Here’s a fun piece of movie trivia: in the 1956 biblical epic The Ten Commandments, the role of baby Moses was played by Fraser Heston, the son of Charlton Heston, who starred as the adult Moses.
As Fraser tells it, director Cecil B. DeMille cast him before he was actually born.
“[DeMille] heard my mom was pregnant and said, ‘Well, if it’s a baby boy, he can play the part of Moses,’” Fraser told the The New York Post in 2020. “When I was born, the first telegram she got said, ‘Congratulations, he’s got the part. Love, C.B.’”
Baby Moses appears early in the film, when his mother sends him down the Nile in a basket, hoping to save him from an order by the Pharaoh to kill Hebrew newborns.
Fraser was three months old during the filming. He says that his introduction to the movie business was not without its perils.
“Obviously, my memory is a little sketchy,” he told the Post. “But I do remember my dad telling me that when they put me in the basket on the backlot of Paramount — the tank set is still there — the basket began to leak. The basket began to sink, and dad went to lift me out — and I was floating in four inches of water, perfectly happy. And the social worker who is by mandate on the set for all children grabbed me and said, “No, Mr. Heston, I’m the only one who can attend to this child during the filming.” He looked at her and said, with the voice he used on the pharaoh [Yul Brynner, in the film], “Give me that child!” And not surprisingly, she did. (laughs) When you get the voice of Moses — I used to call it the dark, gray voice — all he had to do was use that on us kids and we’d do anything he said.”
As an adult Fraser Heston worked in the movie business as a producer, director and writer. But his most lasting contribution to cinema remains, inevitably, his role in a film that has become an enduring tradition and whose airing on television is a sure sign of the holiday season.
“It’s the quintessential epic,” Fraser Heston said in a 2020 interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, promoting a Blu-ray reissue of the film. “When you think spectacle, you think C.B. DeMille. When you think epic, you thinkThe Ten Commandments.It’s a great story, isn’t it?”
Charlton Heston with his son Fraser, playing the role of baby Moses, on the set of The Ten Commandments, 1955.
George Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation
Charlton Heston with his son Fraser, playing the role of baby Moses, on the set of The Ten Commandments, 1955.
George Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation
Director Cecil B. DeMille with Fraser Heston on the set of The Ten Commandments, 1955.
George Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation
Charlton Heston with his son Fraser, playing the role of baby Moses, on the set of The Ten Commandments, 1955.
George Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation
Charlton Heston with his son Fraser, playing the role of baby Moses, on the set of The Ten Commandments, 1955.
George Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation
Charlton Heston with his son Fraser, playing the role of baby Moses, on the set of The Ten Commandments, 1955.
George Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation
The filming of “The Ten Commandments,” 1955.
George Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation
The filming of “The Ten Commandments,” 1955.
George Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation
FAQs
Fraser Clarke Heston (born February 12, 1955) is an American film director, film producer, screenwriter and actor. He is the son of actors Charlton Heston and Lydia Clarke, and has a sister, Holly Ann Heston.
How accurate is the 1956 movie the Ten Commandments? ›
In terms of accuracy about Moses and his time, The Ten Commandments is patchy, regardless of whether you believe the Biblical version or prefer sceptical history. Nonetheless, it is a fascinating historical film — not for what it says about Moses, but for what it says about the cold war. "Go!" commands Moses.
How old was Fraser Heston in the Ten Commandments? ›
Fraser Heston was three months old during filming.
How do the Ten Commandments relate to your personal life? ›
The Ten Commandments, writes Mary Elizabeth Sperry, remain important because they teach us habits that we need to develop to live life in right relationship with God, self, others, and things: creating priorities, seeking intimacy, spending time, giving respect, recognizing dignity, maintaining integrity, living ...
Did Charlton Heston have Alzheimer's disease? ›
Heston courageously announced to the public that he was suffering with symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease.
Are any actors still alive from The Ten Commandments? ›
“Debra Paget, who played Joshua's girlfriend, Lilia, is the only one of the film's main stars who is still alive today.”
Are the 10 commandments biblically accurate? ›
Most traditions of Christianity hold that the Ten Commandments have divine authority and continue to be valid, though they have different interpretations and uses of them.
How much did it cost to make The Ten Commandments in 1956? ›
Cecil B. DeMille's super-spectacular about the Children of Israel held in brutal bondage until Moses, prodded by the God of Abraham, delivers them from Egyptian tyranny is a statistically intimidating production: the negative cost was $13.5 million and 25,000 extras were employed.
Did God actually write The Ten Commandments? ›
The Ten Commandments are a list of religious precepts that, according to passages in Exodus and Deuteronomy, were divinely revealed to Moses by Yahweh and engraved on two stone tablets. They are also called the Decalogue.
Was Charlton Heston religious? ›
He went on to build 'a substantial public identity' that was closely associated with his personal Christian faith and his work as a star of biblical epics with major roles in films including Ben-Hur, El Cid (Mann US 1961) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (18). Heston's politics were also always part of his celebrity.
Was Charlton Heston cremated? ›
What did Jesus say about the Ten Commandments? ›
Jesus reciting the Commandments
Jesus answered that the basic starting point was keeping the Commandments, and then He listed five of them: “'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother'” (Luke 18:20).
What is the most important message of the Ten Commandments to you? ›
The central theme of the Ten Commandments can be summed up in the word love, love for God and love for others. According to Deuteronomy 6:5, God commanded Israel, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
What is the moral of the Ten Commandments? ›
The Ten Commandments teach about respecting God, being honest, honoring our parents, keeping the Sabbath day holy, and being good neighbors. These rules are as important today as they were thousands of years ago.
Who inherited Charlton Heston's estate? ›
The longtime Beverly Hills residence of late Hollywood icon Charlton Heston was sold last month for a sliver more than $12.2 million, and this property gossip hears from both Lucy Spillerguts and Yolanda Yakketyyak that the new owner is French film director-producer Luc Besson.
Who were Charlton Heston's parents? ›
Heston was born John Charles Carter on October 4, 1923, in No Man's Land, Illinois, to Lila (Charlton) and Russell Whitford Carter, who operated a sawmill.
Does Charlton Heston have a grandson? ›
Lydia Clarke wife of Charlton Heston and her grandson Jack Heston at the dedication of the Charlton Heston forever stamp at the TCM Classic Film... Charlton Heston arrives with his grandson Jack.
Who is Charlton Heston's daughter? ›
Heston is also survived by their son, Fraser Clarke Heston, and their daughter, Holly Ann Heston. The cause of Heston's death was not disclosed by his family.
