Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Omega MAn/Charleston Heston

2007-12-30 Thread KeithBJohnson
You know, i've always liked Heston. Yeah, he's a conservative, and his NRA 
rhetoric got on my nerves. But he is one of those old-school actors who always 
said what he felt. He didn't dissemble or demure for fear of damaging his 
career and rep: he told it like it was. Heston did a wide range of films, being 
fortunate enough to work back in the days when Biblical epics were considered 
as valid as cop dramas. And he crossed into scifi at a time when some major 
stars shied away from it as too silly for them.
Heston also spoke out against segregation and racism when he was younger, back 
when many stars refused to get involved. He marched with Dr. King. (see wiki 
entry below). Now later in life he became more conservative, attacked 
political correctness, and was against affirmative action. I think like a lot 
of white guys, the reality of having to *work* for a *long time* to ensure 
equality was more and scarier than he thought when he was marching and speaking 
out. (Lot of white folk have fatigue with our issues; i guess they think 30 
years of half-ass equality more than makes up for going on 400 years of 
oppression).

Despite his swing to the right, though, I still like Heston. I guess he seems 
like one of those old school real men whose attitudes i often abhor, but 
whose courage and forthrightness i can respect. If only their powers could be 
used for good and all...

From wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleton_Heston
In his earlier years, Heston was a liberal Democrat, campaigning for 
Presidential candidates Adlai Stevenson in 1956 and John F. Kennedy in 1960. A 
civil rights activist, he accompanied Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil 
rights march held in Washington, D.C. in 1963, even going so far as to wear a 
sign that read All Men Are Created Equal. Heston later claimed it a point of 
pride that he helped in the civil rights cause long before Hollywood found it 
fashionable, as he often says in his speeches. Heston had also planned to 
campaign for Lyndon Johnson, but was unable to do so when filming on Major 
Dundee went over schedule. In 1968, following the assassination of Senator 
Robert F. Kennedy, Heston appeared on The Joey Bishop Show and, along with 
fellow actors Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas and James Stewart, called for public 
support for President Johnson's Gun Control Act of 1968. He later claimed he 
was young and foolish.[citation needed] In 1969, Heston was asked by some Dem
ocrats to run for the California State Senate, a move that would have likely 
had bipartisan support in the state.[citation needed] He declined because he 
wanted to continue acting.
He was also an opponent of McCarthyism and racial segregation, which he saw as 
only helping the cause of Communism worldwide. He opposed the Vietnam War and 
considered Richard Nixon a disaster for America. He turned down John Wayne's 
offer of a role in The Alamo, because the film was a right-wing allegory for 
the Cold War. By the 1980s, however, Heston had began to support more 
conservative positions on such issues as affirmative action and gun rights. 
Heston changed his registration from Democrat to Republican. He has campaigned 
for Republican candidates and Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and 
George W. Bush.

-- Original message -- 
From: Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor) [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sad :(

Martin wrote:
 Yes, Tracey, he has.

 Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor) [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 
 Hasn't he retired from public life as a result of Alzheimer's?

 Astromancer wrote:
 
 NRA...

 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: no, refresh my memory on that one...

 -- Original message -- 
 From: Martin [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
 Pondering on this, Keith, I'm reminded that, in a sense, Heston has taken 
 this into real life.

 From my cold dead fingers. Ring a bell?

 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: i've only seen The Omega Man on network TV, so 
 that scene was cut. I remember liking the movie, and shaking my head at the 
 ending. You ever notice how many times in movies Heston died at the end, but 
 in a noble, martyr-like way? In Omega man, he looks like nothing so much 
 as Christ on the Cross at the end. He also had a bloody, dramatic death in 
 one of the Planet of the Apes films. Indeed, isn't he the one who setoff the 
 Earth-destroying nuke in his death throes? And then there's El Cid, where he 
 dies at the end, yet is tied to his horse so that his body, riding onward on 
 the battlefield, can continue to inspire his men. My wife and I always laugh 
 at Heston in such roles...

 -- Original message -- 
 From: ravenadal [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
 I am a big fan of Omega Man. The late, great Rosalind Cash plays 
 the sassy black girl. Although she remains too thin for my taste, in 
 1971, when I was fifteen years old, her brief nude scene sho nuff ruled 
 my world. 

 ~rave!

