Charlton Heston, 1924-2008: R.I.P.

Charlton Heston has died.

I always enjoyed Chuck in a film. He was all ham at times, but always fun to watch. He was ferociously principled, with old-fashioned notions about virtue. He always enjoyed dying in a film, considered it the most dramatic thing an actor could do.

Here's a photo of Chuck from The Omega Man, dead at the hands of a mutant:



I think that The Omega Man sort of encapsulated Chuck's later career: out of touch with the Left, fierce advocate of gun ownership, and self-reliant always.

He married early and stayed married, for over 64 years, to his beloved Lydia, who survives him.

Here's the trailer from The Omega Man:



Thank you for all the wonderful moments, Chuck. I'll miss you.

Update: I've been reading news stories for the last hour or so and want to quote Xan Brooks in the UK Guardian:

To his detractors, Heston could be an inflexible, monolithic presence, weighed down by his own mantle of heroism and pious sense of virtue. Others took a more charitable view. Assessing the actor's cultural impact, the critic Pauline Kael hailed him as "a god-like hero, built for strength. He is an archetype of what makes Americans win. He represents American power - and he has the profile of an eagle."

That just totally encapsulates the man. Good writing, there.

Update 2: Welcome, Instapundit readers!