Charlton Heston

Anne Baxter and Charlton Heston in a scene from the movie "The Ten Commandments" (1955). Heston, who died Saturday, April 5, 2008, at 84, was a towering figure both in his politics and on screen, where his characters had the ear of God ("The Ten Commandments"), survived apocalyptic plagues ("The Omega Man") and endured one of Hollywood's most-grueling action sequences (the chariot race in "Ben-Hur").

Charlton Heston, in the title role, drives his chariot toward the finish line in a scene from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1960 film "Ben-Hur." Heston's performance in "Ben-Hur" earned him the best-actor Academy Award in 1960.

Charlton Heston in character for his part in the movie "Ben Hur," filmed in 1958. Heston was a strong advocate for civil rights in the 1960s, joining marches and offering financial assistance. Heston had contributed and raised thousands of dollars in Hollywood for Martin Luther King Jr.'s movement.

Charlton Heston poses with his Oscar statuette for his performance in "Ben Hur" at the 32nd Annual Academy Awards April 4, 1960. Better known in later years as a fierce gun-rights advocate who headed the National Rifle Association, Heston played legendary leaders and ordinary men hurled into heroic struggles.

Undated photo of Charlton Heston during the shooting of the film "El Cid."

Charlton Heston, left, mails his vote for the Oscar nominees as a Spanish Civil Guard watches in this March 25, 1961 file photo during the filming of the film "El Cid" in Madrid, Spain. Heston played the main role of Spain's most admired warrior of medieval times, El Cid, and Sophia Loren played his wife, Jimena.

Michelangelo, played by Charlton Heston, is shown at work in a scene from the movie "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (1965). Heston's jutting jaw, regal bearing and booming voice served him well as Michelangelo, Marc Antony in "Julius Caesar" and "Antony and Cleopatra," John the Baptist in "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and an astronaut on a topsy-turvy world where simians rule in "Planet of the Apes."

In "Planet of the Apes" (1968), astronaut Taylor (Heston) crash lands on a distant planet ruled by apes who use a primitive race of humans for experimentation and sport. Soon Taylor finds himself among the hunted, his life in the hands of a benevolent chimpanzee scientist played by Kim Hunter and her fiance, played by Roddy McDowall.

In 1976, Charlton Heston starred in "Midway," a dramatization of the battle that turned out to be the turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II. The cast, from left, included Robert Wagner, Henry Fonda, Heston, and James Coburn.

Charlton Heston played a small role in Tim Burton's remake of "Planet of the Apes" in 2001. One of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s, '60s and '70s, Heston's work dwindled largely to small parts and narration and other voice roles from the 1980s on, including this uncredited cameo as an ape.

Newt Gingrich, then the speaker of the House, shares a laugh with Charlton Heston at the Republican National Committee's Annual Gala May 13, 1997, in Washington.

Former Oscar winners Cher, Julie Christie, Charlton Heston and Dustin Hoffman pose during a reunion of past Oscar winners during the 70th Academy Awards on March 23, 1998.

Charlton Heston waves as he arrives with his wife, Lydia, Dec. 4, 1998, at the the grand re-opening of the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

Charlton Heston, right, serves one of more than 4,000 Christmas meals to homeless people outside the Los Angeles Mission Dec. 24, 1998. Helping out were Heston's 7-year-old grandson, Jack, and actress Heather Thomas.

This May 1, 1999, file photo shows Charlton Heston, president of the National Rifle Association, addressing an NRA gathering in Denver, Colo. In 2002, near the end of his five years as president of the NRA, Heston disclosed he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease.

Charlton Heston is sworn in Nov. 4, 1999, before testifying before a U.S. House of Representatives Government Reform subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources on Capitol Hill. The committee held hearings on Project Exile, a law enforcement strategy aimed at reducing gun-related crimes. At the time, Heston was president of the National Rifle Association.

Charlton Heston pauses during book signing for his book, "The Courage To Be Free," at The Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace Oct. 27, 2000, in Yorba Linda, Calif.

Charlton Heston is televised at a press conference on Aug. 9, 2002, in Los Angeles, Calif. Heston, 77 at the time, announced his physicians have told him he may have a neurological disorder "whose symptoms are consistent with Alzheimer's disease."

President George W. Bush awards actor Charlton Heston with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House July, 23, 2003, in Washington, D.C. Heston was honored for his lifetime of achievement as an actor and citizen.