Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter on October 4, 1923, although the year is usually given as 1924), is an American film actor noted for heroic roles, and his long involvement in political issues. Heston was born in Evanston, Illinois to Lilla Charlton and Russell Whitford Carter. Before he was 10 his parents divorced. Some years later, his mother married Chester Heston. The new family moved to well-off Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, where young Heston (his new name) attended high school. He enrolled in the school's drama program, where he performed with such outstanding results that he earned a scholarship to Northwestern University for drama in 1942. There he played in the 16mm amateur film adaptation of Peer Gynt made by a fellow student. Several years later the same team produced Julius Caesar, in which Heston played Marc Antony. In 1944, Heston left college and enlisted in the United States Army Air Force. He served for three years as a B-25 radio operater/gunner stationed in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands with the Eleventh Air Force, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant. When he returned from service in World War II he moved to New York City, where he met actress Lydia Marie Clarke, whom he married in 1944. The two lived in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, where they worked as models. Seeking a way to make it in theater, they decided to manage a playhouse in Asheville, North Carolina. In 1947, they went back to New York where Heston was offered a role in the Broadway play Antony and Cleopatra, for which he earned acclaim. He also had success in television, playing a number of roles in CBS's Studio One, one of the most popular anthology dramas of the 1950s. ----- Original Message ----- From: "MARCIA DONAHUE" <donwar@nbnet.nb.ca> To: <CARTER-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 1:28 PM Subject: [CARTER-L] John Charles Carter Hello Listers, John Charles Carter: Wondering where he was born and who his parent's are? His stage name is: Charlton Heston. I'm always missing history on a Charles Carter; their are so many of them. Thanks! Take care, Marcia