Jim Carrey and Charlton Heston

A while back I wrote an article entitled “Hollywood Hypocrisy on Guns” where I exposed the double-standards of celebrity anti-gun rights activists like George Clooney, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg. Today, the topic is hotter than ever since Obama’s administration decided to attack the 2nd Amendment. Most recently Hollywood comedian Jim Carrey has joined the debate as a champion of the anti-gun movement after releasing his Internet video entitled “Cold Dead Hands,” a “Hee Haw” style music video where he mocks legendary actor Charlton Heston, and attacks American gun owners.

In the sketch, Carrey states Mr. Heston “never made it to heaven” after he passed away and then continues on to insult 60-70 million law abiding gun owners by suggesting their ownership of guns is a form of compensation for lack of penis size. Eventually, Carrey ends his video by flipping off the viewer.

Considering all the press Carrey has gotten over this social commentary video, readers of this article most likely have heard all about this story. So, I thought I’d offer you, the reader, a first-hand glimpse into the mind-sets of both Carrey and Heston, minus the gun debate.

You see, I’ve had the privilege of spending time with both performers on set back in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. I normaly believe it’s not a good idea for people in the industry to intimately expose the people they work with, but in this case we have one man (Carrey), unjustly mocking and belittling a defenseless dead man (Heston). I share my experience because political philosopher Edmund Burke, once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Back in 1989 I played one of Charlton Heston’s bodyguards in a TV movie of the week entitled “Original Sin.” After arriving on location in Northridge, California, I strolled down to the craft service table at the edge of an empty field. At the time, I was the only one there. Not long after, a man followed and came to the table to get something to eat. That man was Charlton Heston. Being fairly new to the industry, and my first day on this set, I kept to myself. But Mr. Heston greeted me with a smile and a very sincere “Good morning, young man.” This started a short (and now) forgotten idle chit-chat that started my day with some positive energy.

Through the production I found Mr. Heston to be a very kind, peaceful man and consummate professional. The only big-timing I witnessed was his chair. He had a larger-than-life personalized leather (saddle-type) set chair that was magnificent in appearance and would have fit perfectly on one of his earlier historical films like “El Cid.”

Again, I can’t stress enough how professional Mr. Heston was. Even at an elderly age and suffering obvious knee problems, I watched during filming how he ran after a fleeing car down a long driveway, take after take, never once complained or asking for a photo-double.

I also remember the day I worked on the Fox comedy show “In Living Color” back in the early 1990’s. I was there to be part of the segment for a “Head Detective” skit where Jim Carrey played the head mob boss.

While waiting throughout the day for production to get to the segment, I watched as they shot other pieces for the show. During the down time I also watched Jim Carrey come on stage and horse around. At some point he lifted a very large African tribal spear (a prop from a previous skit) and started swinging it around. Eventually, with his carelessness, he accidentally struck one of his female co-stars (Kelly Coffield Park) in the back of the head. Kelly doubled over in severe pain. Holding her head down with both hands she ran off the stage with the assistance of a stagehand.

To my amazement, Carrey didn’t console her or follow her off set. The man simply looked around to see if anyone had seen him and then started laughing (almost nervously). It appeared like behavior an 8-year-old would display after he hit a girl on on the playground during recess, trying to make light of something he had done he knew was bad.

His laugh could only be described as “wicked” or “sinister.” To this day that incident is fresh in my memory because of the man’s strange behavior. If Carrey would have helped her or shown any compassion for her I would have probably forgotten it ever happened. But his actions instilled something in me that made me question his mental state. I can only hope that sometime afterwords he eventually apologized to her. Not only for striking her in the head, but for mocking her when she ran off in pain.

In retrospect, Charlton Heston was a man who once commanded the motion picture screen with such award-winning performances as “Ben-Hur” and Moses in “The Ten Commandments,” a man who enlightened and entertained the world with his talents for half a century. And lest we forget, he was also a champion of Civil Rights when many stars of his caliber shunned such controversy. He is well known for publicly supporting and accompanying historical figures like Martin Luther King Jr. A leading defender of our 2nd Amendment rights, Mr. Heston was a gentle and loyal man who was married 64 years to the same woman until his passing.

