Heston was as much a bellwether in real-life politics as he was in Hollywood biblical epics, according to this intriguing biographical study. Historian Raymond surveys Heston's political life from his days as a civil rights marcher, Lyndon Johnson supporter and Screen Actors Guild president to his later turn as a Republican stalwart and National Rifle Association president. She analyzes this trajectory not as a rightward trek but as rooted in bedrock ideals—individualism, equal opportunity, moral responsibility—through shifting ideological tides. Throughout, she pegs Heston as a "visceral neoconservative" unwittingly in tune with neocon intellectuals like Irving Kristol (but without the Trotskyist past). In blockbusters from The Ten Commandments to Planet of the Apes, his resonant baritone, craggily handsome face and muscular, seminude physique glamorized an image of conservative masculinity that would color his offscreen political crusades. Raymond's film commentary is stiffly didactic ("Moses demonstrates his moral brand of individualism when he halts construction to save a slave woman") and her indulgent attitude—she sees no inconsistency between Heston's early union activism and his later stumping for right-to-work laws—can seem obtuse. Still, her well-researched, if somewhat smitten, profile sheds light on conservatism as a mass cultural phenomenon through one of its iconic luminaries. Photos. (Aug.)
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"The study of conservative movements and figures is one of the most important trends in American historical scholarship during recent years. This book makes a contribution to that work by studying an important but neglected figure on the Right and tracing the odyssey of his intellectual conversion to conservative politics and his activism in the Republican Party and the gun rights movement."―Allan J. Lichtman, American University
"Traces Heston's evolution from civil rights marcher and LBJ supporter to neoconservative and president of the National Rifle Association. It argues convincingly that Heston's fundamental values never really changed."―Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Raymond performs some solid historical work and presents some eminently reasonable conclusions... Raymond's most estimable achievement is in illuminating Heston's pre-ideologue days, not only as a commendably early participant in the civil rights movement, but as a member of the National Council for the Arts from 1967 and as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1965 to 1971."―Cineaste
"Heston's emergence into a major American political figure is examined in this work that chronicles the resurgence of American conservative thought and the birth of neoconservatism."―Forecast
"Presents the fascinating story of Hestons political journey from a Democrat who marched for civil rights and was president of the Screen Actors Guild to his status as Republican avatar."―ForeWord Magazine
"Recounts film icon Charlton Heston's transformation from on-screen Moses to off-screen neoconservative moral crusader."―Library Journal
"Heston was as much a bellwether in real-life politics as he was in Hollywood biblical epics, according to this intriguing biographical study."―Publishers Weekly
"Nothing is more common than Hollywood actors and actresses preening themselves by adopting this or that fashionable cause. Emilie Raymond's fine biography of Charlton Heston reminds us that it was not always thus. Heston's political thought and action, and his impact on American politics, deserve careful scholarly treatment. Emilie Raymond has supplied it."―Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James
"Details the life of the Man of Big Roles and his use of celebrity to influence the debate over moral and political issues."―San Diego Union-Tribune
"Emilie Raymond's meticulous research, insightful analysis, and balanced prose convincingly argue that Charlton Heston's legacy as a political activist and cultural warrior rivals his cinematic fame... This book is a must-read for political scientists and political historians."―Southern Historian
"Raymond provides compelling histories of Hollywood unions, federal arts disputes and civil rights debates that Heston got tangles up in... Raymond successfully illuminates Heston's personal philosophy and his relationships with historical figures, and she highlights points of departure for what is now broadly considered the 'cultural wars'."―Style Weekly
"As a history of Mr. Heston's leading role in political Hollywood, Ms. Raymond's book is long overdue."―Wall Street Journal
""From My Cold, Dead Hands is far more than a biography―it is a chronicle of the resurgence of American conservative thought and, in particular, the birth of neoconservatism.""―John Neal, Book Babble
Review
"The study of conservative movements and figures is one of the most important trends in American historical scholarship during recent years. This book makes a contribution to that work by studying an important but neglected figure on the Right and tracing the odyssey of his intellectual conversion to conservative politics and his activism in the Republican Party and the gun rights movement."―Allan J. Lichtman, American University
"Traces Heston's evolution from civil rights marcher and LBJ supporter to neoconservative and president of the National Rifle Association. It argues convincingly that Heston's fundamental values never really changed."―Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Raymond performs some solid historical work and presents some eminently reasonable conclusions... Raymond's most estimable achievement is in illuminating Heston's pre-ideologue days, not only as a commendably early participant in the civil rights movement, but as a member of the National Council for the Arts from 1967 and as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1965 to 1971."―Cineaste
"Heston's emergence into a major American political figure is examined in this work that chronicles the resurgence of American conservative thought and the birth of neoconservatism."―Forecast
"Presents the fascinating story of Hestons political journey from a Democrat who marched for civil rights and was president of the Screen Actors Guild to his status as Republican avatar."―ForeWord Magazine
"Recounts film icon Charlton Heston's transformation from on-screen Moses to off-screen neoconservative moral crusader."―Library Journal
"Heston was as much a bellwether in real-life politics as he was in Hollywood biblical epics, according to this intriguing biographical study."―Publishers Weekly
"Nothing is more common than Hollywood actors and actresses preening themselves by adopting this or that fashionable cause. Emilie Raymond's fine biography of Charlton Heston reminds us that it was not always thus. Heston's political thought and action, and his impact on American politics, deserve careful scholarly treatment. Emilie Raymond has supplied it."―Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James
"Details the life of the Man of Big Roles and his use of celebrity to influence the debate over moral and political issues."―San Diego Union-Tribune
"Emilie Raymond's meticulous research, insightful analysis, and balanced prose convincingly argue that Charlton Heston's legacy as a political activist and cultural warrior rivals his cinematic fame... This book is a must-read for political scientists and political historians."―Southern Historian
"Raymond provides compelling histories of Hollywood unions, federal arts disputes and civil rights debates that Heston got tangles up in... Raymond successfully illuminates Heston's personal philosophy and his relationships with historical figures, and she highlights points of departure for what is now broadly considered the 'cultural wars'."―Style Weekly
"As a history of Mr. Heston's leading role in political Hollywood, Ms. Raymond's book is long overdue."―Wall Street Journal
""From My Cold, Dead Hands is far more than a biography―it is a chronicle of the resurgence of American conservative thought and, in particular, the birth of neoconservatism.""―John Neal, Book Babble
From the Publisher
Emilie Raymond, assistant professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University, specializes in twentieth-century U.S. history, political and cultural history, women's history, and neoconservatism.
About the Author
Emilie Raymond, assistant professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University, specializes in twentieth-century U.S. history, political and cultural history, women's history, and neoconservatism.
