3 Stars Missed Even After the Final “Fade Out”
Posted on 06 April 2008 by Gary Karbon
Today I've heard that Charlton Heston has died... Not a good day for me.
After losing Richard Widmark (on March 24, 2008) and Heath Ledger (January 22, 2008), it seems like 2008 is already off to a bad start in terms of obits, taking away from us some of the best actors that ever lived.
The Oscar-winner Heston was such a granite-jawed iconic figure for me when I was growing up.
The Ten Commandments and Ben Hur will perhaps live on forever as his most memorable films.
But what are we going to do about the Planet of the Apes? Or the cult classic Omega Man? We'll certainly remember those too.
I wasn't too hot on Heston's politics, to tell you the truth. I think he carried the NRA gig a bit too far. As a well-established and respected actor he didn't need all that controversy. He should've just let his work speak for itself. But still, I know I'll miss him.
Richard Widmark is another veteran that some of the younger movie fans perhaps would not remember but he was a big name through the '50s and '60s.
I forgot the number of Westerns, WW2 movies and crime thrillers he showed up in; more often than not as a villain, a mobster or a spoiler.
Probably his most classic role in terms of cinema history is that psychotic killer with the nasty giggle in Kiss of Death (1947), a role for which he won his only Oscar nomination.
But he played heroes as well, like the plague-fighting doctor in Panic in the Streets (1950).
His filmography includes 65 films shot during his 93 years.
Known for his single-minded devotion to his wife all his life, he was once asked how come he did not have any affairs with other women – a Hollywood oddity in itself.
Widmark's answer was simple. “Because,” he said, “I happen to like my wife a lot.”
Heath Ledger was certainly heading for something great in his career. Something historic would certainly come his way, sooner or later.
The Oscar-nominated star of the Brokeback Mountain could have been our next James Dean, perhaps, or Marlon Brando. Who knows?
It's a shame his young promising life was cut down short so suddenly, in such a way.
Ledger will also be missed not only for the flashes of genius he shared with us in the 23 films he managed to squeeze into his brief career, but also for the limitless redeeming potential of art that he represented with such authority.
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