Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston in The Omega Man

Charlton Heston (1923 - 2008 )

Former President of the National Rifle Association

He attended the 1963 March on Washington.

Film Deaths

• Ruby Gentry (1952) [Boake Tackman]: Shot in the chest by James Anderson in the swamp while Charlton is talking to Jennifer Jones.

• El Cid (1961) [Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, El Cid]: Shot with an arrow during a battle with the Moors; he dies in Sophia Loren's arms short afterwards. His body (complete with limbs frozen in place and eyes open) is then mounted on a horse and sent back leading a battle (with a trained horse) to fool the Moors.

• The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) [John the Baptist]: Decapitated (off-screen) by Jose Ferrer's soldiers. (Thanks to Michael)

• Khartoum (1966) [General Charles 'Chinese' Gordon]: Stabbed in the chest with a spear by a Muslim soldier as he approaches them; his severed head is later presented (out of camera frame) to Laurence Olivier. (Thanks to Jeffrey, Stephen, Mac, and Aaron)

• Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) [George Taylor]: Shot by James Gregory; Charlton's hand falls on the switch of a doomsday bomb as he falls, destroying the Earth. (Thanks to Michael and Donald)

• The Omega Man (1971) [Robert Neville]: Impaled through the chest with a spear when Anthony Zerbe throws it at him. (Thanks to Michael and Donald)

• The Call of the Wild (1972) [John Thornton]: Shot in the back by Yeehat Indians with a shotgun and left trapped under the ice of a frozen lake towards the end of movie.

• Antony and Cleopatra (1972) [Marc Antony]: Commits suicide by throwing himself on his sword; he dies shortly afterwards while talking to Hildegarde Neil. (I haven't seen this version, but I'm familiar with the play.)

• Earthquake (1974) [Stewart Graff]: Drowned when he falls into the sewer system while trying to save Ava Gardner. (Thanks to Michael)

• Midway (The Battle of Midway) (1976) [Captain Matthew Garth]: Killed in a plane crash when he tries to land his damaged fighter on an aircraft carrier. (Thanks to Donald)

• Crossed Swords (The Prince and the Pauper) (1977) [King Henry VIII]: Dies of sickness in bed, muttering of "monks" and as his court jester weeps nearby.

• The Awakening (1980) [Matthew Corbeck]: Killed by the evil reincarnated queen Kara (Stephanie Zimbalist), who brings down a sarcophagus and a stone wall on top of him.

• Mother Lode (Search for the Mother Lode: The Last Great Treasure) (1982) [Silas McGee/Ian McGee]: Falls to his death after being shot by Nick Mancuso. (Thanks to Michael)
• In the mouth of madness(1995) [Jackson Harglow]:killed offscreen with the rest of humanity.

• Hamlet (1996) [Player King]: Feigns being poisoned when another actor pours poison in his ear in a play-within-the-play sequence, while Kenneth Branagh watches Derek Jacobi's reaction in the audience.

• The Order (2001) [Professor Walter Finley]: Shot in the chest in the crossfire of a shoot-out in the street; he dies shortly afterwards while talking to Jean-Claude Van Damme.

• Planet of the Apes (2001) [Zaius, Thade's Father]: Dies of old age, while talking to his son (Tim Roth). (Both Charlton and Tim are wearing ape make-up for this film.) (Thanks to Tal)

TV Deaths

• Studio One: Wuthering Heights (1950) [Heathcliff]: Dies of natural causes after years of being tormented by Catherine's ghost (Mary Sinclair).

• Studio One: Macbeth (1951) [Macbeth]: Stabbed to death in a swordfight with Darren McGavin, then beheaded.

• The Outer Limits: Final Appeal (2000) [Chief Justice Haden Wainwright]: Incinerated by a cold-fusion device left behind by a Luddite-terrorist Ezekiel (Wallace Langham).

Notable Connections

• Mr. Lydia Clarke.

• Father of Fraser Clarke Heston (director).