1923 4th October
Birth of Charlton Heston
Birth of Charlton Heston
Cinema history · permanent subject timeline
Charlton Heston
American actor associated with historical epics, science fiction and large-scale studio cinema. This page combines historical context with 18 matching records drawn directly from the World History Database cinema archive.
Historical context
Charlton Heston: overview and significance
What happened?
Charlton Heston became known for leading roles in historical epics and later genre films while maintaining a long screen career.
Why was it important?
Heston's career is closely connected with the era of widescreen spectacle and the later transformation of the Hollywood epic.
World History Database records
Charlton Heston timeline
The records below are selected from the 2,036-record Cinema History archive and rendered as static HTML in chronological order.
1923
1950
1950
Dark City
Heston earned recognition for his appearance in his first professional movie, Dark City, a 1950 film noir
1952
1952
The Greatest Show on Earth
His breakthrough came when Cecil B. DeMille cast him as a circus manager in The Greatest Show on Earth, which was named by the Motion Picture Academy as the best picture of 1952
1956
1956
The Ten Commandments
Heston becomes an icon for portraying Moses in the hugely successful film The Ten Commandments
1958
1958
Touch of Evil
Plays a Mexican police officer named Ramon Miguel Vargas in Orson Welless widely acclaimed film noir Touch of Evil
1960
1960
Academy Award
Winner of the best male actor for "Ben Hur"
1961
1961
El Cid
Stars in, "El Cid"
1963
1963
55 Days at Peking
Stars in, "55 Days at Peking"
1965
1965
Screen Actors Guild
Appointed President of the Screen Actors Guild
1965
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Stars in, "The Agony and the Ecstasy"
1966
1966
Khartoum
Stars in, "Khartoum"
1968
1968
Will Penny
Stars in, "Will Penny". Stars in, "Planet of the Apes"
1970
1970
Julius Caesar Film
Portrays Mark Antony in the 1970 film version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
1973
1973
Soylent Green
Stars in, "Soylent Green"
1974
1974
Earthquake
Stars in, "Earthquake"
1998
1998
National Rifle Association
Appointed President of the National Rifle Association
2003
2003
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House from President George W. Bush
2008
2008 5th April
Death of Charlton Heston
Death of Charlton Heston
Editorial provenance
Sources and editorial review
Compiled and edited by World History Database.
Historical context is editorial material; the chronology is generated from World History Database cinema records.
Last reviewed: September 2026.
British Film Institute · Library of Congress · Academy Awards
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