With so many credits to Mr. Heston’s name, I find it disgraceful that Jim Carrey (of all people) is trying to teach a new generation of Americans to hate this man. The fact that Carrey is picking on someone who can’t defend himself, I believe, will eventually backfire if good people stand up to his adolescent rhetoric.

Because I know first-hand that Jim Carrey is indeed talented, I can also reassure the public that he’s just a juvenile comic who’s rise to fame originated with his talking out of his ass. And nothing much has changed.

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56 COMMENTS

    • I don’t understand this comment.

      And thanks, Joe, for sharing these memories with us.

      • IIRC, A legislated requirement to have a certain percentage of “Canadian Content” on Canadian TV. Sorta like the whole ‘All signs must be in French and English’ thing.

      • I helpfully included a link to the Wikipedia page. I believe that a disproportionate number of Canadian actors and musicians get exposure because Canadian broadcasters are legally required to give them airtime. See also Alanis Morrisette.

  3. no more talk about this ass-hat clown he’s like a child thriving for attention…let him be and he’ll go away

  4. I guess Jim Carey’s career must be waning. He seems to be trying to get in the public spotlight on the back of this topic. He shoulda quit after “The Mask.”

    • Reminds me of that limey, what’s his name, uh… Smeirs Borgan (?)… whatever, you know, that guy who danced on the bodies of the Sandy Hook children in a desperate but futile attempt to raise his dismal television ratings.

  5. His opinions on guns aside, Jim Carrey has always been a no talent ass-clown with a face made for punching.

    • Not saying he aint a first class moron……be the man can be quite funny, and was in a few decent acting flicks as well. In short, a talented ass-hole.
      And Jim Carrey aint so bad either…..now that was a joke.

  7. “Because I know first-hand that Jim Carrey is indeed talented…”

    Talented at hitting women and making the most annoying, and obnoxious movies in existence.

    • Most obnoxious? Steve Martin held that title in my mind for many years until Roxanne (Remember “The Jerk”?). Stiller is still high on my “do not bother” watch list. And we are just getting started. A bunch of comedians got there start by being terribly obnoxious. They are all trying to recreate the slapstick magic of the Vaudeville era of the Three Stooges, Stan and Ollie, the Marx Brothers and more–some successfully, some not so much.

    • Ben Stiller, Will Ferrel, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler (actually Im on the fence about Sandler)

  8. As you state, Carrey’s fame originated with him talking out of his @ss. Everyone should remember this, his hypocrisy as well should not be forgotten. As your pix above demonstrate, his characters have often been portrayed using firearms. So he can make a trailer load of cash using guns, but if the moviegoer is into guns he has a Puny Pecker Problem. Here he is talking out of his @ss again, except this time around fame will not come knocking………….

  9. My first act as Prez or Attorney General would be to start an investigation against EVERY celeb with a felony conviction or is a habitual user of drugs, who used a gun in a film. If it turns out that a gun used on screen by said celeb was a real gun, even if it was converted to fire only blanks (still a real gun per ATF regs), I would bring charges. You want a Prez to enforce guns laws, I’ll enforce guns laws.

    • I don’t know about all movies, but I was an extra (FBI Agent) in the movie “The Firm” with Tom Cruise. They issued one of my fellow extra “Special Agents” a gun for his part. It functioned just like a real gun – the slide racked, the hammer dropped when you pulled the trigger, and I’m sure the gun would have stripped a bullet out of the magazine and into the barrel if we had had any. With the exception of the magazine, which was real, and the springs, the gun was made entirely of plastic.

