorces, he had a neurological disorder with symptoms that resembled Alzheimer's disease.

E! News wrote:

He was 84, his family said. He had been battling Alzheimer's disease for years.

CBC News wrote:

Born John Charles Carter in Evanston, Ill., on Oct. 4, 1923, Heston's early life was a tumultuous one as the family soon moved to rural Michigan, where his parents divorced. His mother remarried and the family moved again, this time to a Chicago suburb.

Heston created his professional name by pairing his mother's maiden name, Lila Charlton, with that of his stepfather, Chester Heston.

So I salute you Charlton Heston for being a fantastic man and actor. Worthy