production manager Henry Henigson, who was struck by the singer's"magnificent" voice and"beautiful spiritual face," Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons wrote in 1958.
Heater was then tested and hired to play Jesus in the MGM feature."Now here is the strange part: They had to go to Europe to find this boy, who was born in Oakland, California," Parsons wrote. "Mainly, they were interested in hands. They wanted strong, but sensitive, hands," Heater told the Marinnewspaper in 1992. During production, he noted that"there were people on the set who would see me, drop to one knee and make the sign of Christ."
As filming progressed, Heater was given more time in front of the camera and a few lines, but British law at the time forbid Jesus to speak or his face to be seen if he were a"secondary character." So, Heater as Jesus appears only from behind, as when he gives water to Charlton Heston's enslaved Judah Ben-Hur., Heater is shown front and center in a costume test photo.
Born in Oakland on Oct. 25, 1927, Heater served as a missionary and in the U.S. Marine Corps before studying voice in Los Angeles. He moved to New York in 1950, joined the American Theater Wing and appeared on Broadway as a singer and juggler inIn 1952, the 6-foot-4 Heater was the baritone member of the trio in the world premiere of Leonard Bernstein's
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