  10. Carey lacks substance as a adolescent human being ( well I think it’s human)….maybe a 14 year adolescent, because I know 6 year olds that are more mature than him. He is disturbing… creepily so…..a highlight of one of his movies…… a spitting contest, REALLY! and why are we allowing this j-@ss from Canada to even have a voice….. oh that’s right because we’ve allowed ourselves to become dumbed down.
    Jeez I wonder if anyone would even understand Ben Hur today?

  11. “The Truman Show” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”

    Those are the two good movies that Jim Carrey has done, I’ll admit that. Everything else was basically live-action cartoons that appeal to children.

    I wonder when he’ll make a music video calling for better mental health in this nation?

  12. Growing up in West Los Angeles we lived across the street from the “Brentwood Country Mart.” It was a collection of stores with a small food court in the center. My sister and I used to walk over there after school to walk through the shops and split some french fries. It was not uncommon to see many of Hollywood’s greats there shopping or having coffee and reading the newspaper. One regular we would see often was Charlton Heston, among other.

    We knew who he was and would on occasion say hello to him. I remember him being polite and never seeming bothered by the two young kids that would stop and say hello. Old Hollywood, as I like to call them, were easy to talk, very friendly, and had more class than Carrey could ever hope to achieve!

  14. don’t forget the creepy texts/tweets to Emma Stone back in 2011, Carrey is obviously deranged.

  16. Carry is a loser. His acting has gone down hill. Hes about as funny as stepping in dog crap.

  17. wow. pretty telling details.

    How a man carries himself pretty much says it all.

    Thank you for sharing.

  18. I’m curious about Mr. Heston’s continued relevance to American
    cinema vs Carrey’s relevance to anyone. How many actors try to
    emulate Heston? How many turned to the film industry because
    they saw one of Heston’s films? Though already a has been and
    wannabe, in twenty years Carrey will be all but unknown and
    we’ll still be watching The Ten commandments every Easter.

    • Exactly ChuckN. My comment was going to be in 50 years who will still be remembered, Heston or carey?

  22. My dad was a huge movie buff, Charlton Heston was one of his favorite actors. I knew him from his work in movies like Ben-Hur, but his body of work was really before my time.

    The older I get, the more I realize that the guys my dad looked up to, are the guys I’m starting to look up to. Heston sounds like a class act.

    Jim Carrey – not so much.

  23. I’ve said it time and time again.
    Our views on gun control are shaped by those we associate with. Most conservatives don’t know anyone they wouldn’t trust with a gun. Whereas, Carrey can’t even be trusted with a stage prop spear. Think what damage he would do if the guns he uses on set were anything more then plastic props. No liberal in their right mind would trust HIM with a razor knife.

  26. Just to add to the discussion, in the early 1960’s Charlton Heston was pro-gun control but was intellectually honest enough, not to mention man enough, to see the error of his ways and to advocate and be a champion for liberty.

    • FYI, pro-gun folks don’t haven’t cornered the “champions of liberty” market.

  27. To be fair, the video wasn’t very funny but by most accounts, Charles Heston wasn’t a very pleasant individual to work with in his prime.

    • Yes, but the author liked him. Heston fought for the NRA and to protect our rights, so that’s all that really matters, right?

  28. I get it that most posters here are pro-gun, but IMO they’re statements are close-minded. Not saying Carrey is worthy of an Oscar, but criticizing his acting skills or relevance is not an argument at all; it’s an ad hominem attack.

    So the author had a pleasant chit-chat with Heston. That’s cool. But he proclaims Carrey as “sinister” after accidentally hurting someone. People react differently to those situations. Again, it’s hardly an argument against gun-control activists.

  29. Great article. I live in Australia where guns are strictly controlled. We live in constant fear of home invasions and never leave the house. No-one does. Ever. Our children aren’t allowed to take guns into school and neither are the teachers! There is a mass shooting almost every week because they have no way of defending themselves. Its terrible. We also have socialised healthcare which means if you are sick you can see a doctor. Its awful. People are actually organisiing protests and boycotts so they can stay at home and be sick and even die without being forced to see a medical practitioner without having to pay for it. You are so lucky to be in America with your freedom and fantastic education system.

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