Gary Glenn and Charlton Heston together

Gary Glenn and Charlton Heston pose together in this 1987 photograph, commemorating the pair being named as co-recipients of the Center for the Study of Market Alternatives' 1987 "Freedom Fighter of the Year" award for their work to pass Right to Work legislation in Idaho.

(Courtesy | Gary Glenn)

U.S. actor Charlton Heston is seen during a press conference in Munich on Friday, March 1, 2002. Heston died Saturday April 5, 2008, at the age of 84.

LARKIN TOWNSHIP, MI — Gary Glenn, Republican candidate for state representative in Michigan, has no shortage of big-name endorsements, from Mike Huckabee to Tom Monaghan.

But, arguably, his most famous political booster is Charlton Heston, the acclaimed actor and political activist who died in 2008.

Glenn, 55, has posted a radio advertisement that features Heston's voice, speaking in support of Right to Work laws and broadly endorsing Glenn.

In the ad, Heston says Glenn "tells the truth and he fights for it."

"Today, America needs leaders like Gary Glenn," he says. "I trust Gary Glenn to fight for all of us."

Glenn said he met Heston in 1986, when they collaborated in an effort to pass Right to Work legislation in Idaho. The next year, the pair received an award for their work on the campaign, which Glenn said he delivered personally to Heston at his home.

A month later, Glenn said, his first child was born, and he chose to name him after Heston. In the years that followed, he said, the two kept in touch. Glenn said it remains an honor to have worked with someone he considers a hero.

Here is the Charlton Heston radio ad, featured on the main page of Glenn's campaign website:

Glenn said he reached out to Heston while working with the Idaho Freedom to Work Committee, asking if he would be willing to do an television advertisement for the committee's 1986 ballot campaign.

"Mr. Heston's personal assistant, Carol Lanning, called to tell me that he wanted to do the ad," Glenn said. "I drafted the text of the ad for his consideration, which he edited slightly."

On Charlton Heston's couch

Glenn said he flew to Los Angeles with a camera crew to shoot the advertisement on the balcony of Heston's home in Beverly Hills. The ad ran from June to November 1986, Glenn said.

"A post-election poll indicated he was the single-most influential personality on either side of the most expensive ballot contest in state history," he said. "We were outspent $3 million to $1 million and won anyway."

Glenn said, after the ad came out, the president of the Idaho AFL-CIO publicly announced that the Screen Actors Guild considered a resolution to strip Heston of his lifetime membership. Heston was the actors union president from 1965-71.

That sparked a public rebuke from Heston and a visit to Boise for a campaign rally, which Glenn said he emceed.

"He told the old joke, 'A couple of weeks ago, Gary Glenn called me up and asked how I felt about free speech. Then he said, 'I want you to come to Idaho and give one,''" Glenn said.

Larry Reed, the Midland-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy's first president, previously was president for the Center for the Study of Market Alternatives, a free-market think take at the College of Idaho. That group named Glenn and Heston co-recipients of its 1987 "Freedom Fighter of the Year" award for their work on the Right to Work campaign in Idaho.

Because Heston was not able to attend the award presentation in Boise, Glenn said he flew to California to hand-deliver the plaque. The moment is commemorated in a photograph taken outside Heston's home.

"The photo was taken outside his front door by his wife Lydia, who was not only an actress but a professional photographer," Glenn said.

Gary Glenn, a Republican candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives.

Describing the scene inside Heston' home, Glenn said he remembers Moses' staff from "The Ten Commandments" "leaning against the wall in a corner.

"His Oscar sitting on the end table right next to my chair," he recalls. "A life-size sculpture of the four white horse heads from Ben-Hur. I was sitting at attention in a three-piece suit while he relaxed on the couch, barefoot in sweats."

Glenn said he remembers going over to sit on the couch with Heston and sharing poll results that proved the celebrity played a major role in the ballot campaign in Idaho. Before that, he said, the actor frequently downplayed the importance of the role he played in the campaign' success.

"A month after that photo was taken, our first child was born, a boy: Heston David Glenn," Glenn said.

After that, Glenn said, he and Heston kept in touch. The actor sent signed books, scripts and photos and VHS, DVD and book versions of "Charlton Heston Does the Bible," in which the actor read his favorite Bible stories on location in Israel.

"And when he came to Flint in 2000 to campaign for Gov. Bush, Annette and I took our children down to meet him," Glenn said. "So Mr. Heston met his namesake, my son Heston."

Glenn said it is hard to believe that he got to work so closely with Heston, who he considers a "true modern-day American hero."

"I remember watching 'Ben-Hur' around age 5 or 6 and thinking how much I liked this guy," Glenn said. "It's a point of pride, honor and blessing that's of great value to my entire family. No matter how many times he said to call him 'Chuck,' I could never bring myself to call him anything but 'Mr. Heston.'"

A string of endorsements

Though Heston may be the biggest celebrity on Glenn's list of endorsements, it by no means ends with the star of "The Ten Commandments," "Ben-Hur" and "Planet of the Apes."

Glenn recently announced receiving an endorsement from Tom Monoghan, founder of Domino's Pizza and former owner of the Detroit Tigers.

"I am happy to support your bid for the seat in the Michigan House in this upcoming election," Monoghan wrote in the endorsement. "I appreciate your willingness to stand up for the defenseless, especially the unborn. Thank you too for engaging not just in the economic issues of our times, but also the moral and cultural issues that will define our great country for generations to come."

The candidate also secured an endorsement from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a 2008 presidential candidate and the host of a talk show on Fox News Channel.

Glenn also hosts endorsements at the state and local level from politicians including:

Republic National Committeeman and former state representative Dave Agema has also lent his support to Glenn's campaign.

Glenn has been challenged by a group of gay Republicans to disavow recent inflammatory remarks the national committeeman made about gays and Muslims, which have come under criticism by leaders in both major parties. Glenn has not commented on the issue.

In total, Glenn lists 30 individuals who have endorsed him as a candidate on his campaign website.

The candidate,

a Larkin Township resident and president of the American Family Association of Michigan,

announced earlier this year that he will seek the Republican nomination to represent the 98th District during the 2014 election.

The district is represented by state Rep. Jim Stamas, who cannot run for the seat again because of term limits.

Two other Republican contenders have has emerged in the race for Stamas' seat in 2014.

Saginaw Valley State University administrator Mark Potts in June announced he would seek the GOP nomination, and in September, Midland businessman Karl Ieuter announced his candidacy.

Midland Democrat Joan Brausch also has announced her intention to run for Stamas' seat, seeking the Democratic nomination.

The 98th District includes the city of Midland and Larkin, Lincoln, Homer, Midland, Lee and Jerome townships in Midland County and the cities of Pinconning and Auburn and Gibson, Mount Forest, Pinconning, Garfield, Fraser, Beaver and Williams townships in Bay County.

Mark Tower covers local government for MLive/The Saginaw News. Contact him at 989-284-4807, by email at mtower@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.