Gregory Peck Trivia

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Chairman, American Film Institute. He was the first Chairman of the AFI. [1967-1969] (imdb.com)

Only the Valiant (1951) was his least favorite film. He thought the western potboiler was a step backwards after starring in The Gunfighter (1950). (imdb.com)

He was voted the 27th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine. (imdb.com)

He is listed in the Cal Berkeley Alumni roster as a graduate of the Class of 1942 who studied as an English major and where he acted in plays at the Associated Students sponsored 'Little Theatre' on campus. Incidentally while under the watch of the University's Committee on Music and Drama led by Professor William Popper as chairman, the University's Department of Dramatic Arts was just being established towards the end of his student tenure in 1941. (imdb.com)

He was a heavy drinker as a young actor in Hollywood. In 1949 he was hospitalized with heart spasms, and while filming David and Bathsheba (1951) he was hospitalized with a suspected heart attack. Though it turned out to be a palpitation brought on by his lifestyle and overwork, he began to drink less thereafter. However, he did not stop smoking for many more years. (imdb.com)

Charter Member, National Council on the Arts. [1964-1966] (imdb.com)

Of his own movies, To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) is Peck's favourite. (imdb.com)

Agreed to star in David and Bathsheba (1951) as a riposte to the Biblical epics of Cecil B. DeMille. (imdb.com)

In 1946 he met and befriended Gary Cooper, with whom he was often compared in terms of looks and acting style. (imdb.com)

His few attempts to play a villain were considered unsuccessful, perhaps because the public could not accept Peck as anything other than good. He was considered too young at 38 to play Captain Ahab in Moby Dick (1956), especially since the character was described in Herman Melville's novel as an old man. Peck admitted he only agreed to play Nazi Dr Josef Mengele in The Boys from Brazil (1978) because he wanted to work with Sir Laurence Olivier. Although the film and his performance were savaged by the critics, Peck remained loyal to it. (imdb.com)

The financial failure of Cape Fear (1962) ended his company, Melville Productions. (imdb.com)

Formed a firm friendship with Mary Badham (Scout) during the making of To Kill a Mockingbird. They remained in contact until his death. And according to Badham, she always called him Atticus and he always called her Scout. (imdb.com)

Campaigned for Harry S. Truman in the 1948 presidential election. (imdb.com)

In late November of 2005, thieves stole Peck's "Hollywood Walk of Fame" star using a cement saw to cut the bronze-and-terrazzo marker out of the sidewalk. In a simple ceremony, a new star honoring the late actor was unveiled on December 1st to replace the stolen one. Hollywood's honorary mayor Johnny Grant lifted a covering and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, we proudly welcome back to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Gregory Peck." Peck's star was the fourth to be stolen since the Walk of Fame was inaugurated. James Stewart's and Kirk Douglas' stars disappeared some years ago after being removed for construction and were later recovered by police in the nearby city of South Gate. Gene Autry's star also vanished during a construction project. A call saying it had been found in Iowa proved to be a false alarm. (imdb.com)

Children with Veronique Passani: Tony Peck (b. 1956) and Cecilia Peck (b. 1958). (imdb.com)

One of his greatest heroes from childhood was President Abraham Lincoln. Peck was initially concerned about playing him in "The Blue and the Gray" (1982) (mini), since at 66 he was a decade older than Lincoln was when he was assassinated. (imdb.com)

After Peck stormed off the set of The Big Country (1958), director William Wyler said of him: "I wouldn't direct Peck again for a million dollars and you can quote me on that.". (imdb.com)

Turned down Gary Cooper's Oscar-winning role as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (1952) because he felt the story was too similar to his The Gunfighter (1950). When the film proved to be a huge success Peck admitted he had made a mistake, though he said he didn't believe he could have played the character as well as Cooper. (imdb.com)

Recipient, Screen Actor's Award (from the Screen Actor's Guild, for his "outstanding achievement in fostering the finest ideals in the acting profession. Recipient, American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. [1989] (imdb.com)

During the Vietnam War Peck was a vocal supporter of teenagers who dodged the draft, calling them "patriots" and "heroes" and saying that burning their draft cards was part of their civic duty. He produced an anti-war film, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (1972) using his own money in order to provoke more opposition to the conflict. (imdb.com)

He was of British, Irish, Scottish and Armenian heritage. (imdb.com)

In his 80s his frail and thin appearance frequently sparked press rumors of his impending death, particularly when in 2001 he attended Jack Lemmon's funeral with his head bandaged from a recent fall. (imdb.com)

Was in the original version of Cape Fear (1962) in 1962, playing Sam Bowden. He was later brought back for a part in the 1991 version, playing Max Cady's attorney. (imdb.com)

His family has said in interviews that during his final days of life, film studios everywhere sent him presents as a "thank you" for the memories. Disney accidentally sent him an unfinished black and white copy of the pilot episode of "Dave the Barbarian" (2004). After watching it, he sent it back to them with a little message "Congratulations, you found the next Mickey Mouse". (imdb.com)

