Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (2024)

Table of Contents
Gregory Peck is Born Parents Divorce St. John’s Catholic Military Academy High School in San Diego First Year of College Berkeley Awaits Finding the Stage New York Bound Making Ends Meet Acting School Summer Stock Traveling Show Broadway Bound Marriage Acting on Broadway First Son Hollywood Beckons First Oscar Nomination Working With The Greats Lust in the Dust Second Oscar Nomination Second Son is Born First Golden Globe Third Oscar Nomination Goes Back to Theater Roots Fourth Oscar Nomination Third Son Set In Stone His Favorite Western Movie Star Accolade A Classic For All Times Bambi Award More Recognition First Marriage Ends Model for Mad Men Remarries Takes on Melville Fourth Son An Epic Western Ahead of the Curve Gets A Girl Walk of Fame Original Buddy Movie Takes on Mitchum His Favorite Role Best Actor Oscar Academy Governorship Mr. Peck Goes to Washington Raises Record Breaking Funds Inner City Cultural Center A Presidential Call to Service Academy President Humanitarian Oscar Highest Civilian Honor A Special Globe Supporting His Community Opposes Vietnam War Biggest Box Office Hit Old Soldiers Never Die Works With Friend Laurence Olivier Delivers Gettysburg Address Jane Fonda Beckons Honored By His Peers December at The White House Works With Scorsese Celebrated in Manhattan In the Hometown of Veronique Supporing Literacy An Honor From The President Sixth Golden Globe, at 78 Friend Harry Belafonte Presents A Fine Accolade Treading the Boards Again Honored at Cannes Stand Up, Miss Jean Louise Gregory Peck Passes Away Final Words From a Lifelong Friend Atticus Forever A Presidential Favorite References

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (1)

Gregory Peck is Born

1916

Eldred Gregory Peck born April 5, La Jolla, CA. to Gregory Pearl Peck, of Irish descent, and Bernice Ayres, of Missouri.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (2)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (3)

Parents Divorce

1922

His parents divorce, his mother returns to St. Louis, Missouri, and Gregory goes to live with his maternal grandmother in La Jolla.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (4)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (5)

St. John’s Catholic Military Academy

1926

Sent to St. John’s Catholic Military Academy outside of Los Angeles, where he serves as an altar boy.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (6)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (7)

High School in San Diego

1930

Returns to live with his pharmacist father. Attends San Diego High School.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (8)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (9)

First Year of College

1934

Enrolls in San Diego State

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (10)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (11)

Berkeley Awaits

1935

Transfers to UC Berkely, enrolls in Pre-med, joins Cal crew team.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (12)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (13)

Finding the Stage

1938

As a senior, discovers his passion in acting and appears in five plays at UC Berkeley.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (14)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (15)

New York Bound

1939

Graduates UC Berkeley, boards a train to NY to study acting, and drops the first name “Eldred.”

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (16)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (17)

Making Ends Meet

1939

Barker at NY Worlds Fair, Usher at Radio City, models for Montgomery Ward, sleeps in Central Park when out of cash.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (18)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (19)

Acting School

1939

Wins A Scholarship to the prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse, studies acting with Sanford Meisner, movement with Martha Graham.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (20)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (21)

Summer Stock

1940

Exempted from military service in WWII due to back injury. Begins playing roles in Summer Stock theater, including the Barter Theater, the Cape Playhouse.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (22)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (23)

Traveling Show

1941

Tours in The Doctor’s Dilemma, by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Guthrie McClintic and starring Katherine Cornell.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (24)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (25)

Broadway Bound

1942

Broadway debut in The Morning Star, with Katherine Cornell

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (26)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (27)

Marriage

1942

Greg marries Greta Kukkonen.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (28)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (29)

Acting on Broadway

1943

Stars in The Willow and I, Sons and Soldiers.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (30)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (31)

First Son

1944

Jonathan Peck is born.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (32)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (33)

