Hollywood icons turn out to honor Heston at funeral

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Tom Selleck helped Nancy Reagan to her car after the funeral. (Dan Steinberg/Associated PRess)

LOS ANGELES - Charlton Heston, one of the last lions of Old Hollywood, was remembered at his funeral yesterday as devoutly religious and patriotic - a man who was an imposing figure both in his politics and on the big screen.

Heston died April 5 at age 84 in his Beverly Hills home with his wife, Lydia, at his side after a battle with Alzheimer's disease. The service was held at the Episcopal Parish of St. Matthews, a church in a wooded canyon above Pacific Palisades.

"Charlton sat every Sunday morning right there," said the Rev. Michael Scott Seiler, pointing to a front pew in the modernist wooden church shaped with seats arranged in a half moon.

About 250 people attended the funeral, including family members, politicians, and actors.

A frail Nancy Reagan entered the church on the arm of Tom Selleck. After the nearly two-hour ceremony, Reagan left with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Other notables from Heston's Hollywood history included Olivia DeHavilland, Keith Carradine, Pat Boone, Oliver Stone, and Rob Reiner.

The first part of the ceremony was devoted to memories of Heston. His daughter, Holly Heston Rochell, recalled her father's love of poetry and recited the words of Shakespeare and Tennyson. Her brother, Fraser Clarke Heston, reminisced about his father's prowess on his tennis court, where he played every Sunday with friends.

He talked about his father's devotion to America and said he "loved his country."

"I never knew a finer man; I will never know a finer man," he said.

Heston was one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s, '60s and '70s, often playing legendary leaders or ordinary men thrown into heroic struggles.

In recent years, Heston became better known for his conservative politics and position on gun rights as head of the National Rifle Association. Heston also campaigned for Republican presidential and congressional candidates and against affirmative action.