Joe Zimmerman writes:

A while back I wrote an article Entitled “Hollywood Hypocrisy on Guns” where I exposed the double-standards of celebrity anti-gun rights activists like George Clooney, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg. Today, the topic is hotter than ever since Obama’s administration decided to attack the 2nd Amendment. Most recently Hollywood comedian Jim Carrey has joined the debate as a champion of the anti-gun movement after releasing his Internet video entitled “Cold Dead Hands,” a “Hee Haw” style music video where he mocks legendary actor Charlton Heston, and attacks American gun owners . . .

In the sketch, Carrey states Mr. Heston “never made it to heaven” after he passed away and then continues on to insult 60-70 million law abiding gun owners by suggesting their ownership of guns is a form of compensation for lack of penis size. Eventually, Carrey ends his video by flipping off the viewer.

Considering all the press Carrey has gotten over this social commentary video, readers of this article most likely have heard all about this story. So, I thought I’d offer you, the reader, a first-hand glimpse into the mind-sets of both Carrey and Heston, minus the gun debate.

You see, I’ve had the privilege of spending time with both performers on set back in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. I normaly believe it’s not a good idea for people in the industry to intimately expose the people they work with, but in this case we have one man (Carrey), unjustly mocking and belittling a defenseless dead man (Heston). I share my experience because political philosopher Edmund Burke, once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Back in 1989 I played one of Charlton Heston’s bodyguards in a TV movie of the week entitled “Original Sin.” After arriving on location in Northridge, California, I strolled down to the craft service table at the edge of an empty field. At the time, I was the only one there. Not long after, a man followed and came to the table to get something to eat. That man was Charlton Heston. Being fairly new to the industry, and my first day on this set, I kept to myself. But Mr. Heston greeted me with a smile and a very sincere “Good morning, young man.” This started a short (and now) forgotten idle chit-chat that started my day with some positive energy.

Through the production I found Mr. Heston to be a very kind, peaceful man and consummate professional. The only big-timing I witnessed was his chair. He had a larger-than-life personalized leather (saddle-type) set chair that was magnificent in appearance and would have fit perfectly on one of his earlier historical films like “El Cid.”

Again, I can’t stress enough how professional Mr. Heston was. Even at an elderly age and suffering obvious knee problems, I watched during filming how he ran after a fleeing car down a long driveway, take after take, never once complained or asking for a photo-double.

I also remember the day I worked on the Fox comedy show “In Living Color” back in the early 1990’s. I was there to be part of the segment for a “Head Detective” skit where Jim Carrey played the head mob boss.

While waiting throughout the day for production to get to the segment, I watched as they shot other pieces for the show. During the down time I also watched Jim Carrey come on stage and horse around. At some point he lifted a very large African tribal spear (a prop from a previous skit) and started swinging it around. Eventually, with his carelessness, he accidentally struck one of his female co-stars (Kelly Coffield Park) in the back of the head. Kelly doubled over in severe pain. Holding her head down with both hands she ran off the stage with the assistance of a stagehand.

To my amazement, Carrey didn’t console her or follow her off set. The man simply looked around to see if anyone had seen him and then started laughing (almost nervously). It appeared like behavior an 8-year-old would display after he hit a girl on on the playground during recess, trying to make light of something he had done he knew was bad.

His laugh could only be described as “wicked” or “sinister.” To this day that incident is fresh in my memory because of the man’s strange behavior. If Carrey would have helped her or shown any compassion for her I would have probably forgotten it ever happened. But his actions instilled something in me that made me question his mental state. I can only hope that sometime afterwords he eventually apologized to her. Not only for striking her in the head, but for mocking her when she ran off in pain.

In retrospect, Charlton Heston was a man who once commanded the motion picture screen with such award-winning performances as “Ben-Hur” and Moses in “The Ten Commandments,” a man who enlightened and entertained the world with his talents for half a century. And lest we forget, he was also a champion of Civil Rights when many stars of his caliber shunned such controversy. He is well known for publicly supporting and accompanying historical figures like Martin Luther King Jr. A leading defender of our 2nd Amendment rights, Mr. Heston was a gentle and loyal man who was married 64 years to the same woman until his passing.

With so many credits to Mr. Heston’s name, I find it disgraceful that Jim Carrey (of all people) is trying to teach a new generation of Americans to hate this man. The fact that Carrey is picking on someone who can’t defend himself, I believe, will eventually backfire if good people stand up to his adolescent rhetoric.

Because I know first-hand that Jim Carrey is indeed talented, I can also reassure the public that he’s just a juvenile comic who’s rise to fame originated with his talking out of his ass. And nothing much has changed.