Hollywood Beckons

1944

Meets with Louis B Mayer, Darrel Zanuck, David O Selnick, Samuel Goldwyn. Says no to contract player system, becoming one of first actors able to work at multiple studios. Stars in first film, Days of Glory.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (34)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (35)

First Oscar Nomination

1944

Stars in The Keys of the Kingdom, is nominated for Best Actor.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (36)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (37)

Working With The Greats

1945

Stars in Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound, with Ingrid Bergman.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (38)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (39)

Lust in the Dust

1946

Stars in Duel in the Sun, as memorable rogue Lewt McCanles.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (40)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (41)

Second Oscar Nomination

1946

Stars in The Yearling.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (42)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (43)

Second Son is Born

1946

Stephen Peck born.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (44)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (45)

First Golden Globe

1947

Wins Golden Globe for The Yearling.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (46)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (47)

Third Oscar Nomination

1947

Stars in Gentleman’s Agreement, first major film to deal with discrimination against Jews. Winner of Best Picture Oscar.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (48)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (49)

Goes Back to Theater Roots

1947

Founder of La Jolla Playhouse, with fellow actors Mel Ferrer and Dorothy McGuire.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (50)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (51)

Fourth Oscar Nomination

1949

Stars in Twelve O'Clock High and receives fourth Oscar nomination.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (52)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (53)

Third Son

1949

Carey Paul Peck born.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (54)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (55)

Set In Stone

1949

Puts handprints in the cement at Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (56)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (57)

His Favorite Western

1950

Stars in The Gunfighter.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (58)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (59)

Movie Star Accolade

1951

Golden Globe for World Film Favorite, Male

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (60)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (61)

A Classic For All Times

1953

Stars in Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn, directed by William Wyler.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (62)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (63)

Bambi Award

1954

Germany's Best Actor Award for Roman Holiday.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (64)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (65)

More Recognition

1955

Golden Globe for World Film Favorite, Male.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (66)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (67)

First Marriage Ends

1954

Gregory and Greta file for divorce.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (68)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (69)

Model for Mad Men

1955

Stars in The Man In the Grey Flannel Suit.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (70)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (71)

Remarries

1955

Gregory marries Veronique Passani.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (72)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (73)

Takes on Melville

1956

Stars in Moby Dick, directed by John Huston.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (74)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (75)

Fourth Son

1956

Anthony Peck is born.

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Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (77)

An Epic Western

1958

Stars in The Big Country with Charlton Heston, also Co-Produces the film with William Wyler

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (78)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (79)

Ahead of the Curve

1958

Stars in On The Beach, sounding a warning against nuclear proliferation. Third film with beloved friend Ava Gardner.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (80)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (81)

Gets A Girl

1960

Cecilia Peck is born.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (82)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (83)

Walk of Fame

1960

Gets a star on Hollywood Boulevard.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (84)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (85)

Original Buddy Movie

1961

Stars in The Guns of Navarone, with Anthony Quinn, David Niven and Anthony Quayle.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (86)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (87)

Takes on Mitchum

1962

Stars in and produces Cape Fear.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (88)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (89)

His Favorite Role

1962

Stars as Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird, fifth Oscar nomination.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (90)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (91)

Best Actor Oscar

1963

Wins Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actor, To Kill A Mockingbird.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (92)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (93)

Academy Governorship

1964

Elected to the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (94)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (95)

Mr. Peck Goes to Washington

1964

Appointed to National Council on the Arts.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (96)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (97)

Raises Record Breaking Funds

1965

Appointed Chairman of American Cancer Society, travels the country raising awarness and funding.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (98)

Inner City Cultural Center

1966

Helped found the Inner City Cultural Center, a multi-cultural theater in South Central Los Angeles.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (99)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (100)

A Presidential Call to Service

1967

Appointed Founding Chairman of the American Film Institute.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (101)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (102)

Academy President

1967

Elected President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, serves three terms.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (103)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (104)

Humanitarian Oscar

1967

Second Oscar: The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (105)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (106)

