Ben-Hur star Charlton Heston dies

Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing Ben-Hur and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other figures in Hollywood epics of the 1950s and 60s, has died at 84, his family said today.

A spokesman for the Heston family said he died yesterday at his home in Beverly Hills, California. His wife Lydia was at his side.