Pavarotti's Last Performance Was A Complete Fake

Pavarotti was so ill that it was thought dangerous that he should go live in his performance in Turin in 2006 at the opening of the Turin Olympics. That was his last performance and it was completely faked.

This has been revealed in a book by Leone Magiera, who was the conductor. Everyone faked it - Magiera pretended to conduct, Pavarotti mimed the singing, and even the orchestra was just pretending to play. Everything was pre-recorded. And it seems no one noticed anything.

One reason to do it that way was that it was going to be a late-night outdoor performance in the cold.

Passing of a Movie Icon - Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston was a movie icon. His roles in the late 50's and 60's have imprinted his image on the mind of movie-goers. That was a time when Hollywood was fond of producing grand epics, exploiting the use of the then still newish cinemascopic screen.

Few would forget his role as Ben-Hur in the movie of the same name, and even more so his role as Moses in The Ten Commandments. His well-chiselled features, strong and rugged manly build suited him for such roles. It may be debatable whether he was a top rate actor, but he simply slotted into these epic roles with ease and with authority. And really, one can hardly think of another actor in similar roles. Maybe perhaps someone like Burt Lancaster.

Heston's strong character was also evident in his later role as a vocal advocate of gun ownership and supporter of the Republicans. He was a strong President of the National Rifle Association. He had shifted from being a campaigner for John F. Kennedy and a supporter of the civil rights movements in the 60's, and an opponent of the war in Vietnam.

He was born as John Charles Carter, but as a young boy he took on his step-father's surname Heston. The name Charlton Heston had a certain ring to it which Charles or Charlton Carter would not have. He fitted the roles that he played, and he fitted the name that he adopted as an actor.