Stephen Hunter at the Post is the obvious choice to write an Appreciation piece for Heston and it’s quite good:
He and his producers and directors understood his appeal, and used it for maximum effect on the big Technicolor screen. Rarely a doubter, never a coward, inconceivable as a shirker, he played men of granite virtue no matter the epoch. He played commanders, biblical prophets, Jewish heroes, tough-as-nails cowpokes, calm aviators, last survivors, quarterbacks and a president or two. ...
Later in his life, he took that stance into politics, becoming president of the National Rifle Association just when anti-gun attitudes were reaching their peak. Pilloried and parodied, lampooned and bullied, he never relented, he never backed down, and in time it came to seem less an old star’s trick of vanity than an act of political heroism. He endured, like Moses. He aged, like Moses. And the stone tablet he carried had only one commandment: Thou shalt be armed. It can even be said that if the Supreme Court in June finds a meaning in the Second Amendment consistent with NRA policy, that he will have died just short of the Promised Land -- like Moses.
Anyways, the one thing I hadn’t known about Heston was that he had been an "early celebrity marcher" for civil rights. I certainly disagree with his stance on gun control, but I think as Hunter argues that he certainly did seem like a true believer. I had thought that Michael Moore’s harassment of him in Bowling for Colombine was rather untoward. By that point in his life you could definitely see the effects of Alzheimer’s. I have no strong reservations about going after real bad guys past their prime, like Pinochet, but no way is Heston in that category. And Hunter is probably right about dying just short of his goal. From what I’ve read, the Supreme Court is highly likely to come down on behalf of an individual right of gunowner-ship. The question is how strict a standard regulators must meet to limit that right.
Anyways, in other Post news, Gene Weingarten won a Pulitzer for his article where Joshua Bell played violin before commuters that largely ignored him. I enjoyed the piece and it was fun to debate, although I’d think his piece on the Great Zucchini was even better. His chat is still well worth reading although I haven’t been that excited by his experiment with the Gene Pool. I don’t read forums in general though. I tend only to be excited by well modded comment threads and/or those where the host dives into discussions. Congrats!
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