Charleton Heston was one of my very favorite actors- he was always the guy in the movie that I wanted to be. What a great legacy in film he left behind... it seems like he played everyone! I really liked his version of Long John Silver in TREASURE ISLAND and I was sure PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN took a lot of inspiration from the film.

randomyork, like you, I love the version of TREASURE ISLAND in which Mr. Heston appeared as Long John Silver. It is my favorite version of Stevenson's oft-filmed novel. My personal favorite among Mr. Heston's films is WILL PENNY, a film which really gave him the chance to show off his acting ability.

I saw Mr. Heston, for the first and only time, at an 80th birthday celebration for Ray Bradbury, held in August, 2000 at a theater in Burbank, California, where a few of Ray's one-act plays were perfomed as well as a scene from the musical version of DANDELION WINE. Others in attendance were Forry Ackerman, Stan Freeberg, Norman Corwin, Bill Nolan and Dennis Etchison. Mr. Heston was seated in the row in front of me, and freely talked with other attendees in the theater lobby. He seemed like a genuinely kind and friendly person.

Of course one of Heston's best-known roles was the title character of BEN HUR, one of my favourite films (incidentally, my aunt was an extra in the film - in audience for the famed chariot race!).
I also love his role in Orson Welles' superb film noir, TOUCH OF EVIL (though I don't know if he made a convincing Mexican).

Ah, oz-crumley, those were the days, when "epic" films such as BEN HUR, SPARTACUS and EL CID were filled with extras who were real people, and not computer generated "special effects" images. It gave films a scope and realism sadly lacking in such movies today. I'm sure your aunt could tell some marvelous stories about her experience on BEN HUR!

Yes! TOUCH OF EVIL is beyond remarkable! Heston was a big, strong guy... Iremember a scene in a bar where he was lifting some guy off his feet by his collar (?) and i don't think it was special effects either. I haven't seen WILL PENNY I need to check it out. I think he was about 70 in Treasure Island though he played a 50 year old pirate- and very well too. He was a frightening Long John because he played him as the inteligent character he is in the book- not some comical looking animatron with a nervous twitch.

Two of my favorites (and the framed 1 sheet for one is hanging in my office) are "THE NAKED JUNGLE" a great George Pal film and "SECRET OF THE INCAS"-the reel inspiration for Indiana Jones. That film had a great cast that included Thomas Mitchell, Robert Young, Michael Pate and singer Yma Sumak(who sand several songs). Great on location filmed in Peru and directed by John Farrow. Paramount 1954. Heston was great in both!

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"SECRET OF THE INCAS"-the reel inspiration for Indiana Jones

Yes - I think he even had the hat.