Charlton heston biography ben hur rolex

Whether starring as Judah Ben-Hur, Michelangelo or Moses, Charlton Heston personified the larger-than-life heroes of the Hollywood epic.

Charlton Heston's life story reads like a film script.

From the backwoods of Michigan, he became one of the world's most famous faces, a high-profile campaigner for Civil Rights and an unapologetic president of America's National Rifle Association.

He was born John Charles Carter in Evanston, Illinois.

By his own admission "shy, skinny, short and pimply", he studied acting before serving for three years in the US Air Force.

Charlton heston biography ben hur rolex

Big screen presence

Back in civilian life, Heston and his wife, Lydia, went through hard times, while waiting for his first break as an actor.

Living in a single room in Chicago, at one time they posed for artists, at $1.25 an hour, before Heston finally attracted Hollywood's attention.