Gregory Peck (full name - Eldred Gregory Peck) - American actor, Hollywood superstar. He was born on April 5, 1916 in the provincial town of La Jolla, California. Gregory’s father, a passionate Catholic, worked as a pharmacist in a pharmacy, and his mother, who converted to Catholicism after marriage, was a housewife. When the boy was three years old, his parents divorced. Mother left, and little Gregory remained in the care of grandmother Kate Ayers.
University
Gregory was an obedient sensible child, respecting the traditions of the older generation. As soon as he was 17 years old, the young man entered the humanities department of the University of California. Gregory Peck, whose biography is full of difficult moments, experienced certain difficulties. He had to pay for his studies, but he had no money. However, Gregory tried to earn money, swept the streets, washed dishes in restaurants, carried orders home. The first university years, Peck devoted to the study of literature, as well as acting. He became a regular participant in student performances taking place on the theater stage of the university.
Theater New York
In 1939, Gregory Peck graduated from the University and received a bachelor's degree in humanities. But even before completing his studies, he decided to devote himself to the acting profession, and since New York was the Mecca of theater art at that time, Peck went straight to Broadway. However, the metropolis took him unfriendly, the money quickly ran out, Gregory was forced to again look for work. Calls at fairs, a ticketer in the music hall, a fashion model in an inexpensive store - all these attempts to earn a living were exhausting, but helped to somehow exist. At the same time, Peck understood that it was impossible to get a role in the theater with his diploma, a completely different qualification was needed, but it was not.
Actor diploma
When the Second World War began, Gregory Peck did not go through a medical commission due to a spinal illness. According to the results of medical examinations, as well as his social affiliation, Peck received a rather impressive scholarship. Considering this a gift of fate, Gregory took the full course of the actor’s skill in the Stanislavsky system, received a diploma. Fully armed, Peck rushed to storm Broadway theaters. He was readily accepted, but all the performances in which Gregory participated, burnt out.
First successes
Peck did not feel guilty of this, and indeed she was not: obeying his artistic talent from nature, Gregory played easily, without the slightest exertion. Critics accustomed to discussing every theater performance on Broadway unanimously noted Peck's talent. Gregory's further participation in theatrical productions brought performances to a new level, his play became brighter and his characters more and more reliable. Gradually, actor Gregory Peck became one of the most sought after, life got better, money appeared, and with them new acquaintances. Although it cannot be said that the actor was open to everyone without exception, he was quite selective in choosing friends and acquaintances. Gregory Peck, whose photo has already begun to appear on the covers of glossy magazines, has become a popular actor. His friends significantly increased among the fair sex.
Film debut
Work in Broadway theaters continued for Peck for several more years, until he was noticed by the agents of one of the Hollywood studios. After short negotiations and one screen test, Gregory Peck was approved for the lead role. He was to play the commander of the Russian partisan detachment. The image was unconvincing, the appearance of the actor sinned with aristocracy, and this could not be hidden with any make-up. The same thing was observed in the role of Anka the machine gunner, who was played by the ballerina Tamara Tumanova, a Russian emigrant. She was dressed up no matter how, she still remained a pampered beauty. But since the director of the film “Days of Glory”, Jacques Turner, had neither a real commander nor a machine gunner, he was content with what was and continued to shoot. Fortunately, American critics considered the finished film (or rather, a parody of it) to be Soviet propaganda and put it on the shelf.
Popularity
The film career began, and Gregory Peck, whose filmography already contained one film, starred in the next film, entitled "The Keys of the Kingdom", directed by John Stall, in which the actor again played the main role - the priest Francis Chisholm. Gregory got used to the image flawlessly, he managed to convey the spirit of that time and unobtrusively present the viewer with a noble image of a clergyman.
After the picture appeared on the screen, Peck became a star, his demand surged, and films with Gregory Peck were shown in cinemas for two to three weeks. Most of the Hollywood actors were drafted into the army and were in military units, film studios were actually left without male actors, so Peck was in great demand. However, he did not succumb to the temptation to star in several film projects at once, thoughtfully treated his roles, read and re-read scripts for weeks.
Main roles
In 1946, Gregory Peck starred in the movie "Fawn" directed by Clarence Brown. A children's picture with the participation of adult characters, in the center of the plot - 11-year-old Jody, his father Penny Baxter and mother Orry Baxter, as well as an orphan deer, whose fate is the basis of the film. Seven Oscars and one Golden Globe - this is the result of the film.
Another major role was in Gregory in the film "Duel in the Sun" directed by David Selznik. There, Peck got the character of Lute McCannles - one of two brothers who seek the location of Pearl Chavez.
The action-packed detective "The Paradine Affair" directed by Alfred Hitchcock was filmed in 1947. Gregory Peck's character - a respectable lawyer Anthony Keane - defends Anna Paradine, suspected of killing her husband. Anthony falls in love with his client. He is ready to do anything to justify her. But Anna does not stand up and confesses to the crime.
