| Gregory Peck (1916-2003),
American motion-picture actor, whose portrayals are typically characterized by
dignity and integrity. Born Eldred Gregory Peck in La Jolla, California, he was
educated at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1939 he moved to New
York City, where he studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Dramatics.
His performances on Broadway in The Morning Star (1942) and
other plays gained the attention of producers in Hollywood,
California, and he began acting in motion pictures in 1944.
Peck's early motion pictures include The Keys of the
Kingdom (1944), The Yearling (1946), and Gentleman's Agreement
(1947). He also appeared in the thriller Spellbound (1945) and in
the courtroom drama The Paradine Case (1947), both directed by
Alfred Hitchcock, and in the Western drama Duel in the
Sun (1946). In Twelve O'Clock High (1949) Peck played
a stern United States Air Force general, and in The Gunfighter (1950) he
played the doomed title character. Peck enjoyed greater freedom in his choice of
roles because, unlike most motion-picture actors of the time, he did not sign an
exclusive contract with any individual motion-picture studio.
Peck costarred with actor Audrey Hepburn in
Roman Holiday (1953), appeared as a downed war pilot in The
Purple Plain (1954), and had the role of Captain Ahab in Moby
Dick (1956), which was directed by John Huston. Peck won the
1962 Academy Award for best actor for his performance in To Kill a
Mockingbird (1962), in which he played Atticus Finch, a small-town
Southern lawyer of quiet courage and unimpeachable moral convictions.
In subsequent years Peck appeared in fewer roles but
remained active in the motion-picture industry of Hollywood. He helped found the
American Film Institute (AFI) in 1967, and he served as president of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1967 to 1970. In
1969 he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest
civilian honor. In 1989 Peck was awarded the AFI's Lifetime Achievement Award.
He appeared in a few movies during the 1990s, including a 1998 television
version of Moby Dick. |
