Actor Charlton Heston was born John Charles Carter in Evanston, Illinois on October 4, 1924. He attended Northwestern University and served in the United States Army Air Force for two years starting in 1944. He acted in the theater, on television, and in the movies. His films include The Greatest Show on Earth, The Ten Commandments, Planet of the Apes, and El Cid. He won the 1959 Academy Award for best actor for the movie Ben-Hur. He spoke out openly against racism and was an active supporter of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1965-1971. He served as president of the National Rifle Association from 1998-2003. In 2002, he announced he had Alzheimer's disease and in 2003, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. He died on April 5, 2008.