Charlton Heston, best known for his role as Moses in 1956's "The Ten Commandments," was not just an actor but a proud patriot who believed in the Constitution and felt the need to protect it, his son has revealed.
There has been controversy surrounding Charlton's support of the National Rifle Association, of which he was elected as vice president in 1997, and now Fraser Heston is setting the record straight about his late father in a tell-all interview with Fox News.
"He wasn’t a gun nut. He did not have a basement full of machine guns as he’s been depicted on the Internet. He was simply an American patriot," Fraser said of his father, who passed away in 2008 at age 84. "He served his country in World War II and he wanted to do more to protect this nation. He marched to Washington with Martin Luther King. He was a great supporter of civil rights."
Addressing the misconceptions surrounding the film icon's involvement with the NRA, Fraser explained that he felt he was taking a stand for the Constitution.
"He felt we needed to defend our Constitution and our rights," Fraser said. "I believe that was his real motivation, to protect our country. It had nothing to do with being a gun nut. He was socially very liberal. He was very tolerant. He believed in the Constitution and wanted to protect it. He believed that all men and women are created equal. He believed our country needed to live, grow and breathe as a free society. He believed that America was the hope of the world and wanted to preserve that. It all comes down to freedom."
Fraser is hoping to keep the memory of his father alive through a documentary, "Charlton Heston – The Man in the Arena," and said he hopes it will help the public remember his father not just as a movie star but for his campaign in the civil rights movement, which he became involved in from the early stages.
"He stood up for civil rights because he believed in it," Fraser said. "In regards to his political work, you can choose to agree or disagree with it. He always believed you can have a political viewpoint and still admire the human being."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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