Charlton Heston at the 1963 Civil Rights March.
Charlton Heston died a few days ago. I never met him, but he did provide for one of the most memorable incidents at my last television station.
Several years ago, Heston was visiting Birmingham, waiting in our lobby for an interview appearance on our noon newscast. Our Managing Editor, Al Volker, was running a last-minute script update from the newsroom to the studio. As he rounded the corner at the reception desk, he spotted Heston — and without breaking stride — blurted out:
“OH JESUS! IT’S MOSES!“
We asked Al if he ever went back and talked with Heston, or got an autograph.
“Nah. It would have ruined my story.”
In hindsight, what would he have gained from knowing Heston’s reaction? Nothing. The story is better left unfinished.
[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, television, Charlton Heston, ABC 33/40[/tags]
That is awesome. I would have liked to have seen his face after that. Leaving it a mystery is perfect.
My Chuck Heston story:
One time when my father and I were going to visit my grandparents (they lived in Westwood, which is next to Bel-Air and Beverly Hills) we pulled up at a red light and my father pointed out that Mr. Heston was driving the car next to us. I was 10 or 11 (I think) and thusly stared openly at him. I hadn’t run into many stars at that point. My dad told me to stop staring, but Mr. Heston smiled at me before the green light and we all went on our merry ways. It made me happy.
🙂
Great post, Ike!
The way Volker tells it to me, the phrase was “Jesus Christ, it’s Moses!”
My favourite Heston story is a little too long to type here, unfortunately. My fingers just don’t have the patience. Suffice it to say three guys in the surf band The Penetrators (Rip Thrillby [R.I.P.], Spanky Twangler, and Trace Luger) severely weirded him out with a film script, three black suits, and a few computer-altered photos…
Be well
-UF
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