BEN HUR GOES OUT WITH A BANG

(Los Angeles) Screen legend Charlton Heston has kept his word. In 2000, the NRA activist vowed that the Clinton Administration could only take away his right to bear arms "from my cold, dead hands." Early this morning, Beverly Hills police revealed that the actor had passed away while gripping his favorite Winchester rifle, "The Frontiersman," in his right hand, with his index finger on the trigger. When mortician Floyd Gustaffson attempted to remove the gun from the rigor-mortis grip of Heston's fingers, the weapon went off, wounding Gustaffson in the shoulder. Gustaffson, a life-long NRA member himself, took the mishap in stride, telling reporters that "it's an honor to be the last man shot by Mr. Heston. I can't wait to have grandchildren, so I can tell them about it."