Hollywood actor and gun lobbyist Charlton Heston has died aged 84
Mr Heston made more than 70 films, playing several major figures from history in a series of epics.
He was awarded the Best Actor Oscar in 1959 for his portrayal of Ben Hur.
In later years he was president of the US National Rifle Association and campaigned against what he saw were restrictive gun laws.
In a statement, Mr Heston's family said he died overnight accompanied by his wife of 64 years, Lydia, in Beverly Hills.
The actor had announced in 2002 that he was suffering from symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
'To his loving friends, colleagues and fans, we appreciate your heartfelt prayers and support,' the family said.
'Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. No one could ask for a fuller life than his. No man could have given more to his family, to his profession, and to his country. In his own words, 'I have lived such a wonderful life! I've lived enough for two people', the statement added.
In his heyday, Mr Heston's rugged features and conservative lifestyle seemed to belong to another age. As director Anthony Mann said: 'Put a toga on him and he looks perfect.' Frank Sinatra once joked: 'That guy Heston has to watch it. If he's not careful, he'll get actors a good name.'
Mr Heston starred in super-spectacles like 'The 10 Commandments' and 'Ben Hur', science fiction movies such as 'Planet of the Apes' and 'Soylent Green' and disaster epics like 'Earthquake'.
He also pushed for screen versions of Shakespearean plays, directing one, 'Anthony and Cleopatra'.
NRA president
Mr Heston's most controversial role was not in a movie but as leader of the NRA from 1998 to 2003. He often stood at the podium at conventions, holding an antique flintlock rifle above his head and telling gun-control advocates they would not get his gun unless they could pry it 'from my cold, dead hands'.
'They don't make them like that any more,' Steven Gaydos, executive editor of Variety Magazine said after his death. 'People in Hollywood, even if they didn't agree with his politics, respected the guy,' he added.
Born John Charlton Carter (Heston was his stepfather's name) on 4 October 1923 in Evanston, Illinois, he made his theatrical debut as Santa Claus in a school play at age five and studied acting at Northwestern University.
After a World War II stint as a gunner in the US Army Air Corps, Mr Heston headed to Broadway, where he briefly supported himself with nude modeling between acting jobs.
In 1944, he had married fellow Northwestern drama student Lydia Clarke and their marriage lasted 64 years until his death. They had two children, Fraser Clarke and Holly Ann, and three grandchildren Jack Alexander, Ridley and Charlie.
He gained attention in 1947 in 'Anthony and Cleopatra', which landed him a job in the 'Studio One' television series that re-enacted famous plays.
The television work led to movies and Cecil B DeMille put him in 'The Greatest Show on Earth' (1952), portraying a circus manager determined that the show must go on.
In 1956, Mr DeMille cast Mr Heston as Moses for 'The 10 Commandments', saying the actor reminded him of Michelangelo's statue. The $7.5m epic was the most expensive film up to that time, and became the second-biggest moneymaker of the time, behind 'Gone With the Wind'.
In addition to playing Moses, Mr Heston did the voice of God in the film. His three-month-old son, Fraser, played the baby Moses floating down the Nile in a basket.
Mr Heston took some roles in Westerns, with a break in 1957 for Orson Welles' 'Touch of Evil,' followed by more epics.
Less successful were his portrayal of John the Baptist in 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' about the life of Jesus and that of Michelangelo in 'The Agony and the Ecstasy', a 1965 commercial flop.
He was a besieged astronaut in 1968's 'The Planet of the Apes' but made sure his character was killed off in 1970's 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes' so he would not be sought for further sequels.
The films opened the science fiction door to him and hits like 'The Omega Man' (1971) and 'Soylent Green' (1973). He was also a leading figure in disaster epics, among them 'Skyjacked' (1972) and 'Airport 1975' (1974).
In 1984, he returned to television in two CBS mini-series and the following year he played patriarch Jason Colby in the TV soap opera 'Dynasty II: The Colbys of California'.
In the 1960s Mr Heston was involved in the civil rights movement. He served six terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild and in 1987, 16 years after leaving the SAG job, locked horns with SAG President Ed Asner over the guild's left-leaning stance.
He once campaigned for Democrats - Adlai Stevenson against Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy against Richard Nixon. But he switched to Republican Nixon in 1972 and backed old friend Ronald Reagan in the ex-actor's quest for the presidency. Thereafter, he was identified with conservative politics and causes.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President George W Bush in 2003.
Mr Bush has expressed sadness at the death of the actor, and hailed his ‘profound impact’ in the US, both on and off the silver screen.
