Charlton Heston's career as a commanding male lead provided a one-person Hollywood trek through the pages... (Learn more)
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Charlton Heston’s Milestones
| Family moved to Winnetka, Illinois where Heston attended high school | |
| Grew up in St. Helen, Michigan, a small town of 100 residents | |
| Moved with wife Lydia Clarke into New York's Hell's Kitchen; supported themselves for a time by working as models | |
| Performed on Chicago radio stations | |
| Played Sir Thomas More in Robert Bolt's play, "A Man for All Seasons"; appearing in several versions of the play off-Broadway in the '70s and '80s | |
| 1941 | Made acting debut in a student production of Henrik Ibsen's play, "Peer Gynt" |
| 1943 - 1946 | Served in the US Air Force during WWII; during one 18-month stint was radio operator on B-29 stationed in the Aleutians |
| 1947 | Broadway debut, "Antony and Cleopatra" starring Katharine Cornell |
| 1947 | Directed a revival of F. Hugh Herbert's stage comedy "Kiss and Tell" at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Theatre |
| 1947 | With wife Lydia Clarke, co-founded Thomas Wolfe Memorial Theatre in Asheville, North Carolina |
| 1948 | TV debut as Marc Antony in a production of "Julius Caesar" staged for the dramatic anthology series, "Studio One" |
| 1949 | Returned to Broadway in the Joseph Hayes' play, "Leaf and Bough" at the Cort Theatre |
| 1950 | Made Hollywood (and 35mm) film acting debut in the leading role of director William Dieterle's film noir, "Dark City" |
| 1952 | First of three collaborations with Cecil B DeMille, "The Greatesu Show on Earth" |
| 1952 | Performed in a radio version of "Double Indemnity" |
| 1953 | Narrated the radio series, "Kaleidoscope" |
| 1956 | Became an icon for portraying Moses in "The Ten Commandments"; second collaboration with DeMille |
| 1958 | First film with director William Wyler, "The Big Country" |
| 1958 | Played the Beast (opposite Claire Bloom as Beauty) in the NBC TV presentation of "Beauty and the Beast" |
| 1958 | Starred alongside Janet Leigh and Orson Welles in Welles' "Touch of Evil" |
| 1960 | Earned Best Actor Oscar for his starring role in Wyler's "Ben-Hur" |
| 1963 | First TV-movie, "The Patriots" (NBC) playing Thomas Jefferson |
| 1963 | Narrated the short film, "The Five Cities of June" |
| 1965 | Formed production company, Court Films, which co-produced (with Universal Pictures) "The War Lord" |
| 1965 | Portrayed Michelangelo in "The Agony and the Ecstacy" |
| 1968 | First film with director Tom Gries, "Will Penny" |
| 1968 | First science-fiction film, "Planet of the Apes"; directed by Franklin J. Schaffner |
| 1968 | Last dramatic role on TV for 15 years, Essex in "Elizabeth the Queen" (NBC) |
| 1971 | Feature directorial debut, "Antony and Cleopatra"; also adapted and starred; produced under newly formed production company, Folio Films; first non US-production (British) and first of six collaborations with executive producer Peter Snell |
| 1973 | Played first supporting role (Cardinal Richelieu) in a major Hollywood feature, "The Three Musketeers" |
| 1982 | Directed (also starred) "Mother Lode"; written and produced by son Fraser |
| 1983 | First TV acting role in 15 years, the CBS miniseries "Chiefs" |
| 1985 - 1987 | TV series debut, as Jason Colby on the ABC primetime soap, "The Colbys"; a spin-off from "Dynasty" |
| 1988 | TV directorial debut, "A Man for All Seasons" (TNT); reprised stage role of Sir Thomas More; son Fraser was one of producers |
| 1990 | TV producing debut, "Treasure Island" (TNT); also starred as Long John Silver; written and directed by son Fraser |
| 1991 | Portrayed Sherlock Holmes in "The Crucifer of Blood" (TNT); directed by Fraser Heston |
| 1992 | Hosted the four-part miniseries "Charlton Heston Presents the Bible" (A&E) |
| 1995 | Portrayed a publisher in John Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness" |
| 1997 | Became contributing columnist to Guns & Ammo |
| 1998 | Made the rounds supporting the rerelease of Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil" |
| 1998 | Played himself on an episode of NBC's "Friends" |
| 2001 | Made cameo appearance as Tim Roth's ape father in the Tim Burton-directed adaptation of "Planet of the Apes" |
| 2002 | Appeared in Michael Moore’s Oscar-winning documentary, “Bowling for Columbine” |
| 2002 | Lent his voice to an animated version of "Ben-Hur"; produced by his son Fraser |
| 2003 | Last film role was as the infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele in "My Father, Rua Alguem 5555" |
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