Name : Eldred Gregory Peck
Birth : 5 April 1916
Died : 12 June 2003
Nationality:
Comment
Gregory Peck was a popular and successful actor particularly between the 1940's and 1960's and one of Hollywood's biggest stars of the period. Many of his roles had a powerful dignity. He was brought up in middle class catholic home. He went to Berkeley to study medicines but started acting. He then moved to New York and made his Broadway debut in 1942 and married his first wife. He was spotted by David O Selznick, Though his first film role was Days Of Glory for RKO. This was an unusual first role but his quality was evident. From this he signed for Fox and Made Keys Of The Kingdom where he plays a Catholic missionary and for which he got a best actor Oscar nomination in only his second film. He did not sign another studio contract but picked his films. In Spellbound he played opposite Ingrid Bergman in the Alfred Hitchcock film. His second Oscar nomination came with The Yearling. He had another Oscar nomination the following year for Gentleman's Agreement. It was controversial as he pretends to be a Jew to investigate anti-Semitism. His fourth Oscar nomination was for the war film Twelve O'Clock High. By the early 1950's he was a major star, popular at the box office able able to act in several genre of films. For tax reasons he then spent time outside of America and filmed the classic Roman Holiday in Italy with Audrey Hepburn. In 1955 he married his second wife and as a couple spent time in Europe where he filmed Moby Dick. He is strangely cast in this John Huston adaptation. The Big Country was a western that was popular at the box office. He returned to war films with The Guns Of Navarone with a strong ensemble cast. The psychological thriller Cape Fear was a very different style of film for him as a taught thriller. He then won his Oscar for his performance in To Kill A Mockingbird, it is a role he has become equated with. He then made less films in the 1960's as a took up other charitable work. In 1976 he appeared in The Omen. He picked another challenging role in The Boys from Brazil as a Nazi. Unusually in this film he plays the villain. In 1991 he was cast in Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear but in a different role. This was his last film role.
Films
Cape Fear (1991)
Scarlet And The Black (1983)
Sea Wolves (1980)
The Boys from Brazil (1978)
The Omen (1976)
The Chairman (1969)
Mackenna's Gold (1969)
Marooned (1969)
Arabesque (1966)
How The West Was Won (1962)
To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
Cape Fear (1962)
Guns of Navarone (1961)
The Big Country (1958)
Moby Dick (1956)
The Purple Plain (1954)
The Million Pound Note (1954)
Roman Holiday (1953)
The Snows Of Kilimanjaro (1952)
Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)
The Gunfighter (1950)
Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Yellow Sky (1948)
Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
The Yearling (1946)
Spellbound (1945)
Keys Of The Kingdom (1944)
Days Of Glory (1944)
Oscars
Won - Best Actor - To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
Nomination - Best Actor - Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Nomination - Best Actor - Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
Nomination - Best Actor - Yearling (1946)
Nomination - Best Actor - Keys Of The Kingdom (1944)
Gregory Peck was a popular and successful actor particularly between the 1940's and 1960's and one of Hollywood's biggest stars of the period. Many of his roles had a powerful dignity. He was brought up in middle class catholic home. He went to Berkeley to study medicines but started acting. He then moved to New York and made his Broadway debut in 1942 and married his first wife. He was spotted by David O Selznick, Though his first film role was Days Of Glory for RKO. This was an unusual first role but his quality was evident. From this he signed for Fox and Made Keys Of The Kingdom where he plays a Catholic missionary and for which he got a best actor Oscar nomination in only his second film. He did not sign another studio contract but picked his films. In Spellbound he played opposite Ingrid Bergman in the Alfred Hitchcock film. His second Oscar nomination came with The Yearling. He had another Oscar nomination the following year for Gentleman's Agreement. It was controversial as he pretends to be a Jew to investigate anti-Semitism. His fourth Oscar nomination was for the war film Twelve O'Clock High. By the early 1950's he was a major star, popular at the box office able able to act in several genre of films. For tax reasons he then spent time outside of America and filmed the classic Roman Holiday in Italy with Audrey Hepburn. In 1955 he married his second wife and as a couple spent time in Europe where he filmed Moby Dick. He is strangely cast in this John Huston adaptation. The Big Country was a western that was popular at the box office. He returned to war films with The Guns Of Navarone with a strong ensemble cast. The psychological thriller Cape Fear was a very different style of film for him as a taught thriller. He then won his Oscar for his performance in To Kill A Mockingbird, it is a role he has become equated with. He then made less films in the 1960's as a took up other charitable work. In 1976 he appeared in The Omen. He picked another challenging role in The Boys from Brazil as a Nazi. Unusually in this film he plays the villain. In 1991 he was cast in Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear but in a different role. This was his last film role.
Films
Cape Fear (1991)
Scarlet And The Black (1983)
Sea Wolves (1980)
The Boys from Brazil (1978)
The Omen (1976)
The Chairman (1969)
Mackenna's Gold (1969)
Marooned (1969)
Arabesque (1966)
How The West Was Won (1962)
To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
Cape Fear (1962)
Guns of Navarone (1961)
The Big Country (1958)
Moby Dick (1956)
The Purple Plain (1954)
The Million Pound Note (1954)
Roman Holiday (1953)
The Snows Of Kilimanjaro (1952)
Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)
The Gunfighter (1950)
Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Yellow Sky (1948)
Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
The Yearling (1946)
Spellbound (1945)
Keys Of The Kingdom (1944)
Days Of Glory (1944)
Oscars
Won - Best Actor - To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
Nomination - Best Actor - Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Nomination - Best Actor - Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
Nomination - Best Actor - Yearling (1946)
Nomination - Best Actor - Keys Of The Kingdom (1944)
