Charlton Heston R.I.P.

The death of Charlton Heston yesterday, even though he was 84 years old and apparently had Alzheimer's, is still a sad occasion. Heston's was a name that permeated popular culture, even if, like me, you're pretty sure you've never seen any of the films in which he had starring roles (something of which I'm slightly ashamed and also a bit surprised - two films I know I've seen him have cameos in however are the 2001 Planet Of The Apes and Kenneth Branagh's 1996 film version of Hamlet). Looking through his filmography there are many films of his that I'd really like to see: The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, El Cid, the original Planet Of The Apes, and Soylent Green are a few that have passed me by and were on my "to watch" list before I heard of Heston's death. It seems that for many of my generation he was, maybe not equally but certainly significantly, well-known as a member and former president of the NRA, something that is possibly more controversial in the USA. For me, he will be remembered as a cinematic great of whom I only realised how little I knew his work once he was gone. I intend to rectify that in the near future.