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- Charlton Heston, Union Hero
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- Dick Meister
Although actor Charlton Heston was a leading advocate for conservative causes in his later years, he was just the opposite at an earlier time -- particularly during his years as an officer of the Screen Actors Guild. He was for many years one of Hollywood's most active, outspoken and effective supporters of organized labor, the civil rights and peace movements and other liberal causes. This commentary relates in part how I concluded through my personal encounters with him as a reporter that Heston indeed believed deeply in those causes.
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Piece Description
Although actor Charlton Heston was a leading advocate for conservative causes in his later years, he was just the opposite at an earlier time -- particularly during his years as an officer of the Screen Actors Guild. He was for many years one of Hollywood's most active, outspoken and effective supporters of organized labor, the civil rights and peace movements and other liberal causes. This commentary relates in part how I concluded through my personal encounters with him as a reporter that Heston indeed believed deeply in those causes.
Broadcast History
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Transcript
You know, of all the many roles played by the late actor Charlton Heston, there are none ? absolutely none ? that now seem more unlikely than his real-life role as a union officer.
Sure, in his later years, Heston became extremely conservative ? even anti-union. But during his seven years as president of the Screen Actors Guild? from 1965 to 1971 .. .and as a lesser officer of the union for five years before that, and throughout his early career, he was one of Hollywood?s most active supporters of a wide variety of liberal causes.
Heston was among just a handful of film stars who spoke out in the 1950s and 60s against racism and for the civil rights and labor movements, for example. And he was among the very few to speak out strongly against the Vietnam War.
That was not role-playing. Charlton Heston the liberal was the real thing. I first discovered that at an AFL-CIO conventi...
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Timing and Cues
INTRO: Commentator Dick Meister recalls a very unlikely labor leader.
OUTRO: Dick Meister is a veteran labor journalist.
