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Charlton Heston said, “Call Me Chuck”
by
Hal Arman

Charlton Heston was a major motion picture star in the 70’s and 80’s, appearing in such well known movies as Ben Hur, The 10 Commandments and other period pieces, and later in the movie with Jimmy Stewart about the Ringling Brothers Circus: The Greatest Show on Earth. Long before his involvement with the movie Planet of the Apes, the National Rifle Association, and Republican politics, he was a well-established movie star. What is less well known about Heston is that he grew up in northern central Michigan, near St. Helen’s and close to Houghton Lake. His family continued to reside in St. Helens all the while he was making a name for himself in Hollywood. The family owned extensive Christmas tree acreage and pine forests in central Michigan, which was passed along to him when his parents died. He left northern Michigan to attend Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and the rest is cinematic history. He regularly came into and went out of Tri-City Airport on visits to his property and family.

On one of his trips to Mid-Michigan, his schedule permitted him to spend a bit more time than usual. Informal contacts in the past. with the agency that handled his bookings, made them aware that Delta College would certainly welcome the opportunity to host Heston for as long as his schedule permitted. Thus, in 1982, Heston came to Delta College. He gave a free lecture in the evening at which he looked back on his acting career, giving inside stories on how a particular film was made or the personal habits of stars with whom he worked. For example, he said that movies were often made in long stretches of 10 to 12 hours, without much chance to freshen up during that long period. He concluded from that experience, that all of the leading ladies he worked with had a monumental case of bad breath by the end of the day. Because Heston flew in from California and didn’t have a chance to eat before his evening performance at Delta, a dinner was arranged for him with several College officials. Heston, at dinner, set the tone at the outset by stating that he would prefer to be called Chuck by everyone. He proved to be a very nice, humble man. From the person who picked him up at the airport, to those lucky enough to eat dinner with him, they found him to be modest, yet funny. His humor tended to run to self depreciation rather than the self aggrandizement Delta people were afraid would be exhibited by a movie star come to visit such country bumpkins.

Heston was certainly a star at the time that he came to Delta, but he said little about the culture shock that must have accompanied his childhood in the North woods of Michigan trimming Christmas trees and then going off to college in suburban Chicago. He said little about the additional shock that he must have felt when he moved to California and the movies, from the Midwest. While at Northwestern he trained for a career in the theater and found early successes in classic plays by Shakespeare and other traditional authors. Someone once said about him, that with his voice and style of delivery, he could hawk a salami sandwich and make his pitch come out with just the right rhythm and cadence.

Heston ended his day at Delta College signing autographs and even planting a kiss on the cheek of a more adventurous fan. The Delta people who had dinner with him walked away with the sense that he was a nice guy and if ever they were to get out to California, he would remember them and invite them to dinner to pay back their hospitality.

Editor's Note: Hal Arman is now a Delta College retiree, but, at the time of Charlton Heston's visit, worked as an administrator at the college and helped host this official visit.

 
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