Top of the Ticket

Politics and commentary, coast to coast, from the Los Angeles Times

« Previous Post | Top of the Ticket Home | Next Post »

Nancy Reagan remembers Charlton Heston and Ronnie, both Alzheimer's victims

April 7, 2008 |  2:30 pm

They must have been really good friends.

Fellow conservatives, actors, union presidents and friends President Ronald Reagan and Charlton Heston at a White House Cabinet Room meeting of the Presidential Task Force on the Arts and Humanities June 15, 1981 Both men ultimately died of Alzheimers

The wife of the late President Reagan, Nancy, has just issued an unusual public statement of sorrow at the death over the weekend of Moses, er, Ben-Hur, er, Charlton Heston.

Her statement and a little Googling remind us of how similar were these men, who were also good friends. Both were famous actors. Both were president of the Screen Actors Guild. Both entered politics later in life, both on the conservative side of the spectrum.

And, with their wives at their bedsides, both died in the horrible fog of Alzheimer's disease -- Heston on Saturday night at age 84 and the 40th president on June 5, 2004. Has it been that long ago already?

The Ticket did its own special political tribute to Charlton Heston here Saturday -- "Charlton Heston dies! Hollywood's GOP population plummets 25%" -- including a link to memorable audio of some of his most famous movie and political lines.

Here's the former first lady's statement: 

"I was heartbroken to hear of the death of Charlton Heston. He was one of Ronnie's and my dearest friends.

"He shared a love of radio and acting and politics with Ronnie, and I know they had many discussions about each of their terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild. I will never forget Chuck as a hero on the big screen in the roles be played, but more importantly I considered him a hero in life for the many times that he stepped up to support Ronnie in whatever he was doing.

"We were honored to know Chuck as a friend, and my prayers go out to Lydia, Fraser and Holly Ann at this very difficult time."

-- Andrew Malcolm                                         Photo: The White House

President Ronald Reagan, playing Charlton Heston playing Moses, commands Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev to take down the Berlin Wall

y f


Post a comment
If you are under 13 years of age you may read this message board, but you may not participate.
Here are the full legal terms you agree to by using this comment form.

Comments are moderated, and will not appear until they've been approved.

If you have a TypeKey or TypePad account, please Sign In





Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

God Bless Charlton Heston.

The racist and hate speech givers and the 20 year loyal
listeners are slow in presenting their condolences.
One would expect more humanity from an aspirer to the
highest office of America.Bet you his granny aint too
happy about his lack of managnimity. On the other hand,
Judas, Hanoi Jane, ex-pres Carter and the other odd ball
endorsers probably prefer he remain silent

VERY MOVING - MAY HE RIP !!!!



Advertisement

About the Bloggers



Categories


Archives