Among the celebrated pantheon of Holly wood royalty, few are as well-respected and universally adored as Gregory Peck. For more than fifty years, he has been a major presence in the theater, on television, and most importantly, on the big screen. (41) ______ As General MacArthur, Melville's Captain Ahab, and Atticus Finch, he has presented audiences with compelling stories of strength and masculinity.
Eldred Gregory Peck was born on April 5, 1916 in La Jolla, California. By the time he was six, his parents had divorced. For a number of years he lived with his maternal grandmother, but at the age of ten was' sent to St. John' s Military Academy in Los Angeles. The four years he spent there were important in forming his sense of personal discipline. After the Academy, he returned to live with his father, a local pharmacist, and to attend public high school.
(42)______. There, his abilities were almost immediately recognized. In 1942, Peck made his debut on Broadway with The Morning Star. Though many of his early plays were doomed to short runs, it seemed clear that Peck was destined for something bigger. In 1944 that "something bigger" arrived in the form of his first two
Hollywood roles, as Vladimir in Days of Glory and Father Francis Chisholm in The Keys of the Kingdom.
(43)______. This early success provided him the rare opportunity of working with the best directors in Hollywood. Over the next three years he appeared in Alfred Hitchcock' s Spellbound (1945), King Vidor' s Duel in the Sun (1946), and Etia Kazan's Gentleman's Agreement (1947). Despite concerns over public acceptance of the last one, a meditation on American anti-Semitism, it surprised many by winning an Oscar for Best Picture and a nomination for Best Actor. This success seemed not only a validation of Peck's abilities as an artist but of his moral convictions as well.
(44)______. Tough and caring, he was the quintessential mid- century American man—the good-looking romantic lead across from Audrey Hepburn as well as the rugged World War 1I bomber commander. For many, the actor and the characters he portrayed were inseparable; the authority of his passionate yet firm demeanor was attractive to post-war Americans who longed for a more stable time.
(45)______.
While continuing to act on television and in Hollywood throughout the 19805 and 19905, Peck has focused much of his energy on spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren. For Peck, life as a father and as a public figure have been inseparable; he was simultaneously a major voice against the Vietnam war, while remaining a patriotic supporter of bis son who was fighting there. If years of breathing life into characters such as Captain Keith Mallory and General MacArthur taught him anything, it was that life during wartime was profoundly complex; and rarely bas there been a time free from war or struggle. In his more than fifty films, Peck has continually attempted to investigate these complex struggles, and in doing so has created a library of stories that shed light on human possibility and social reality.
[A] Though an amiable and fun-loving man at home, Peck' s stern presence made him one of the screen' s great patriarchs.
[B] For many, Peck is a symbol of the American man at his best—a pillar of moral courage and a constant defender of traditional values.
[C] During the 19605 and 19705, Peck continued to challenge himself as an actor, appearing in thrillers, war films, westerns and in bis best known film, To Kill A Mockingbird (1962). Based on the book by Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird addresses problems of racism and noral justice in personal and powerful ways. As Atticns Finch, a lawyer in a small Southern town, Peck created a character that remains a great example of an individual' s struggle for humanity within deeply inhumane conditions. It seems clear however, that the reason for Peck's constant assertion that To Kill A Mockingbird is his best ( and favorite) fihn, was the film' s attention to the lives of children and the importance of family.
[D] Gregory Peck passed away on June 12th, 2003, at the age of 87.
[E] While Days of Glory was coolly received, his role as the taciturn Scottish missionary in The Keys of the Kingdom was a resounding triumph and brought him his first Os- car nomination for Best Actor.
[F] After graduating, Peck enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley. Greatly influenced by his father's desires for him to be a doctor, Peck began as a premed student. By the time he was a senior, however, he found his real interests to be in writing and acting. Peek soon realized that he had a natural gift as both an expressive actor and a storyteller. After graduating in 1939, he changed his name from E1dred to Gregory and moved to New York.
[G] At 85, Peck turned his attention back to where he got his start, the stage. He traveled the country visiting small play houses and colleges, speaking about his life and experiences as a father, a celebrity, and as an actor.