News: Charlton Heston, 1924-2008

Charlton Heston passed away yesterday at the age of 84. Most know him from either his long acting career or his stint as president of the National Rifle Association. I'll never forget the first time I saw a Charlton Heston flick - it was a sleepy Saturday afternoon when they were showing "The Omega Man" on TV:



But it was really Charlton Heston the freedom fighter that his family is probably most proud of. He marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, and as you can see from the above trailer, Heston wasn't afraid to have a romance with a black woman onscreen in 1971, when it was still a bit risqué. His speech to Harvard Law School is particularly interesting for both its tolerance of other races, religions, and even sexual orientations, and its intolerance of the suppression of politically incorrect behavior.

Here's a keynote speech to the NRA - eloquent and sincere: