Charlton Heston: A Life Well Lived 562.2
Last week, Hollywood icon Charlton Heston died. He had been out of the public eye since 2002 after he publicly announced he was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
At the time, I read portions of an eloquent and deeply moving message he published about his condition and his perspective on the past and future. Days later, I received and shared a note from his son Fraser, who wanted to add another dimension to his dad’s legacy.
“My father,” he wrote, “is the most ethical person I know, whose character I admire more than any other man. He has demonstrated to me that character counts not only when the sun is shining, but when storm clouds gather as well.”
This soulful tribute impressed me even more than Mr. Heston’s own statement.
We are the playwrights and stars of our own lives, and we alone decide whether the part we’ve written is grand or small. How we write and play our part determines how long we'll be remembered, by whom, and for what. And the audience that matters most consists of family and friends – the people who really know us.
Since familiarity is more likely to diminish than enlarge admiration, when an adult child expresses deep and true respect for a parent, it really means something.
In his goodbye letter, Charlton Heston called his family his “proudest achievement.” But the achievement represented by his family is not only told in the accomplishments and character of his children and grandchildren, but in the level of esteem he earned from his family.
This makes Fraser's assessment of his dad a persuasive testament and worthy memorial of a life well lived.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
To read his goodbye letter, see below.
* Charlton Heston’s film legacy includes hugely heroic parts in epic films. He played Moses, Ben Hur, and Michelangelo. Yet, without doubt, the way he dealt with the impending loss of his mental faculties with such dignity, grace, and gratitude is Mr. Heston's most authentic demonstration of heroism. Here is the letter he published in 2002:
My Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Fans:
My physicians have recently told me I may have a neurological disorder whose symptoms are consistent with Alzheimer's disease. I wanted to prepare a few words for you now because when the time comes, I may not be able to.
I've lived my whole life on the stage and screen before you. I've found purpose and meaning in your response. For an actor there's 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.
For now, I'm not changing anything. I'll insist on work when I can; the doctors will insist on rest when I must. If you see a little less spring in my step, if your name fails to leap to my lips, you'll know why. And if I tell you a funny story for the second time, please laugh anyway.
I'm neither giving up nor giving in. I believe I'm still the fighter that Dr. King and JFK and Ronald Reagan knew, but it's a fight I must someday call a draw. I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure. Please feel no sympathy for me. I don't. I just may be a little less accessible to you, despite my wishes.
I also want you to know that I'm grateful beyond measure. My life has been blessed with good fortune. I'm grateful that I was born in America, that cradle of freedom and opportunity, where a kid from the Michigan north woods can work hard and make something of his life. I'm grateful for the gift of the greatest words ever written, that let me share with you the infinite scope of the human experience. As an actor, I'm thankful that I've lived not one life, but many.
Above all, I'm proud of my family ... my wife Lydia, the queen of my heart, my children, Fraser and Holly, and my beloved grandchildren, Jack, Ridley, and Charlie. They're my biggest fans, my toughest critics, and my proudest achievement. Through them, I can touch immortality.
Finally, I'm confident about the future of America. I believe in you. I know that the future of our country, our culture, and our children is in good hands. I know you will continue to meet adversity with strength and resilience, as our ancestors did, and come through with flying colors -- the ones on Old Glory.
William Shakespeare, at the end of his career, wrote his farewell through the words of Prospero in The Tempest. It ends like this:
"Be cheerful, sir. Our revels now are ended. These our actors, as I foretold you, were all spirits and are melted into air, into thin air. And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, the cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, the solemn temples, the great globe itself, yea all which it inherit, shall dissolve and, like this insubstantial pageant faded, leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."
Thank you, and God bless you, everyone.
Comments
Mr. Heston, without a doubt, my world is a better one because you exist in it. I most remember you and continue to replay Ben Juda Hur.
Always
George
Posted by: George L. Lewis, Jr. | April 14, 2008 5:41 PM
Mr. Heston,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your courage touched me deeply.
Posted by: Lucienne | April 18, 2008 7:04 AM
I read again the letter from Mr. Heston and, again, it made me cry. It is one of sorrow for the loss of a truly great person, one whose character was one to admire and emulate. It is also one of joy, for having had such a great role model.
Posted by: Linda | April 18, 2008 7:11 AM
I'm sorry Michael, I don't share you view of Mr.Heston.
I find it disturbing when he held the NRA meeting in Colorado days/weeks after the Columbine shooting.
Very disappointing...
Posted by: Yung Oey | April 18, 2008 9:14 AM
Charlton Heston was not in charge of scheduling the NRA meeting that took place in Colorado. It was scheduled months before the Columbine shootings (which, by the way, happened because of the complacency of parents and school administrators, with weapons obtained illegally, which the NRA does not condone). It may be that the NRA used poor judgment in deciding to go ahead with its meeting, but Charlton Heston did not have the final say.
Mr. Heston was a complicated man; he held many beliefs with which people may or may not agree. But he stuck to those beliefs, and he tried to make his family and this world a better place. He should be commended for that.
Posted by: Jamie | April 18, 2008 9:58 AM
I have been and always will be a fan. The man now walks with other giants. He was bigger than life and his letter should inspire, not draw criticism. He walked tall when we needed it for the rights of all, when others ran. He lifted our spirits in film, epecially as Juda Ben Hur. Thank You for those moments.
Posted by: Leti | April 18, 2008 4:29 PM
Having some great memories of Mr. Heston's screen career: of the doubt in himself, but still carrying out God's plan for the people as Moses in the "Ten Commandments"; the test of ordeals and the victory of the chariot race against oppression in "Ben Hur"; and as Rodrigo unites Christians and Moslems in defense of Spain in "El-Cid" demonstrated for me an ideal that one can take on challenges that seem impossible and with "faith" can overcome adversity. The quality of Mr.Heston's sincerity in his artistic abilities and presentations will always remain with me as examples of what it means to be a true noble person.
With deepest appreciation,
Walter (US Army, Ret. MC)
Posted by: Walter G. Smythe | April 21, 2008 6:10 AM
I find it odd that someone would read this self epitaph and immediately draw a conclusion about the NRA (of which I am not a member neither do I intend) and or Columbine (of which I would never condone).
I read this for what it is, a statement about a man who lived his life with no regrets and was "thankful" for it; a man who wore his politics and beliefs on his sleeve and didn't buckle under the pressure to dissuade from them; a man who was truly proud of his family; a man who understood mortality and embraced it; a man whose ideals and integrity are that which Michael talks about daily!
Basically a "good human." I hope the same can be said of me someday!
Thank you, Mr. Heston
Posted by: Ken | April 28, 2008 5:05 PM
Mr. Heston was truly larger than life. His emotional letter attests to that, so does his son's addition to it. Throughout most of my adult life I think back to "El Cid", which I saw as a young boy. Regardless of Hollywood, to hold a king as accountable as yourself, to be willing to give up all because you will not compromise your ethics, is truly a test of character. As if we needed further proof, an army followed him into exile in defiance of a false king because they recognized true servant leadership. That is a worthy legacy to leave behind.
Posted by: Lagomasino | May 7, 2008 7:32 PM