Highest Civilian Honor

1969

Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (107)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (108)

A Special Globe

1969

Wins Golden Globe Cecil. B. DeMille Award, for Outstanding Contributions to the World of Entertainment.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (109)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (110)

Supporting His Community

1971

Chairman of the Motion Picture Television and Relief Fund.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (111)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (112)

Opposes Vietnam War

1972

Produces The Trial of the Catonsville Nine. At the same time is very proud of his son Stephen, who is deployed as a Marine in Vietnam.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (113)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (114)

Biggest Box Office Hit

1976

Stars in The Omen.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (115)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (116)

Old Soldiers Never Die

1977

Stars in MacArthur.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (117)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (118)

Works With Friend Laurence Olivier

1978

Stars in Boys from Brazil as evil villain Dr. Josef Mengele.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (119)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (120)

Delivers Gettysburg Address

1982

Plays Abraham Lincoln in The Blue and the Grey.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (121)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (122)

Jane Fonda Beckons

1989

Stars in The Old Gringo, filmed on location in Mexico.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (123)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (124)

Honored By His Peers

1989

AFI's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (125)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (126)

December at The White House

1991

Receives Kennedy Center Honors.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (127)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (128)

Works With Scorsese

1991

Plays cameo in remake of Cape Fear.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (129)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (130)

Celebrated in Manhattan

1992

Honored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (131)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (132)

In the Hometown of Veronique

1993

Awarded Legion d'Honneur in Paris, France's Highest Honor, by President Jacques Chirac.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (133)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (134)

Supporing Literacy

1995

Launches Gregory Peck Reading Series at the Los Angeles Public Library.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (135)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (136)

An Honor From The President

1998

Awarded National Medal of Arts.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (137)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (138)

Sixth Golden Globe, at 78

1998

Plays cameo in TV remake of Moby Dick. Nominated for Emmy Award, wins Golden Globe.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (139)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (140)

Friend Harry Belafonte Presents

1999

Wins Marian Anderson Award in Philadelphia for humanitarian leadership.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (141)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (142)

A Fine Accolade

1999

The American Film Institute names Gregory one of the Greatest Male Stars of All Time.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (143)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (144)

Treading the Boards Again

1999

Tours in one man stage show, A Conversation With Gregory Peck.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (145)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (146)

Honored at Cannes

2000

Documentary A Conversation With Gregory Peck premieres at Cannes Festival.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (147)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (148)

Stand Up, Miss Jean Louise

2003

AFI names Atticus Finch #1 Movie Hero of All Time.

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Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (150)

Gregory Peck Passes Away

June 12, 2003

June 12, at home in Los Angeles, with Veronique and his family at his side.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (151)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (152)

Final Words From a Lifelong Friend

June 16, 2003

June 16, Brock Peters delivers Gregory's eulogy, at Los Angeles' Catherdral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (153)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (154)

Atticus Forever

2011

US Post Office issues a Forever Stamp of Gregory as Atticus Finch.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (155)

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (156)

A Presidential Favorite

2012

For the 50th anniversary of To Kill A Mockingbird, President Obama screens film at the White House.

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (157)

  • I’m not a do-gooder. It embarrassed me to be classified as a humanitarian.I simply take part in activities that I believe in.

    – Gregory Peck

  • I think that’s what the audience is really interested in… you, how you’re going to cope with the situation, the obstacles, the troubles that the writer put in front of you.

    – Gregory Peck

  • Tough times don’t last, tough people do, remember?

    – Gregory Peck

  • I enjoy practicing my craft as well as I possibly can.I enjoy the work for its own sake.

    – Gregory Peck

  • Of the movies I’ve done there isn’t much I really like.The Gunfighter, Roman Holiday, Twelve O’Clock High I feel were my best.

