Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Look for the local media outlets to jump on the Heston obit today. Sundays are slow, so this will give them something to pump up. Heston’s big connection to Asheville was Asheville Community Theater. See the rest:
On the little playhouse that Heston ran in Asheville, where he “honed his acting skills, from Hollywood.com:
Charlton Heston’s career as a commanding male lead has provided a one-person Hollywood trek through the pages of world history and a forceful, conservative vision of a world in which America always wins. The Northwestern University acting student’s first film appearances were in ambitious amateur 16mm productions of “Peer Gynt” (1941) and “Julius Caesar” (1949), both directed by fellow student David Bradley. After WWII service, he and his wife Lydia Clarke worked as models in New York and ran a theater in Asheville, North Carolina before Heston found success on Broadway in Katharine Cornell’s production of “Antony and Cleopatra” (1947)…
Just fyi – the mainstage auditorium in the current Asheville Community Theater is named for the couple – it’s the Heston Auditorium.
Heston returned to Asheville in the early ’90s. Here’s one fan’s recollection. The fan is referring to the Hestons returning to Asheville to help Asheville Community Theater celebrate an anniversary or something with a production of “Love Letters:”
I flew out to Asheville, N. C. in August ’92 for the 3rd time. He and his wife performed “Love Letters” on stage then. They were wonderful together. Lydia must have been a truly beautiful woman when she was young, because she was still lovely.
Did you know the Beaufort House Inn on North Liberty Street in downtown was the house where the Hestons lived? That’s what they say. Can’t wait to see WLOSers interview the inn owners tonight on the news:
Built in 1894, and previous Asheville residence to actor Charlton Heston and his wife Lydia, this romantic Asheville Bed and Breakfast Inn has been meticulously restored.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, our 10 guest rooms offer the ‘Charms of Yesterday’ with the ‘Luxuries of Today’. Situated back off of the road in the Chestnut Hill Historic District and minutes from downtown Asheville, it eloquently sits on two acres of beautiful landscaped grounds and gardens.
Heston, and Grace Kelley, worshipped at St. Mary’s Church, a little church on Charlotte Street in downtown:
St. Mary’s is the only Anglo-Catholic church in North Carolina. The parish continues the tradition of hosting the many visitors aware of St. Mary’s reputation. Grace Kelly and Charlton Heston worshipped here and noted author Gail Godwin, a parishioner of St. Mary’s, incorporated the church and other Asheville environs in her novel, Father Melancholy’s Daughter.
Cafe on the Square says it hosted Heston. Wonder if he stayed at the Grove Park Inn.
I guess they can take his guns now.