In his post-movie days, Charlton Heston wrote many best-selling books and accepted several invitations from the Nixon Library to lecture and autograph.
Naturally, he’d always attract a standing-room-only crowd eager to hear his commentary, enjoy that amazing voice, and stand in front of him in awe while he’d sign their books.
He wasn’t one to hang out long, or mix and mingle with the crowd, and once told me why. “They always want me to do Moses. They come up to me in airports, in restaurants, even at stop lights,” he said. I understood, even though it disappointed his fans that he couldn’t just keep performing those famous scenes.
But on one occasion we changed the format and invited him to address a luncheon rather than a theater audience. He was introduced by Library director John Taylor and started his remarks. Without ever telling us he was going to do it, and to everyone’s delight, he spontaneously performed his best lines from Moses. His voice boomed through the halls. When he sat down, everyone in the audience jumped to their feet giving Heston a standing ovation of appreciation and admiration.