In pictures: Charlton Heston [image: Charlton Heston] Charlton Heston, who died on Sunday, played the lead role in more than 60 films.
[image: Charlton Heston plays Moses in The Ten Commandments] One of Heston's first major roles was playing Moses in the Hollywood epic The Ten Commandments. [image: Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur] He is best known for his role as Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur in the 1959 epic film Ben Hur. [image: Scene from chariot race in Ben-Hur] The film included an iconic chariot race, one of the most famous scenes in cinema. [image: Charlton Heston with his Oscar] It was a part that would win him the best actor Oscar at the 1959 Academy Award ceremony. [image: Heston relaxes off set with actor Billy Curtis] Heston later went on to star in the cult sci-fi film The Planet of the Apes, where he played an astronaut who lands on a planet run by intelligent apes. [image: Charlton Heston in 2002] Later in life, he was president of the US gun lobby group, the National Rifle Association. [image: Heston pickets a whites-only restaurant in Oklahoma City in 1961] Away from the set, Heston was a passionate campaigner for civil rights. Here, he (left) pickets a whites-only restaurant in Oklahoma City in 1961. [image: Charlton and Lydia Clarke Heston] Heston married his wife, actress Lydia Clarke, in 1944. [image: Heston receives Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003] A supporter of the Republican Party, Heston received a medal from President George W Bush in 2003.
