Charlton Heston (born October 4, 1924) is an Academy Award-winning American film actor noted for heroic roles and his long involvement in political issues.

Early career

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Heston was born John Charlton Carter in St. Helen, Michigan to Lila Charlton and Russell Whitford Carter. He was raised in the north woods of Michigan, where he enjoyed hunting, shooting, and fishing. When he was ten, his parents divorced. Shortly thereafter, his mother married Chester Heston. The new family moved to well-off Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Heston (his new surname) attended New Trier High School. He enrolled in the school's drama program, where he performed with such outstanding results that he earned a drama scholarship to Northwestern University from the Winnetka Community Theatre in which he was also active. While still in high school, he played in the silent 16 mm amateur film adaptation of Peer Gynt made by David Bradley. Several years later the same team produced Julius Caesar, in which Heston played Mark Antony.

In 1944, Heston left college and enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. He served for two years as a B-25 radio operater/gunner stationed in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands with the Eleventh Air Force, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant.

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