Heston Dead; Coroner Can't Pry Gun From Cold Dead Hands

NRA To Provide Special Custom Casket, If Needed

The Oscar-winning, legendary, superstar actor Charlton Heston died yesterday, at the age of 84, in his Beverly Hills home, in what a family spokesperson indicated was from a diagnosis of symptoms similar to those of Alzheimer's disease.

Heston won an Oscar for his role as Moses in 'The Ten Commandments' and also starred in other major works, including 'Ben Hur, El Cid, The Greatest Show On Earth, Orson Welles' 'Touch of Evil', and Sci-Fi classics 'Planet of the Apes' and Soylent Green

According to the Los Angeles Times, "He was the screen hero of the 1950s and 1960s, a proven stayer in epics, and a pleasing combination of piercing blue eyes and tanned beefcake," David Thomson wrote in his book "The New Biographical Dictionary of Film."

Heston's death, though has caused a problem, of sorts, for the Los Angeles County Coroners Office.

Sources have told The Garlic, when arriving to remove Mr. Heston's body from the home, they haven't been able to pry an antique musket from his hands.

"It's the darnedest thing ... We have had many unusual cases," a spokesperson for the Coroners Office stated, "and this one is right up there."

Heston, during his tenure as president of the National Rifle Association, had made a vow;

In Mr. Heston, the N.R.A. found its embodiment of pioneer values — pride, independence and valor. In a speech at the N.R.A.’s annual convention in 2000, he brought the audience to its feet with a ringing attack on gun-control advocates. Paraphrasing an N.R.A. bumper sticker (“I’ll give you my gun when you take it from my cold, dead hands”) he waved a replica of a colonial musket above his head and shouted defiantly, “From my cold, dead hands!”

Heston, active in politics, was, in his earlier life, a democrat, activist and civil rights supporter.

But things changed.

He became a Republican after Democrats in the Senate blocked the confirmation of Judge Robert Bork, a conservative, to the Supreme Court in 1987. Mr. Heston had supported the nomination and was critical of the Reagan White House for misreading the depth of the liberal opposition.

The Coroners Office, to avoid more extreme measures, indicated they would leave this matter to the family and word came in late from the NRA, that they would provide a special, custom-designed casket, with a turret, to intern Heston with his beloved gun.

Additionally, the NRA will drape the coffin with a specially knit flag, the full text of the 2nd Amendment.

"From cradle to grave," said a somber Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer.


Bonus Links

Statement by the Family of Charlton Heston

Lawyers, Guns and Money: Chuck Has Left the Stage...

Steve Clemons: Thou Shalt Not. . .Charlton Heston Dead at 84

YouTube: From my cold dead hands

Chopped Garlic ... Of Virginia Tech ... The Right To Bear Arms ... And Barry Crimmins