Peck played only two or three minor roles for his entire career in Hollywood, almost all of his images were the main ones. The directors appreciated the actor as a characteristic high-level performer, they tried to use it in the maximum number of tapes. But actor Gregory Peck, whose height exceeded 190 cm, sometimes for this reason refused the role, as he believed that everything should be harmonious in the film.
"Roman holiday"
In the filmography of Gregory Peck, there are several pearl paintings that combine all the best traditions of American cinema. One such work is Roman Vacations directed by William Wyler. The character of Peck is journalist Joe Bradley, whom fate brought together with the slightly unruly princess Anna, who arrived in Rome for the affairs of her kingdom. Not wanting to sit in the embassy, she arranged a walk in the night city. However, the heiress to the throne did not calculate her strength: Anna fell asleep right on the stone parapet, where Bradley, who had gone on a walk, came upon her. Anna and Joe spent the whole next day together, they were sent to each other by heaven. And if it were not for the royal status of Anna, who knows, maybe the feeling that arose between young people would turn into love. Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn were close friends in real life. Perhaps they were bound by some deeper feelings.
First Oscar
Another picture, which is rightfully considered a masterpiece of world cinema, is “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The film was directed by Robert Mulligan in 1962 based on the novel of the same name by Harper Lee. Gregory Peck's character is Attikus Finch, a lawyer who defends a Negro criminal in court who is accused of abusing a white woman. The accusation was false, but the slaveholding ambitions of white Americans prevailed, then you could blame the Negroes for anything. In this particular case, the matter came to the prosecutor, the trial was started. The film received several prestigious prizes, and Gregory Peck personally won the Oscars and Golden Globes, both in the Best Actor in a Drama category.
Filmography
Gregory Peck, whose filmography includes about 50 paintings, was most actively filmed from 1958 to 1998.
- 1958 - "Big Country", directed by William Wyler. Peck as James Mackay.
- 1959 - “Bravados”, directed by Henry King, Gregory as Jim Douglas. Beloved Pagan, directed by Henry King, starring Scott Fitzgerald. "On the Beach," directed by Stanley Kramer, Peck as Dwight Lionel.
- 1961 - "Guns of the Island of Navarone", directed by Jay Lee Thompson, character of Peck - Keith Mallory.
- 1962 - "How the West Was Conquered," directed by Richard Thorpe, Peck as Cleve Van Weylen. Kill a Mockingbird, directed by Robert Mulligan, Gregory - Atticus Finch.
- 1963 - "Captain Newman," directed by David Miller. The role of Peck is Joseph Newman.
- 1964 - "See the pale horse", directed by Fred Zinneman. Gregory as Manuel Ortego.
- 1966 - "Arabesque", directed by Stanley Donen. Peck as David Pollock.
- 1968 - "Following the Trail of the Moon", directed by Robert Mulligan. Gregory - Sam Warner.
- 1969 - "Gold Mackenes", directed by Jay Lee Thompson. Peck as Mackenna.
- 1974 - "Billy Two Hats", directed by Ted Kotcheff. Role - Archie Dean.
- 1976 - "The Omen," directed by Richard Doner. Peck as Robert Thorne.
- 1977 - MacArthur, directed by Joseph Sargent. Peck - Douglas MacArthur.
- 1980 - "Sea Wolves", directed by Andrew Maclaglen. The role of Peck is Lewis Pug.
- 1982 - "Blue and Gray," directed by Andrew Maclaglen. Gregory as Abraham Lincoln.
- 1989 - "Old Gringo", directed by Luis Puenso. Role - Ambros Beers.
- 1991 - Cape of Fear, directed by Martin Scorsese. Peck as Lee Heller.
- 1998 - "Moby Dick", directed by John Houston. Gregory's role is Mapple.
Personal life
The personal life of Hollywood superstar Gregory Peck is fully consistent with his character - thoughtful, balanced and judicious. The actor’s first marriage took place at the end of 1942, when Gregory turned 26 years old. His wife was the Finnish Greta Kukkonen. The couple lived together for 13 years, followed by a divorce. After parting, they maintained a warm relationship. The couple had three sons: the eldest Jonathan was born in 1942, and died in 1975, committing suicide. The middle one, Stephen, was born in 1946, and the third son, Carey Paul, was born in 1949.
Stephen Peck is engaged in socio-political activities (supporting the Vietnam War veterans ). Carey Paul Peck ran for Congress twice from California. The first attempt was in 1978, the second in 1980. Both times he was actively supported by family members and Gregory Peck himself, but in both the first and second cases, Carey was unable to get around Republican Bob Dornan.
After a divorce from Greta Kukkonen, Gregory married again. His second chosen one was the Frenchwoman Veronique Passani. They have known each other since 1953. Passani, being a journalist for one of the publications that covered the life of movie stars, interviewed Peck on the eve of his departure to shoot the film "Roman Vacations." Six months later, Gregory decided to renew his acquaintance with Veronik, since his marriage to Greta had already cracked by then. The meeting took place, and when Peck divorced, Passani became his wife. The couple lived together for almost 50 years, they were separated by the death of Gregory Peck on June 12, 2003. Gregory and Veronique had two children - daughter Cecilia and son Anthony.