He was Moses, Michaelangelo, Ben-Hur and a dozen other famous historical figures on the big screen, and on television he was as famous appearing as Charlton Heston the movie star he was for the TV roles he played, but he was born John Charles Carter on October 4th 1924 in Evanston, Illinois. Today, "Chuck" Heston is dead. He was 84 years old; he had Alzheimer's disease.
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Bill Cosby's overly-earnest public speaking career has him aiming for a South Park send-up. His latest potentially controversial outing came Saturday at Los Angeles' Maranatha Community Church.

Cosby's address at a forum entitled "Education is a Civil Right" took on black parents and educators for not setting goals for children or being able to answer their questions about why education is important. Saturday's speech offered none of Cosby's past, more inflammatory criticisms of young African-Americans for squandering the progress made by the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Has television's ideal dad aged into an unfunny curmudgeon, a much-needed public intellectual or just another self-important celebrity?

A recent episode of The Boondocks cartoon rubbed Reverend Al Sharpton the wrong way. The episode, called The Return of the King, featured an animated Martin Luther King, Jr. using the "n"-word. The story has King being named a traitor and terrorist sympathizer for his non-violent response to the September 11th attacks. It aired on January 15, the night before the MLK holiday. I didn't see the episode, so I can't tell you exactly how the "n"-word was used.

Sharpton is demanding that Cartoon Network apologize and pull any episodes "that desecrate black historic figures." Cartoon Network released a statement (not an apology), defending Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder. The Network said, "We think Aaron McGruder came up with a thought-provoking way of not only showing Dr. King's bravery but also reminding us of what he stood and fought for."