In 1996, veteran character actor Richard Jaeckel, who had co-starred with Peck in the 1950 film "The Gunfighter" was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a deadly skin cancer. Sadly, Jaeckel's wife had been diagnosed with Alzheimers' disease and he had lost his Brentwood, California home, as well as facing over a million dollars in medical bills and debt. Jaeckel had basically became homeless and his family tried unsuccessfully to enter him into the Woodland Hills' Motion Picture and Television Hospital. Peck took it upon himself to lobby Jaeckel's admittance into the hospital and he was treated within three days. Jaeckel stayed in the hospital until June of 1997, when he lost his battle with the deadly skin cancer. (imdb.com)

Turned down Yves Montand's role in Let's Make Love (1960) because he didn't want to work with Marilyn Monroe. (imdb.com)

After making Arabesque (1966), Peck withdrew from acting for three years in order to concentrate on various humanitarian causes, including the American Cancer Society. (imdb.com)

He had always wanted to do a Disney movie. (imdb.com)

While filming The Bravados (1958), he decided to become a cowboy in real life, so he purchased a vast working ranch near Santa Barbara, California - already stocked with 600 head of prize cattle. (imdb.com)

His election as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1967 was widely seen as heralding in a new, younger, progressive and decidedly liberal era of filmmaking in Hollywood. (imdb.com)

In 1987 he joined Burt Lancaster, Martin Sheen and Lloyd Bridges in narrating a TV advertisement for the People for the American Way, in opposing the confirmation of President Ronald Reagan's nominee to the Supreme Court, conservative judge Robert Bork. Bork, under intense criticism in part because of his past strong opposition to civil rights laws, ultimately withdrew his name from contention. (imdb.com)

Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1979. (imdb.com)

Was Warner Bros. original choice to play Grandpa Joe in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). He was offered the role and seriously considered it but passed away before he could give them an answer. (imdb.com)

Children, with Kukkonen, Jonathan (b. 1944 - d. 1975), Stephen Peck (b. 1945), Carey Paul Peck (b. 1949). (imdb.com)

He had Catholic Armenian roots from his paternal grandfather, Sam "Peck", an immigrant from England. After he married his second wife, Veronique Passani, she had his ancestry traced and discovered the Armenian lineage. Urging him to learn of his partial Armenian heritage and to learn the Armenian language, he took Armenian classes in his middle age. But, by then, his public persona was fixed. "Gregory" is a common Indo-European name and Armenian surname (Gregorian or Krikorian) and was the name of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, Apostle of Armenia (332 AD). (imdb.com)

During his lean salad days, he supported himself as a Radio City Music Hall tour guide and as a catalog model for Montgomery Ward. (imdb.com)

Chosen by producer Darryl F. Zanuck for the epic film David and Bathsheba (1951) because Zanuck thought Peck had a "biblical face". (imdb.com)

In 1948, at the height of the McCarthyite anti-Communist hysteria sweeping the country, he was called before a "fact finding committee" set up by the California Legislature to ferret out alleged Communists and their sympathizers in the entertainment industry. He was summoned because of his association with a host of "liberal" organizations and causes, along with several other stars. He gave the committee a list of every organization to which he had contributed money, along with their letterheads, and said that he contributed to them because they were legitimate organizations. He told the committee, "I am not now and never have been associated with any communist organization or supporters of communism. I am not a communist, never was a communist and I have no sympathy with communist activities". (imdb.com)

Son of Gregory Pearl Peck and wife Bernice Mae Ayres. (imdb.com)

A physically powerful man, Peck was known to do a majority of his own fight scenes, rarely using body or stunt doubles. Robert Mitchum, his on-screen opponent in Cape Fear (1962), said that Peck once accidentally punched him for real during their final fight scene in the movie. He recalled feeling the impact of the punch for days afterwards and said, "I don't feel sorry for anyone dumb enough who picks a fight with him.". (imdb.com)

Charter Member, National Council on the Arts. [1968-1974] (imdb.com)

In 1997, as a presenter at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) awards ceremony, he said, "It just seems silly to me that something so right and simple has to be fought for at all." (imdb.com)

President, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. [1967-1970] (imdb.com)

Personally chose Lewis Milestone to direct the anti-war movie Pork Chop Hill (1959), because Milestone's All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) had made a deep impression on him. (imdb.com)

Studied acting with Michael Chekhov (imdb.com)

Often stated how disappointed he was that many American viewers did not realize how anti-war The Guns of Navarone (1961) was. (imdb.com)

By 1974, following a series of flops, Peck's career had declined to such an extent that he admitted in an interview that he was thinking of retiring from acting. Two years later however he made an enormous comeback with The Omen (1976). (imdb.com)

Broke his ankle in three places in a fall from a horse while filming Yellow Sky (1948). (imdb.com)

In 1999 he publicly berated Congress for failing to pass legislation preventing teenagers from buying guns, following the Columbine high school massacre. (imdb.com)

In the early 1990s Peck considered writing his autobiography, however he decided against it when he realized he wasn't as good at writing as his friend David Niven. (imdb.com)