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Gregory Peck
Actor

Gregory Peck

5 Apr 1916Born
12 Jun 2003Died
87Age at death
74Credits

Biography

Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.

After studying at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner, Peck began appearing in stage productions, acting in over 50 plays and three Broadway productions. He first gained critical success in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), a John M. Stahl–directed drama which earned him his first Academy Award nomination.

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He starred in a series of successful films, including romantic-drama The Valley of Decision (1944), Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945), and family film The Yearling (1946). He encountered lukewarm commercial reviews at the end of the 1940s, his performances including The Paradine Case (1947) and The Great Sinner (1948). Peck reached global recognition in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing back-to-back in the book-to-film adaptation of Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) and biblical drama David and Bathsheba (1951). He starred alongside Ava Gardner in The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) and Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday (1953), which earned Peck a Golden Globe award.

Other notable films in which he appeared include Moby Dick (1956, and its 1998 mini-series), The Guns of Navarone (1961), Cape Fear (1962, and its 1991 remake), The Omen (1976), and The Boys from Brazil (1978). Throughout his career, he often portrayed protagonists with "fiber" within a moral setting. Gentleman's Agreement (1947) centered on topics of antisemitism, while Peck's character in Twelve O'Clock High (1949) dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder during World War II. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), an adaptation of the modern classic of the same name which revolved around racial inequality, for which he received universal acclaim. In 1983, he starred opposite Christopher Plummer in The Scarlet and The Black as Hugh O'Flaherty, a Catholic priest who saved thousands of escaped Allied POWs and Jewish people in Rome during the Second World War.

Peck was also active in politics, challenging the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 and was regarded as a political opponent by President Richard Nixon. President Lyndon B. Johnson honored Peck with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 for his lifetime humanitarian efforts. Peck died in his sleep from bronchopneumonia at the age of 87.

Known for

Filmography

  1. 2022To Kill a Mockingbird: All Points of ViewFilm: Archive Footage
  2. 2002Restoring Roman HolidayFilm: Joe Bradley (archive footage)
  3. 1999American Prophet: The Story of Joseph SmithFilm: Narrator
  4. 1998Moby DickSeries: Father Mapple (2 episodes)
  5. 1995Theremin: An Electronic OdysseyFilm: John Ballantyne (archive footage) (uncredited)
  6. 1994The Hunt for Adolf EichmannFilm: Narrator
  7. 1994BaseballSeries: (voice) (4 episodes)
  8. 1993The Will Rogers Follies: A Life In RevueFilm: Mr. Ziegfeld (voice)
  9. 1993The PortraitFilm: Gardner Church
  10. 1991Cape FearFilm: Lee Heller
  11. 1991Other People's MoneyFilm: Andrew Jorgenson
  12. 1990Island of WhalesFilm: Narrator (voice)
  13. 1989Super Chief: The Life and Legacy of Earl WarrenFilm: Narrator
  14. 1989Old GringoFilm: Ambrose Bierce
  15. 1987Amazing Grace and ChuckFilm: President
  16. 1984Olympic GalaFilm
  17. 1983The Scarlet and the BlackFilm: Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty
  18. 1982The Blue and the GraySeries: Abraham Lincoln (3 episodes)
  19. 1980The Sea WolvesFilm: Col. Lewis Pugh
  20. 1978The Boys from BrazilFilm: Dr. Josef Mengele
  21. 1977MacArthurFilm: Douglas MacArthur
  22. 1976The OmenFilm: Robert Thorn
  23. 1974Billy Two HatsFilm: Arch Deans
  24. 1971Shoot OutFilm: Clay Lomax
  25. 1970I Walk the LineFilm: Sheriff Henry Tawes
  26. 1970The Infinite JourneyFilm: Narrator
  27. 1969MaroonedFilm: Charles Keith
  28. 1969The ChairmanFilm: John Hathaway
  29. 1969Mackenna's GoldFilm: Marshal MacKenna
  30. 1968The Stalking MoonFilm: Sam Varner
  31. 1968The Movie OrgyFilm: Captain Ahab (archive footage)
  32. 1966ArabesqueFilm: Prof. David Pollock
  33. 1966John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning, Day of DrumsFilm: Narrator
  34. 1965MirageFilm: David Stillwell
  35. 1965Uncertain VerificationFilm: (archive footage)
  36. 1964Behold a Pale HorseFilm: Manuel Artiguez
  37. 1963Captain Newman, M.D.Film: Capt. Josiah "Joe" Newman, MD
  38. 1962To Kill a MockingbirdFilm: Atticus Finch
  39. 1962How the West Was WonFilm: Cleve Van Valen
  40. 1962Cape FearFilm: Sam Bowden
  41. 1961The Guns of NavaroneFilm: Capt. Keith Mallory
  42. 1959On the BeachFilm: Dwight Towers
  43. 1959Beloved InfidelFilm: F. Scott Fitzgerald
  44. 1959Pork Chop HillFilm: Lt. Joe Clemons
  45. 1958The Big CountryFilm: James McKay
  46. 1958The BravadosFilm: Jim Douglass
  47. 1958The Hidden WorldFilm: Narrator
  48. 1957Designing WomanFilm: Mike Hagen
  49. 1956Moby DickFilm: Captain Ahab
  50. 1956The Man in the Gray Flannel SuitFilm: Tom Rath
  51. 1954The Purple PlainFilm: Bill Forrester
  52. 1954Night PeopleFilm: Col. Steve Van Dyke
  53. 1954Boom on ParisFilm: lui-même
  54. 1954The Million Pound NoteFilm: Henry Adams
  55. 1953Roman HolidayFilm: Joe Bradley
  56. 1952The World in His ArmsFilm: Captain Jonathan Clark
  57. 1952The Snows of KilimanjaroFilm: Harry Street
  58. 1951David and BathshebaFilm: King David
  59. 1951PicturaFilm: Narrator (segment "The Legend of St. Ursula") (voice)
  60. 1951Only the ValiantFilm: Capt. Richard Lance
  61. 1951Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.Film: Capt. Horatio Hornblower R.N
  62. 1950The GunfighterFilm: Jimmy Ringo
  63. 1949Twelve O'Clock HighFilm: Brigadier General Frank Savage
  64. 1949The Great SinnerFilm: Fedja
  65. 1948Yellow SkyFilm: James "Stretch" Dawson
  66. 1947The Paradine CaseFilm: Anthony Keane
  67. 1947Gentleman's AgreementFilm: Philip Schuyler Green
  68. 1947The Macomber AffairFilm: Robert Wilson
  69. 1946Duel in the SunFilm: Lewton "Lewt" McCanles
  70. 1946The YearlingFilm: Ezra "Penny" Baxter
  71. 1945SpellboundFilm: John Ballantine
  72. 1945The Valley of DecisionFilm: Paul Scott
  73. 1944The Keys of the KingdomFilm: Fr. Francis Chisholm
  74. 1944Days of GloryFilm: Vladimir

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.