Charlton Heston audiobook

Marc Eliot’s extraordinary new biography, Charlton Heston, Hollywood’s Last Icon, is clearly the definitive work on my father’s remarkable life and times. With unprecedented access to the Charlton Heston Archives, his personal papers, journals and correspondence, extensive interviews with family, friends and colleagues, and my mother’s huge collection of her own photos––many of them never-before-seen––Eliot has crafted a meticulously researched, eminently readable and compelling portrait. My father’s was a rich, rewarding and complex life, dedicated to his art, his family and to public service, in which he achieved not only the pinnacle of his profession but a significant role on the nation’s political stage. There are a lot of great stories in this book even I had not heard before. If you think you knew my father, think again, and read this book!Eliot also happens to be a damn good writer––this book reads more like a novel than a biography––and like me, you won’t be able to put it down. -Fraser C. Heston

In our divisive times, it is easy to pigeonhole Charlton Heston as the older actor who became President of the NRA and who thrust a rifle and the air and said provocative things but he was so much more. In this first rate biography by veteran Hollywood author Marc Eliot we see Mr. Heston in all his complexity. A lonely child from a broken marriage, a devoted husband and father a dedicated actor and truly one of the last icons of a bygone film era. He learned his craft on Broadway and a wave to Cecil Be Demill put him in his first major film : The Greatest Show on Earth. Epics particularly historical film became his specialty. Off course there was The Ten Commandments, his Academy Award Performance in Ben Hur, El CID and The Agony and the Ecstasy. But he reinvented himself many times. He became a Sci- Fi stalwart in films such as Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green and the Omega Man. He starred in several disaster films such as Earthquake and Airport 1975. He and his wife were also active in live theater. He campaigned for civil rights and eventually he became involved in conservative causes. The Heston family cooperated with the author and he had access to Hestons diaries. This is a well written examination of a major actor and if you enjoy film this is for you.Charlton Heston was a multidimensional personality and this fine book brings him to life..

This is a straightforward, but quite interesting account of Charlton Heston's life that had me engrossed the entire way. I really enjoyed so many of his movies, so it was pleasant to read about each one: how he came to participate in the film, and some behind-the-scenes stories as well. I also liked reading about his marriage and his family, and how important they were to him. He had such an unusual marriage, in that it lasted over 60 years, which in itself is an achievement. He is to be admired for that, for his military service, and for other things. I didn't agree with his political beliefs during the latter part of his life, but that didn't detract from how much I enjoyed his films. His suffering with Alzheimer's Disease at the end of his life is sad, and I was angry at the cheap-shot, crude way Michael Moore ambushed him during an interview and then used that in one of his documentaries. All in all, a very well done biography of a Hollywood legend.

Although Charlton Heston wrote several excellent autobiographies (including "The Actor's Life: Journals 1956-1976" and "In the Arena"), Marc Eliot's hefty, compelling and intimate biography stands as the definitive portrait of the complicated and controversial Oscar-winning actor and political activist. Prolific biographer Eliot ("Cary Grant") creates a captivating portrait with the help of Heston's son and daughter (who had no editorial control) and new interviews with dozens of Heston's friends and foes. Eliot also uses the actor's files and unpublished journals. Surprisingly blunt about Heston's acting style, Eliot writes, "He played his characters literally, on their and his surface, at least in part because he was never asked to do more." And after "Touch of Evil"'s box office failure in 1958, "he would henceforth seek out the conventional, the mainstream, and the commercial, and resist films that were personal artistic statements." CHARLTON HESTON offers plenty of juicy, behind-the-scenes tales of the making of some of his classic films, including "Planet of the Apes," "Ben-Hur" and "The Ten Commandments" (where Yul Brynner and director Cecil B. DeMille kept their exhausting pace thanks to amphetamine injections and pills). Even more fascinating is Heston's political evolution: from a liberal Kennedy supporter, marching with Martin Luther King in 1963, to a disillusioned independent who eventually--right around the time his film career sputtered out in the 1980s--became a Republican gun rights advocate and NRA spokesperson. Eliot's CHARLTON HESTON: HOLLYWOOD'S LAST ICON is an absorbing, haunting and richly detailed portrait of the iconic actor. Fascinating and intimate, CHARLTON HESTON follows the enormously popular film star's evolution and offers a complex study in contradictions.

