Charlton Heston, Marc Eliot
Charlton Heston, Marc Eliot
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Charlton Heston
Hollywood's Last Icon

Author: Marc Eliot

Narrator: Marc Eliot

Unabridged: 19 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 03/14/2017


Synopsis

The first biography of one of the most fascinating, complex, and polarizing legends of cinema’s golden age, Charlton Heston, from the bestselling, prize-winning author of Cary Grant, Walt Disney, and American Rebel.With unforgettable performances such as Moses in The Ten Commandments, the anguished astronaut George Taylor in 1968’s Planet of the Apes, and the eponymous Ben-Hur—for which he won an Academy Award—Charlton Heston cemented his place in the pantheon of twentieth-century Hollywood royalty. But his fame as an actor was matched by his political activism. A democrat in his early years, Heston became a staunch supporter of Richard Nixon and Reagan republicanism. He was also president of the National Rifle Association—an outspoken crusader for gun rights whose incendiary words, ""from my cold, dead hands"" incensed liberals and became a maxim for Second Amendment supporters.At long last, New York Times bestselling author Marc Eliot tells the story of Heston’s life and six-decade-long career in full detail. Granted exclusive access to Heston’s diaries, letters, and personal estate, Eliot skillfully unfolds the complicated story of this iconic actor, illuminating his greatest achievements as well as his greatest failures and regrets. Eliot examines how a boy from backwoods Michigan became Hollywood's leading heroic actor—a star who not only battled for the plumiest roles, but to maintain his identity in the dreamscape of Tinseltown. As he lays bare this intriguing figure’s life, Eliot exposes the dirty world of Hollywood mythmaking and Heston’s crucial role in it. Eliot’s moving, artful, and honest biography pays tribute to this movie legend and reveals not only how Heston’s famous persona came into being, but why. Shedding new light on one of America’s greatest stars, Eliot creates an incisive and compelling portrait for both longtime fans and a generation newly discovering the storied star.

About Marc Eliot

Marc Eliot is the New York Times bestselling author of more than two dozen books on popular culture, among them the highly acclaimed Cary Grant, the award-winning Walt Disney: Hollywood’s Dark Prince, and American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood. His work has been published in more than twenty-five languages, and he writes for a number of publications and frequently speaks about film to universities and film groups, and on radio and television.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Fraser on March 14, 2017

Marc Eliot’s extraordinary new biography, Charlton Heston, Hollywood’s Last Icon, is clearly the definitive work on my father’s remarkable life and times. With unprecedented access to the Charlton Heston Archives, his personal papers, journals and correspondence, extensive interviews with family, fr......more

Goodreads review by George on May 05, 2017

In our divisive times, it is easy to pigeonhole Charlton Heston as the older actor who became President of the NRA and who thrust a rifle and the air and said provocative things but he was so much more. In this first rate biography by veteran Hollywood author Marc Eliot we see Mr. Heston in all his......more

Goodreads review by John on September 15, 2018

This is a straightforward, but quite interesting account of Charlton Heston's life that had me engrossed the entire way. I really enjoyed so many of his movies, so it was pleasant to read about each one: how he came to participate in the film, and some behind-the-scenes stories as well. I also liked......more

Goodreads review by Jon on October 26, 2018

I wanted so much to like this book (an alternative to Heston's own sizable biographies that might shed different light on him and his career) and I did enjoy it -- to a point. It's a beautifully-rendered account of his youth and early career, clearly aided by the assistance of his family. It's also......more

Goodreads review by Emily Loomis Cole on January 31, 2024

The vast majority of the book is about the same as his own autobiography (which I’ve read, twice!) with just additional interviews from family and friends. Towards the end, there’s more details surrounded the shitshow that is/was the NRA. The ending about his battle with Alzheimer’s is very moving.......more