A chieftain is fallen. In the tradition of the Scots and Irish, a person of great ability, talent and vision was held a chieftain by his people. Charles MacDonald Heard was such a man. He lived and died according to his own lights, and passed from this world peacefully on December 15th in his 88th year. He came into the world, according to his own account, on an Apache reservation near Globe, Arizona. He lived most of his life in San Antonio, which he loved and to which he gave himself. He was one of the youngest Eagle Scouts in his era. He lived and worked for many years in Hollywood, California. He was an actor, stunt man, writer, make-up man, arms expert, fencing master, and inventor, among many other things. Some will remember him as the man who introduced each episode of Death Valley Days. He was the stunt double for Jimmy Stewart in several of Mr. Stewart's westerns, and the fencing double for stars like Errol Flynn and Cornel Wilde in various swashbucklers. He "died" several times on the day his oldest son was born, working on the 1950 classic Cyrano de Bergerac. Returning to San Antonio after the death of his father in 1961, Charles worked for WOAI TV, and for some years did the man-on-the-street interview news segment, View-Point. But he was always involved in business for himself, and photography and cinematography were his forte. He chronicled the work of H.B. Zachery and the building of San Antonio's HemisFair on film. This was merely the continuance of work he began as a boy, when he served as an arms curator for the Alamo. He loved history, and part of his legacy is his role in preserving it and bringing it to light. He was attended in his final days by his children who were by his side. Roxsann Elder, of Provo, Utah, Charles Heard of Houston, Rodger Heard of Sandy, Utah, Brandon Heard of Taylorsville, Utah, and Steve Schlaeger of Salt Lake City, Utah survive him. He was the grandfather of twenty-one, and the great-grandfather of eighteen. He was married twice, but both of his wives predeceased him. He will be memorialized by family and friends at Mission Park, S.W. Military Dr., at 1:00 Monday, afternoon, after which a wake is planned.

Published in San Antonio Express-News on Dec. 18, 2005
Provided by: Mark Alberthal (47564602)