Planet of the Apes is a TV show.
Charlton Heston . He also starred in Touch of Evil ( 1958 ) with Orson Welles , Ben-Hur ( 1959 ) , for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor , El Cid ( 1961 ) , and Planet of the Apes ( 1968 ) . Planet of the Apes (1968 film) . It stars Charlton Heston , Roddy McDowall , Kim Hunter , Maurice Evans , James Whitmore , James Daly and Linda Harrison . Directors J. Lee Thompson and Blake Edwards were approached , but the film 's producer Arthur P. Jacobs , upon the recommendation of Charlton Heston , chose Franklin J. Schaffner to direct the film .