The early years of John Carter
Born in the early 1920s, John Carter thoroughly enjoyed the first ten years of his life. John lived with his family on the shores of Lake Michigan in a heavily forested suburb north of Chicago. For the first ten years of his life, he enjoyed hunting, fishing, and logging.
Then divorce entered John’s young life. Like most children affected by divorce. John’s life was interrupted. He moved to Columbus, Georgia to live with his aunt and cousins. After the divorce was final, she returned north to St. Helen, Michigan, to live with her mother. Sadly, John only saw his biological father once during the next 10 years.
Soon after, his family friend, Chet Heston, became his stepfather. The reconstituted new family moved to Alliance, Ohio, where Chet hoped to find work while the country was mired in the Depression.
Chet found work to support his family. He set a great example of hard work, independence and responsibility for John by ensuring that there was always food on the table and that his room rent was always paid on time.
John shared how he and his two cousins went to the city welfare office to pick up free food. When Chet found out, he made it very clear why it was not acceptable. In John’s words, Dad said:
“I’m not getting any help booklets, ever! Do you hear me?”
John spoke admiringly of his stepfather’s determination to “never say give up” to provide for his family.
Chet eventually found a more permanent position in Wilmette, Illinois, ascending to an executive position at a defense plant during the war. John, now a teenager, attended New Trier High School. In New Trier, John would find what would become the center of his life: acting.
Twenty years later, Chet died of a heart attack. John said he was “proud to pay off the last of the mortgage and give my mother the deed to the house that [Chet] he worked so hard to provide. “
John Carter’s acting career
As an actor, John Charlton Carter’s career spanned 60 years and he appeared in 100 films. The looks roles that he played allow him to accept only roles that embody responsibility, individualism and masculinity, characteristics modeled by his stepfather and from whom he took his name.
John, better known as Charlton Heston, is best known for his roles in The ten Commandments (1956); Ben Hur, for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor (1959); El Cid (1961); Y Planet of the Apes (1968). He is also known for his roles in movies. The greatest show in the world (1952) and Touch of evil (1958).
Other facts about Charlton Heston
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He was married to one wife, Lydia Clarke, for 65 years.
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He had two children: a son, director Fraser Clarke Heston, and an adopted daughter, Holly Ann Heston.
He was a political activist
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Democratic Presidential Candidates Endorsed, 1955-1972
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He accompanied Martin Luther King, Jr. in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom held in Washington, DC, 1963.
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Served as president-elect of the Screen Actors Guild, 1965-1971
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Conservative Republican Candidates Endorsed Beginning in 1972
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Five-term president of the National Rifle Association, 1998-2003
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Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003
Charlton died in April 2008. As you read the statement from Heston’s family at the time of his death, you will see Chet Huston’s influence on his son Charleton.
“He was known for his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders and booming voice, and of course the roles he played. In fact, he committed to each role with passion and pursued each cause with unmatched enthusiasm and integrity. We knew him as a husband. loving, caring and devoted father, and gracious grandfather, with an infectious sense of humor. He fulfilled these far more important roles with tremendous faith, courage, and dignity. He loved deeply and was deeply loved. No one could ask for a fuller life than his. No man could have given more to his family, his profession and his country. “