The early years of John Carter
Born in the early 1920s, John Carter thoroughly enjoyed the first ten years of his life. John lived with his family on the shores of Lake Michigan in a heavily wooded suburb north of Chicago. The first ten years of his life he enjoyed hunting, fishing, and cutting firewood.
Then divorce entered John’s young life. Like most children affected by divorce. John’s life was cut short. He moved to Columbus, Georgia to live with his aunt and his cousins. After the divorce was final, he moved north to St. Helen, Michigan, to live with his mother. Unfortunately, John only saw his biological father once over the next 10 years.
Soon after, family friend Chet Heston became her stepfather. The newly blended family moved to Alliance, Ohio, where Chet hoped to find work while the country was caught in the Depression.
Chet found work to support his family. He set a great example of hard work and responsibility for John by ensuring independence, he always had food on the table and his room rent was always paid on time.
John shared how he and his two cousins went to the town welfare office to pick up free food. When Chet found out, he made it very clear why it wasn’t acceptable. In John’s words, Dad said:
“I’m not going to accept any help, ever! Do you hear me?”
John spoke admiringly of his stepfather’s determination to “never give up” to support his family.
Chet eventually found a more permanent position in Wilmette, Illinois, rising to an executive position at a defense plant during the war. Now a teenager, John attended New Trier High School. It was in New Trier that John would find what would become the focus of his life: acting.
Twenty years later, Chet died of a heart attack. John said he was “proud to pay the last of the mortgage and give my mother the deed to the house he [Chet] worked so hard to provide.”
John Carter’s acting career
As an actor, John Charlton Carter’s career spanned 60 years and he appeared in 100 films. The starring roles he played allowed him to accept only roles that embodied responsibility, individualism and masculinity, characteristics modeled by his stepfather and after whom he took his name.
John, better known as Charlton Heston, is best known for his roles in The ten Commandments (1956); Ben Hurfor which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor (1959); El Cid (1961); and Planet of the Apes (1968). He is also known for his roles in movies. The greatest show in the world (1952) and touch of evil (1958).
Other facts about Charlton Heston
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He was married to a woman, Lydia Clarke, for 65 years.
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They had two children: a son, director Fraser Clarke Heston, and an adopted daughter, Holly Ann Heston.
he was a political activist
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Democratic endorsed candidates for president, 1955 – 1972
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Accompanied Martin Luther King, Jr. at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, DC, 1963
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Served as President Elect of the Screen Actors Guild, 1965-1971
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Conservative Republican candidates endorsed as of 1972
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Five-term president of the National Rifle Association, 1998-2003
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Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003
Charlton died in April 2008. As you read the statement from Heston’s family at the time of his death, you will see Chet Huston’s influence on his son Charleton.
“He was known for his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders and booming voice and, of course, for the roles he played. In fact, he committed himself to each role with passion and pursued each cause with unmatched enthusiasm and integrity. We knew him as a adoring husband, a kind and devoted father, and a gentle grandfather with an infectious sense of humor. He played these far more important roles with tremendous faith, courage, and dignity. He loved deeply and was deeply loved. No one could ask for a more fulfilling life than his own. No man could have given more to his family, his profession and his country.”