 --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Mike 

Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Omega MAn/Charleston Heston

2007-12-30 Thread Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor)
That explains a lot.  I remember thinking he was liberal while growing 
up.  No body was hiring us in Hollywood, yet he always did, with meaty, 
meaningful roles. So when he became a right wing nut, I was shocked.  I 
really tried to hate him, but after years of being a fan, it was 
difficult.  I just ended up pretty much ambivalent.  Thanks for posting 
this, at least now I have aa better understanding about the source of my 
ambivilance

[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 You know, i've always liked Heston. Yeah, he's a conservative, and his NRA 
 rhetoric got on my nerves. But he is one of those old-school actors who 
 always said what he felt. He didn't dissemble or demure for fear of damaging 
 his career and rep: he told it like it was. Heston did a wide range of films, 
 being fortunate enough to work back in the days when Biblical epics were 
 considered as valid as cop dramas. And he crossed into scifi at a time when 
 some major stars shied away from it as too silly for them.
 Heston also spoke out against segregation and racism when he was younger, 
 back when many stars refused to get involved. He marched with Dr. King. (see 
 wiki entry below). Now later in life he became more conservative, attacked 
 political correctness, and was against affirmative action. I think like a 
 lot of white guys, the reality of having to *work* for a *long time* to 
 ensure equality was more and scarier than he thought when he was marching and 
 speaking out. (Lot of white folk have fatigue with our issues; i guess they 
 think 30 years of half-ass equality more than makes up for going on 400 years 
 of oppression).

 Despite his swing to the right, though, I still like Heston. I guess he seems 
 like one of those old school real men whose attitudes i often abhor, but 
 whose courage and forthrightness i can respect. If only their powers could be 
 used for good and all...

 From wikipedia:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleton_Heston
 In his earlier years, Heston was a liberal Democrat, campaigning for 
 Presidential candidates Adlai Stevenson in 1956 and John F. Kennedy in 1960. 
 A civil rights activist, he accompanied Martin Luther King Jr. during the 
 civil rights march held in Washington, D.C. in 1963, even going so far as to 
 wear a sign that read All Men Are Created Equal. Heston later claimed it a 
 point of pride that he helped in the civil rights cause long before 
 Hollywood found it fashionable, as he often says in his speeches. Heston had 
 also planned to campaign for Lyndon Johnson, but was unable to do so when 
 filming on Major Dundee went over schedule. In 1968, following the 
 assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Heston appeared on The Joey 
 Bishop Show and, along with fellow actors Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas and 
 James Stewart, called for public support for President Johnson's Gun Control 
 Act of 1968. He later claimed he was young and foolish.[citation needed] In 
 1969, Heston was asked by so
  me Dem
 ocrats to run for the California State Senate, a move that would have likely 
 had bipartisan support in the state.[citation needed] He declined because he 
 wanted to continue acting.
 He was also an opponent of McCarthyism and racial segregation, which he saw 
 as only helping the cause of Communism worldwide. He opposed the Vietnam War 
 and considered Richard Nixon a disaster for America. He turned down John 
 Wayne's offer of a role in The Alamo, because the film was a right-wing 
 allegory for the Cold War. By the 1980s, however, Heston had began to support 
 more conservative positions on such issues as affirmative action and gun 
 rights. Heston changed his registration from Democrat to Republican. He has 
 campaigned for Republican candidates and Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. 
 W. Bush and George W. Bush.

 -- Original message -- 
 From: Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor) [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
 Sad :(

 Martin wrote:
   
 Yes, Tracey, he has.

 Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor) [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 
 Hasn't he retired from public life as a result of Alzheimer's?

 Astromancer wrote:

 
 NRA...

 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: no, refresh my memory on that one...

 -- Original message -- 
 From: Martin [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
 Pondering on this, Keith, I'm reminded that, in a sense, Heston has taken 
 this into real life.

 From my cold dead fingers. Ring a bell?

 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: i've only seen The Omega Man on network TV, so 
 that scene was cut. I remember liking the movie, and shaking my head at the 
 ending. You ever notice how many times in movies Heston died at the end, 
 but in a noble, martyr-like way? In Omega man, he looks like nothing so 
 much as Christ on the Cross at the end. He also had a bloody, dramatic 
 death in one of the Planet of the Apes films. Indeed, isn't he the one who 
 setoff the Earth-destroying nuke in his death throes? And then there's El 
 Cid, where he dies at the