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October 1 - 7, 2023 • Terre Haute Tribune-Star • 9 With Moses, Ben-Hur and one of the first astronauts to discover a planet of apes on his resume, Charlton Heston had no shortage of iconic screen roles. Many of them will be featured as what would have been the Oscar-winning actor's 100th birthday is marked by Turner Classic Movies, which is making him its Star of the Month on Wednesdays starting Oct. 4 – Heston's exact birthdate. Though the festival usually will be only at night – stretching into early Thursday mornings – the opening day takes a page from TCM's annual "Summer Under the Stars" playbook by presenting a full 24 hours (technically, 25-1/2) of his features, moving back and forth between sections of his career. The first attraction is a later Heston project, a television version of "Treasure Island" (1990), adapted and directed by his son Fraser and casting the elder Heston as pirate Long John Silver. That's followed by two more classic sto- ries, "The Three Musketeers" (1973) and "The Four Mus- keteers" (1975), with Heston as Cardinal Richelieu. After those comes "Counterpoint" (1967), with Heston as a World War II-era orchestra conductor who stages concerts for his Nazi captors. Then, several epics carry most of the rest of the Heston tribute's first day. "The Big Country" (1958) is a William Wyler-directed Western also starring Gregory Peck and (in an Oscar-winning performance) Burl Ives; Sam Peck- inpah's "Major Dundee" (1965) casts Heston as a renegade Civil War officer; Wyler's legendary "Ben-Hur" (1959), which earned Heston one of its 11 Academy Awards, pres- ents him in a famous chariot race; and "Khartoum" (1966) offers him as a military general sent to free soldiers and civilians in Sudan. "The War Lord" (1965) and "55 Days at Peking" (1963) wrap up the historical-drama theme of the Heston showcase's Day One, but there's much more of him to come in the subsequent weeks, some of it relatively con- temporary. Examples include director and co-star Orson Welles' well-reputed 1958 melodrama "Touch of Evil" (Oct. 11); "Soylent Green," (Oct. 25), the 1973 sci-fi drama with Heston as a policeman of the overpopulated then-future – 2022! – who learns a terrible secret; and the 1971 thriller "The Omega Man" (Oct. 25), with Heston as one of the last human survivors in a society ruled by virus-afflicted zombies. There's still room for more history, too. Heston plays artist Michelangelo in the 1965 drama "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (Oct. 18), and he portrays King Henry VIII's counsel Sir Thomas More in a 1988 TV version of "A Man for All Seasons" (Oct. 18), which Heston also direct- ed himself. The fact that such Heston titles as "The Ten Com- mandments" (1956) and "Planet of the Apes" (1968) are missing from the retrospective likely owes to the fact that TCM couldn't acquire the rights at this time (no surprise with "The Ten Commandments," which ABC has had exclusively for many years). Still, there's more than enough Heston on view in October to know which singular talent is being remembered. spotlight BY JAY BOBBIN Charlton Heston in "Ben Hur" TCM salutes Charlton Heston throughout October Meri, Kody, Robyn and Janelle Brown from "Sister Wives" Sunday on TLC Q: I was saddened to learn that Bob Barker died. I know he hosted "Truth or Consequences" before "The Price Is Right," but did he host any other shows before that? – Ron Gordon, via e-mail A: Not on television, but he had his own radio program originat- ing from Southern California, after he had worked at stations in Missouri and Florida. It was while he was working at Los Ange- les station KNX – still in operation as an all-news outlet – and interacting with audience members that he came to the attention of television host and producer Ralph Edwards, who was seeking someone to front the weekday-TV version of "Truth or Consequenc - es." The offer went out to Barker, and the rest is genuine television history. Q: Will Derek Hough be back on "Dancing With the Stars" for its new season? – Gail Hackett, Reading, Pa. A: He will, and with a new responsibility, since he'll assume the position of head judge that previously was held by the late Len Goodman. Hough (who's a newlywed) is sure to have some interesting interaction with the hosts, too, since his sister Julianne will join returnee Alfonso Ribeiro to preside over the contest. (Tyra Banks has left the show.) ABC will return to carrying the program for its new season, with Disney+ continuing to present it as well. celebritypipeline BY JAY BOBBIN Send questions of general interest via email to tvpipeline@gmail.com. Writers must include their names, cities and states. Personal replies cannot be sent.