by BJ Beauchamp
Charlton Heston 1924-2008
*sigh*
In 1982 (think it was February and I was still 19), I was working for an oil/gas and mining company in Denver. On a break I went down the elevator from the 23 floor to the lobby in the Anaconda Tower which shared a driveway with the Fairmont Hotel — connected the buildings. The Fairmont made for interesting events, like the one night I was exiting out the building like always but was stopped cold as there was Secret Service everywhere and snipers were up on the roof tops. I was told I had to wait for then Vice President Bush who was arriving for his stay at the hotel before I was allowed to leave.
Things like that just happened every now and again at the Fairmont.
Back to my average day, I went downstairs to the Sundry store for a bite of something sweet to get me through the afternoon. As I approached the door a man was coming out and as he did, he politely held the door open for me. I thanked him, and he said hello and that I was welcome, which is when I did the slow-mo recognition. Claire, the woman at the register was swooning and clasping a dollar bill to her chest like it was made of gold. Mr. Heston had just purchased a lottery ticket from the store, as Colorado was one of the first western states to have a lottery. Claire was not parting with the dollar he purchased his ticket with.
Funny thing, after hearing about Richard Widmark's passing,I ordered a couple of his movies I didn't have, plus one called the Far Horizon, starring Charlton Heston, Fred McMurray and Donna Reed. The films arrived in the mail and I was putting the Far Horizon DVD in to watch when his passing was announced on the nightly news.
Once upon a time I had a very nice gentleman hold a door open for me, and he was Moses, Ben Hur, El Cid — he was Charlton Heston.