Charlton Heston: Hollywood's Last Icon

A USA Today New and Noteworthy Selection 

This is the definitive biography of one of the most iconic, complex and enduring legends of Hollywood’s golden age, whose major presence in American film, radio, television, stage and theater lasted beyond the second half of the 20th Century, and whose classic films are known throughout the world.

Written by New York Times bestselling, prize-winning author Marc Eliot - Cary Grant, Walt Disney, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Jack Nicholson, and others - with unprecedented access to the family, friends, and Heston’s private papers, diaries, journal, writings and estate, he tells an unforgettable tale of an extraordinary life you may find difficult to put down. 

Eliot's biography is rich with facts details and anecdotal material that bring to life the complex story of this most iconic of American popular cultural giants to illuminate Heston's greatest achievements and his personal failures. He examines how a small boy from the backwoods of Michigan rose to become one of Hollywood’s most legendary stars,  one of the Greatest Generation’s true-life war heroes  - he saw action in the Pacific Theater during World War Two, before moving with his young wife from Chicago to New York’s Hell’s Kitchen to begin their struggle to find success in the theater. Eliot traces Heston’s pioneering work in live television, his being discovered by Hollywood because of it, and tells the amazing saga of his three films for Cecil B. DeMille and his two for William Wyler, including The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, the latter for which he won a Best-Actor Oscar, with fascinating new details, documents and photographs never before seen.  Eliot follows Heston through the genre of Science Fiction, which he helped revive with Planet of the Apes, and sheds new light on every one of Heston’s iconic films. He also examines Heston’s long political involvements, from being one of the organizers of The Arts Contingent of Marchers who joined with Martin Luther King, Jr. for the March on Washington, to his mentoring under Ronald Reagan for eventual presidency of the Screen Actors Guild, to his late-in-life presidency of the National Rifle Association, all the while being asked by both Republican and Democratic Parties to run for the United States Senate.

With unprecedented cooperation with Heston’s family, and never-before-seen personal photos, documents and hand-written letters, Charlton Heston: Hollywood’s Last Icon for the first time tells the real story of Charlton’s Heston’s amazing life, an incisive, detailed, compelling portrayal, both for longtime fans, Hollywood movie lovers everywhere and a new college and TCM generation discovering Heston’s work for the first time.

The most definitive biography of Hollywood icon Charlton Heston—one of the most popular, engrossingly complex and, at times, controversial personalities ever to emerge from American cinema.

Charlton Heston starred in American movies for more than six decades, in roles that ranged from the Biblical leader Moses in The Ten Commandments to the title role in William Wyler’s definitive Ben-Hur, to the heroic astronaut George Taylor in 1968’s sci-fi classic Planet of the Apes, in addition to hundreds of other
screen, theater, and television roles. He also served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, and more controversially, as the head of the National Rifle Association, which placed him at odds with Hollywood’s then-prevalent left-leaning power elite.

New York Times bestselling author Marc Eliot’s definitive biography, which benefits from extraordinary access to friends, family, and private papers, unravels the epic life story of one of America’s most iconic actors, bringing to light Heston’s greatest achievements as well as his greatest failures and regrets—culminating in an account that is informed, moving, artful, and honest. In it, Eliot lays bare the story of how a boy from the backwoods of Michigan went on to become Hollywood’s go-to action and historical actor and left a legacy that helped define American movie heroes of the twentieth century. From Michigan to New York City to Hollywood, Eliot traces the footsteps of this extraordinary figure and sheds new light on one of America’s greatest stars.

In glistening detail, he examines and celebrates the lasting legacy of Charlton Heston, taking advantage of never-before-heard stories of Heston as husband, father, and unremitting actor whose stamp on Hollywood grows stronger every year.

“Brilliantly corrosive.” - Sunday Times (London) on Walt Disney

“A fascinating portrait.” - Newsweek on Reagan: The Hollywood Years

“Elucidates how a skinny guy with zero sex appeal molded himself into an enduring star.” - Entertainment Weekly on Jimmy Stewart

“Marc Eliot’s hefty, compelling and intimate biography stands as the definitive portrait of the complicated and controversial Oscar-winning actor and political activist.” - Shelf Awareness

“A fascinating and thorough portrait . . . Eliot does a good job of cracking the screen fantasy.” - Esquire on Cary Grant

“The book covers [Heston’s] personal and professional lives in equal measure, and there are plenty of behind-the-scenes stories for the movie buffs in the crowd. Another winner from a dependable biographer.” - Booklist

“Marc Eliot’s insightful biography provides an admiring yet even-handed reassessment long overdue for one of Hollywood’s most popular stars.” - Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers

” Charlton Heston: Hollywood’s Last Icon follows the iconic late actor’s life and career in intimate detail, thanks to author Marc Eliot’s unprecedented access to his personal journals and estate.” - Parade

“A welcome event if only because it restores a sense of balance, offering some overdue appreciation to an actor whose belief system mitigated against a full appreciation of his worth.” - Wall Street Journal

“An entertaining picture of a complicated cinema icon.” - Kirkus Reviews