I greatly enjoyed this insightful biography into one of Hollywood’s classic actors. Charlton Heston led a fascinating life. One of my favorite films has always been Ben Hur, an outstanding production that showcased Heston’s charisma.Until this point I had not been aware of how integral Heston was in the early days of Hollywood. And even beyond that his involvement with key players and organizations during the 1960s. While the author examines much of his life in depth, my one complaint is there is far less of his personal life then there is of his show biz. There are excellent detailed accounts of the filming of such movies as El Cid and The Ten Commandments. I found these in size to be a lot of fun and they sparked my curiosity in other contemporaries to Heston.It is admirable that the author spent a lot of time interviewing people who really knew Heston, especially those of his family. But some of it does feel like an apology for the actors right wing views and his stances on some issues that I found appealing. I would’ve rather seen a celebration of his perspective than a deconstruction that sometimes seems to put it in a negative light.Overall this is a worthwhile read and I would highly recommend it.

Marc Eliot has published many biographies of Hollywood stars, though this is the first I've read. The book's pace is just about perfect, moving quickly through his childhood into his early struggle to establish himself as an actor. After reluctantly taking film roles in Hollywood, Heston landed the role of Moses in Cecil B DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" early in his career, which, after some fits and starts, established him as a leading actor. Eliot's book is at its best while weaving Charlton Heston's personal life around the series of acting roles he took on. This well-written biography was enjoyable to read, presenting a definitive though not exhausting account of the actor's life.

I have long been a fan of Charlton Heston - several of his films are on my all time favorites list. I was aware of some details of his life; I found it very interesting that he lived in Wilmette, IL which is also my mother's home town. And he also attended New Trier High School as did my mother, tho she was 7 years ahead of him. I knew his movies, of course, and his political activism, especially his NRA involvement. Now, thanks to this book, I know so much more. Especially admirable is his 64 year marriage to the only woman he ever dated! This is a very well written, well researched and very fair account of the amazing life of Charlton Heston.

initially tightly written this shares his childhood, parents divorced when he was young, he gets a new name, school, chase skirt, school acting, marry, wwii, get out, move to nyc for live tv jobs, movies.difficulties with directors, co-stars, and funding$. makes it big but no good follow up material, string of unmemorable films, children, travel. eventually some better films.approached about running for office by desperate political operators, he declines, participates in sag, presidential encounters, visit war zones.a nasty exchange with ed asner causes him to act in tv and on stage before eventually to the big screen. insightful, swearing, rip.

Marc Eliot presents a thorough description of a good man who loved his job...but never let his "job" get in the way of his convictions. He describes, sometimes in less-than-flattering-terms, Charlton Heston as an actor, a husband, a father, an advocate, and a controversial figure who wasn't afraid o

Well written and researched biographyI was not a fan of Heston or his movies but I like film star biographies and this one is well done and fairly engrossing. I have to admit when the book reaches the early 70s when Heston begins his involvement in politics and the NRA, I started skimming. These sections are detailed and long drawn out but some may find them interesting. Interviews with family members, friends and those close to Heston are quoted at length. The book captures who the man was and what made him tick.

A goodreads giveawayAn interesting biography of one of Hollywood's leading actors. I knew about the high points of Heston's public life but learned much about Heston's life and personality. The book is well written and an easy read. My only complaint is many of the footnotes are a distraction and do not add to the understanding of the events.

This was an excellent biography on Hollywood's last icon of the silver screen...Charlton Heston. A very interesting, yet, humble soul. He rose through the ranks in Hollywood much like Ronald Reagan, but did not take the same political path as Reagan had done. This was a well written and great overview of the life of Charlton Heston from birth to his death. Hope you will read this if this is your genre of book.

A good biography of Heston's life.

Interesting look at a Hollywood icon.

Great biography about a great actor.