Charlton Heston Sought Rehab in May

Aug. 1, 2000 -- Charlton Heston checked himself into alcohol rehab in May for three weeks after his social drinking got out of hand.

“He’s back at work and feeling fine,” a spokeswoman told ABCNEWS.com. “He isn’t scheduled to be at the Republican convention. But he will be campaigning in the fall, as he has in the past.”

Heston, 76, checked himself into a facility in Utah from late May to mid-June. The president of the National Rifle Association and star of such classic films as The Ten Commandments, and Ben-Hur had never been in rehab before.

Heston went public with his drinking problem in this week’s National Enquirer. According to the article, he had given up scotch years ago, but had been drinking white wine on planes and at dinners.

‘I Wasn’t Falling Over’

“I wasn’t slurring my words. I wasn’t falling over, but I realized it had become an addiction for me.” Heston told the Enquirer. “And in my profession, that’s a terrible flaw to fall into.”

Heston blamed his grueling schedule for exacerbating the problem. He has been performing in the play Love Letters with his wife, working for the NRA, and campaigning for Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush in recent months.

Heston is currently wrapping up work on a film, Town and Country, an ensemble comedy with Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton, DeMatteo said. He’s also finishing work on a nonfiction book about his political views.

“I think it was overwork. He keeps a horrendous travel schedule and he’s 76 years old,” publicist Lisa DeMatteo told the Associated Press.

“He’s speaking, he’s campaigning, he works for the NRA, he’s been doing all this stuff, and you know how it is, you go to these dinners and they give you a rubber chicken and food that’s not really edible and you have a little bit too much wine.”