    – Gregory Peck, 1957

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (158)Tall and strikingly handsome, with a commanding presence and a deep, resonant voice, Peck was born in La Jolla, California, on April 5, 1916. As a senior at the University of California at Berkeley, he was cast in several plays and fell in love with acting. Upon graduating, he won a scholarship to attend the prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and made his Broadway debut in 1942. Critical praise and more stage roles followed. Peck soon caused a sensation in Hollywood and quickly became a major star. One of cinema’s most respected actors, Gregory Peck appeared in more than 60 films during an esteemed career that stretched from the 1940’s to the early 2000’s. His dignity, humanity, and integrity impressed critics from the start and endeared him to generations of moviegoers. Nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actor, he won the Oscar for his performance as defense attorney Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird, a character that Peck said was closest to his own heart.

Although he played a wide variety of memorable roles throughout his career—a wayward cowboy in Duel in the Sun (1946), a love-struck reporter in Roman Holiday (1953), Captain Ahab in Moby Dick (1956)—Peck always grounded his performance in a keen intelligence and innate authenticity that illuminated the screen.

His thoughtful portrayal of a devoted priest in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Another Oscar nomination followed for The Yearling (1946). In Gentleman’s Agreement (1947), Peck played a passionate young reporter determined to expose anti-Semitism. Acclaimed by critics as well as the public, the film earned eight Academy Award nominations, including one for Peck as Best Actor. He received a fourth Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the commander of a demoralized World War II bomber squadron in Twelve O’Clock High (1949).

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (159)Peck’s own favorite role, and the one for which he is most remembered, is Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee, the film tells the story of Atticus’s defense of a black man accused of raping a white woman. The film opened in December 1962. According to Variety, it was “a major film achievement, a significant, captivating and memorable picture that ranks with the best of recent years.” The film earned eight Academy Award nominations, countless international honors, and the Best Actor Oscar for Peck. Perhaps Harper Lee summed it up best: “Atticus Finch gave Gregory Peck an opportunity to play himself.” In 2003, the American Film Institute (AFI) ranked Atticus Finch the number one movie hero in American film history.

From the beginning, Peck’s career included many critical and box-office hits, including Spellbound (1945), The Gunfighter (1950), The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), On the Beach (1959), and The Guns of Navarone (1961). In the late 1950s, he also formed his own movie production company. Its films included the epic 1958 western The Big Country, the innovative Korean War drama Pork Chop Hill (1959), and the suspense thriller Cape Fear (1962), among others. In The Omen (1976), he had the biggest box office hit of his career. In 1991, he revisited Cape Fear in a version directed by Martin Scorsese, and in 1998 received a Golden Globe for his tour-de-force appearance in a television adaptation of Moby Dick.

In the midst of his phenomenal rise in Hollywood, Peck remained committed to live theater. In 1947, he was a founder of the La Jolla Playhouse, a nonprofit professional theater company, and was an active and avid supporter for the rest of his life. Peck was an outspoken opponent of racism and anti-semitism, and championed films which addressed these issues head-on.

Peck was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1967 to 1970 and also served as a longtime governor. He was an inaugural member of the National Council on the Arts and the Founding Chairman of the American Film Institute. He was National Chairman of the American Cancer Society and raised record-breaking contributions. He also devoted himself to the Motion Picture & Television Fund, which provides health care to members of the entertainment industry. For his public service, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an honorary Oscar, in 1967.

In 1969, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded Peck the Presidential Medal of Freedom as “an artist who had brought new dignity to the actor’s profession,” and in 1970, Peck received the Screen Actors Guild award for “outstanding achievement in fostering the ideals of the acting profession.” In 1989, he received the AFI Life Achievement Award, followed by the Kennedy Center Honors in 1991 and the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton in 1998.

Gregory Peck will long be remembered for leaving the indelible imprint of his own character on all the roles he played, especially Atticus Finch, of whom he said: “I put everything I had into it—all my feelings and everything I’d learned in 46 years of living, about family life and fathers and children, and my feelings about racial justice and inequality and opportunity.”

Gregory Peck - 100 Centennial (2024)

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