Charlton Heston Is Dead

Charlton Heston, the prototype of the square-jawed, visionary hero who gave epic performances in epic films like Planet of the Apes (1968), Soylent Green (1973), Ben-Hur (1959), and The Ten Commandments (1956), died Saturday night at the age of 83, according to The New York Times and other sources.

Heston's powerful screen presence and forceful, impassioned delivery made indelible his best performances and immortalized such lines as "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!" (from Planet of the Apes) and "You've gotta tell them! Soylent Green is people!" (from Soylent Green) – not to mention his most famous real-life pronouncement, that they would take his gun "from my cold, dead hands" (from his speech as National Rifle Association president at the group's 2000 national convention).

Planet of the Apes, the first of two Apes movies Heston starred in (not including his cameo as Zaius in the 2001 remake starring Mark Wahlberg), vies neck-and-neck with Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments as Heston's most memorable film. Images from each role – Taylor's rebuke of his ape captors, the gripping, flailing violence of the chariot race, and his pained, poignant confrontations with Remeses – are part of the furniture of American culture, thanks largely to Heston's fiery performances.

(One small indication of Heston's iconic place in the cultural landscape is the unique tribute paid him when he guest-hosted Saturday Night Live for the second time, in 1993: the entire opening credits, which featured random shots of New Yorkers as well as the cast, were redone with the same figures in Apes-style monkey masks.)

Heston won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Judah Ben-Hur, and was also honored by the Academy for his humanitarian work -- particularly his efforts fighting for civil rights. He also received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 1967 Golden Globes and was honored by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films with a special award in 1975. His other contributions to science fiction cinema include the lead role in The Omega Man (1971), an early film adaptation of Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend (recently readapted with Will Smith), and appearances on shows like The Outer Limits and Sea Quest 2032. His stentorian delivery also made him a natural for the narration of films like Hercules and Armageddon.

Heston revealed he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease in 2002. In a statement to fans Heston said, "For an actor, there is no greater loss than the loss of his audience. I can part the Red Sea, but I can't part with you, which is why I won't exclude you from this stage in my life." He added, "I'm neither giving up nor giving in."