CHARLTON HESTON did not do small.

Heston, the Oscar-winning actor who, as the biggest male star of Hollywood’s outsize epic era of the 1950s and 1960s, parted the Red Sea, raced chariots and battled gorilla tyranny, died Saturday at his Beverly Hills home at 84.

The actor died with his wife, Lydia, at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said. He declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details Sunday. Heston had been battling Alzheimer’s disease for years.

In all, Heston worked on screen for more than 50 years, in more than 100 films and TV productions, including “The Ten Commandments,” in which he played the lawgiver Moses; “Ben-Hur,” in which he commanded the epic production as the title’s chariot-racing prince; and the original “Planet of the Apes,” in which he was, simply, the last real man on Earth.

Heston was nominated once for an Oscar — and he won once, claiming the 1959 Best Actor Academy Award trophy for “Ben-Hur.”

Born Oct. 4, 1923 in Evanston, Illinois, Heston made his film debut as a teenager in a silent, 16-mm production of Ibsen’s “Peer Gynt.”

The right man at the right time, Heston’s sinewy frame came into focus in the 1950s when the big screen, faced with the upstart television, truly became big, via the advent of the wide screen. This was the time when the Red Sea was parted under Heston’s hand. Other credits of his from this era included 1952’s star-studded circus tale, “The Greatest Show on Earth;” 1961’s “El Cid,” opposite Sophia Loren; and 1965’s “The Agony and the Ecstasy,” in which he painted a portrait of master artist Michaelangelo.

In a 1962 poll by the Hollywood Foreign Press, Heston was named one of the world’s two favorite movie stars. Marilyn Monroe was the other.

Offscreen, Heston served in the Air Force during World War II, picketed restaurants and stood with Martin Luther King Jr. in the name of civil rights and visited the U.S. troops during the Vietnam War.

(SD-Agencies)