Charlton Heston has died. The square jawed actor starred in dozens of films, spanning many genres. He was 84.

I remember the first time I saw "Ben Hur", in an Ottawa theatre with my father, and I don't think I'd ever seen a scene in any movie that affected me more than the chariot race. It was the most exciting movie moment I'd ever seen, and it had an indelible impact.

As a genre fan, I enjoyed how 'real' Heston could make a Science Fiction movie. His acting was so big, yet natural, and he commanded the screen. It didn't matter if it was "Planet of the Apes", "Omega Man", or "Soylent Green'. he was the King of SF gravitas.

I think that Charlton Heston's role in "Planet of the Apes" (along with a stellar Rod Serling script), propelled the movie into a rare popular culture orbit- much beloved, and oft parodied it is still a classic.

In 2002, Mr. Heston announced that he had been diagnosed with neurological symptoms "consistent with Alzheimer's disease." If you would like to make a donation to the Alzheimer's cause, may I suggest this site-http://www.matchitforpratchett.org/ which is encouraging people to raise money and match Terry Pratchett's One Million Dollar Donation to Alzheimer's Research.

On other news I interviewed film fanatics Colin Geddes and Joe O'Brien about Cult Films on Friday. We squeezed into the Projection Room at CineCycle, and I'd like to thank the CineCyle team for treating us so well, and providing such a great location. The Cult Film piece should run soon (not this weekend, perhaps the next).

Beverage- none, but about to have a coffee- Dark Continental, black.

photo by  OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI, courtesy of AFP/Getty Images