CHARLTON HESTON: A Biography

by Michael Munn ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 29, 1986

A straightforward, fanzine bio. Munn, an English film writer (Kirk Douglas, The Great Film Epics) takes us back to Heston's birth as Charlton Carter in the north woods of upper Michigan. In one of the few truly interesting sections, he describes how young Charlton, an only child and isolated by the scarcity of peers in this deserted rural area, took to reading heavily in the classics. Excited by such as Treasure Island and The Call of the Wild, he would take to the woods and re-enact all of the characters, or tie his dog to a sled to re-create the ambience of Jack London's Alaska. There is a mixture of fate and hard work depicted here. Cecil B. DeMille, struck in a museum by the similarity of Michelangelo's ""Moses"" to Heston's craggy face, ends his search for the starring role in The Ten Commandments, saying, ""If it's good enough for Michelangelo, it's good enough for me."" Munn's approach is chronological, although he occasionally gets his timing bungled. Aside from this, he depends too much on already published material and disappoints in his obvious idolatry. In terms of depth, one is better directed to Heston's own journals, which were previously published as The Actor's Life.

Pub Date: Aug. 29, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION