15 Interesting Facts About Hollywood Legend Gregory Peck

Roman Holiday star Eldred Gregory Peck was amongst the most famous American actors of the golden age of Hollywood. He was known to be the best during the time of the 1940s until the 1960s. He was well known for his charisma, talent, integrity and was also a dedicated humanitarian.

Gregory Peck has acted in several award-winning masterpieces and today being his 14th death anniversary, we remember his contribution towards the industry. Gregory had passed away in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles. He was 87 and died due to bronchopneumonia (inflammation of lungs). Gregory had a prolific career of over five decades comprising majorly of adaptations which were powerful and also critically acclaimed.

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Gregory gave out blockbusters like To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) for which he was also honored with an Academy Award for Best Actor. The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) got him nominated for an Oscar for the Best Actor category. The Yearling (1946), Gentleman's Agreement (1947) and Twelve O'Clock High (1949) are amongst his other hits. There are many notable films that he appeared in including the very popular Spellbound (1945), Roman Holiday (1953), and Moby Dick (1956). His films like How the West Was Won (1962), The Omen (1976) and The Boys from Brazil (1978) are amongst the others that won him recognition.

A still from the film To Kill A Mocking Bird

(Image Courtesy: Emaze)

Gregory Peck is also known for his television roles when he moved on from films in the 1980s. His role as Abraham Lincoln in the miniseries The Blue and the Gray was remarkable. After that in the 1990s, Peck retired from active filming to go on for speaking engagement tours around the world. Though, Gregory came out of retirement in the year 1998 with the miniseries version of his film, Moby Dick,

10 best Films by Gregory Peck according to a Hollywood Movie Review Expert Agency, LetterBoxd

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Some interesting facts about Gregory Peck:

1. Gregory was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom honor being the nation's highest civilian recognition by the US President Lyndon Johnson.

2. His Oscar-winning depiction of Atticus Finch in the film To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) was declared as the Greatest Film Hero of the Past 100 Years in the year 2003.

3. Gregory was even accepted to be in the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in the year 1983.

4. He once agreed in an interview about his love affair with Ingrid Bergman (co-star in the film Spellbound) that it was a real love for Bergman, but that’s where he needed to stop. They both were young, but it had to end.

5. He supported the global ban on nuclear weapons.

6. This 6ft 3inches tall and physically robust man was known to do a majority of his fight scenes himself. 

7. In the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he was offered the role of a grandfather, but Gregory died even before the acceptance. 

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8. He was a public supporter of the liberal movements.

9. Peck also devoted quite a lot of time to the industry-related organizations such as AFI & AMPAS.

10. He stayed in a magnificent residence which was built in the year 1932 and measured around 9,000 sqft. It was a French chateau style home with seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, and other several spaces. Reportedly, this house went up for at $25mn in the year 2013 when both Gregory and his wife passed away.

11. Gregory has five kids from two of his wives.

12. He also wanted to enter into priesthood but couldn't because of his marital statuses. 

13. Gregory had a storybook kind of a marriage with Veronique Passani who stayed by Peck's side until his last minutes.

(Image Courtesy: In A Lonely Place)

14.  The very renowned Bollywood actor Dev Anand was also known as the Gregory Peck of India, not because of any physical similarities but the mindset. 

(Image Courtesy: Cinestaan)

15. He received an unusual fan letter from one of his youngest fans, the grandson of Nunnally Johnson, the famous filmmaker after the filming of 1978 horror movie, The Omen.

(Image Courtesy: Gregory Peck Papers)

Gregory Peck was a legendary actor who will always be remembered for his Oscar-winning performances in cinema as well as television. 

Know more about him as you enjoy the biography of one of the greatest Hollywood actors.

(Video Courtesy: Biography)

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