Lydia Clarke Heston, actress and wife of Charlton Heston, dies at 95
Actress Lydia Clarke Heston, wife of Oscar-winning actor late Charlton Heston has passed away at the age of 95. Lydia and Charlton were married for 64 years until he passed away ten years ago, in 2008. She died on Monday at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Her family is said to have confirmed her death and the family will bid goodbye to her in a private service at St. Matthews Parish in the Pacific Palisades.
Lydia, who was an actress as well as a photographer was born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. She married Charlton Heston on March 17, 1944 after the two met at their time in university.
She and Charlton both went to Northwestern University where they studied drama and fell in love while they were students there. The two had one of the longest marriages in Hollywood. They tied the knot in a ceremony in Asheville, North Carolina post which Charlton had to travel abroad to do his bit in the Air Force during World War II. After his return, the two decided to settle down in the Big Apple and work towards making their showbiz careers a reality. Lydia soon became a big name in Broadway starring in Sidney Kingsley's 'Detective Story' alongside Ralph Bellamy in 1949.
Her big break into films was in the 1952 thriller 'The Atomic City', a film directed by Jerry Hopper, starring Gene Barry and Lydia Clarke. Lydia played the role of Martha Addison, a mother whose child goes missing. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing (Story and Screenplay), Sydney Boehm being the nominee.
Lydia and Charlton had two children together, Fraser Clarke Heston and Holly Heston Rochell. Fraser is a is a film director, film producer, screenwriter and actor. Lydia was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy in 1991.
