It’s time to confess.

I lifted a character’s name from a well known actor. It;s not hard to know who comes to mind when you hear the last name Heston. 

But I swear I did it without thinking. 

For years, as a child, I thought the larger-than-life Mr Heston was the ONLY actor in the world. He seemed to be in every movie I saw in my early childhood. He was on TV as Moses, he was John The Baptist in The Greatest Story Ever Told and Ben Hur. A short time later, when Big Bitey took us wee ones to the drive-In, ol’ Chuck popped up as Taylor in Planet of The Apes. After that came Beneath Planet of the Apes  Soylent Green, The Omega Man (Big Bitey liked Sicience Fiction), Earthquake and Airport 75. Charlton Heston was embedded deep in my psyche. 

That’s the excuse I’m using for how I found a character’s last name–and why her her husband calls her Chuck.

So you just know there’s part of me that wonders if J.D . Robb–who some of you might know as Nora Roberts–did something similar when she named a character in her In Death series. And no, smarty-britches, I’m not referring to Eve Dallas. I mean Roarke. 

Hello, Nora, did you ever have a thing for Ricardo Montalban? 

A lot of you out in Olbiteyland know him as "Mr Roarke, your host. Welcome to Fantasy Island!"

Still more of you geeky-types (I count myself here too so don’t be insulted) may be familiar with him as Khan from the Star Trek series and film Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan.

Perhaps one day Nora will fess up to having a thing for the smooth, silky Corinthian Leather voice of Ricardo. I know I sure as hell did. I thought he was pretty handsome too. 

So I confess also I’m saddened by the news of his death, just as I was when Charlton Heston died last year.

He looked damn fine in a white suit. How many men can pull that off and look masculine (besides Naval officers)? 

I bid you a fond farewell, dear Ricardo, and a goodbye, heroic Charlton. Thank you both for the inspiration, the memories, and all those fantasies.

Say hello to Herve Villechaize for me.