Biography of Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck is one of the greatest actors in Hollywood history. He was a movie legend, the idol of Western audiences and one of the first real stars created by the American Dream Factory. Films with his participation have become real hits on a global scale. That is why Gregory Peck, even many years after his death, remains a real idol for all true connoisseurs of American cinema.
Childhood and family of Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was born on April 5, 1916 in the small town of La Jolla (California). His mother left the family when the future actor was only three years old, and therefore, from an early age, Greg was in the care of his father and grandmother. By profession, the father of our today’s hero was a simple pharmacist. By origin – British. In particular, English, Irish and American genealogical lines mixed up in the blood of Gregory Peck.
Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn
As a child, the future idol of millions was brought up in very strict rules of Catholicism. He studied well at school, always helped his father and grandmother, and was also distinguished by a truly army composure. This is what made him stand out among all the other boys of his age.
After graduating from high school and the military academy of St. John, our today’s hero moved to Los Angeles, where he later entered the University of California, Berkeley. I had to pay for my studies, but Gregory Peck did not even think about giving up. In the early mornings he swept the streets, and in the evenings he worked as a waiter and dishwasher. Despite such a busy work schedule, the future actor always studied perfectly. At university, his favorite subjects were acting and literature. He perfectly recited poetry, and also easily reincarnated as a wide variety of characters. That is why the teachers of the local university theater very soon began to distinguish him from other students.
In 1939, our today’s hero received a bachelor of science degree, but, despite this, he nevertheless decided to choose a fundamentally different path in life. After collecting some money, Greg went to New York, where he began to regularly attend auditions and auditions, hoping to get a place in one of the Broadway theaters.
However, things didn’t go well at first. Broadway received the young actor inhospitably. But Gregory did not even think of giving up and retreating from the intended goal. For some time he worked as a usher in a music hall, a barker at local fairs. After that, a talented young guy worked for some time as a fashion model and even a guide at the famous NBC television studio.
Star Trek actor Gregory Peck, filmography
Soon after wandering around many theaters, Gregory Peck still managed to find work for himself at the Barter Actors Studio. The similar name of the theater was due to the high level of poverty in America at that time. People paid for the entrance to the performance with sausage, eggs and other foodstuffs. Subsequently, from these “funds” the salaries of the actors were given.
One of them was our today’s hero. For a long time he did not have any clear role on the stage, but over time, his bright external data provided him with leading roles in the theater. He played the main characters – strong, honest, courageous. This type attracted the attention of Hollywood producers. So, our today’s hero got his first movie role.
Such was the role of the Soviet partisan Vladimir in the film “Days of Glory”. This tape was released in 1944 and immediately received the status of “scandalous”. It was called Soviet propaganda. However, the hype surrounding the role of Gregory Peck eventually brought him considerable success. The actor began to give interviews often and very soon became a real celebrity. From that moment on, new offers began to come to the young actor one after another.
In the same year, Greg starred in the film “Keys of the Kingdom”, where he perfectly played the role of an honest and noble priest. This role brought him his first Oscar nomination, and with it a huge success. After that, there were paintings “Valley of Determination”, “Bewitched”, “Duel under the Sun”, “The Paradine Case”, as well as many other paintings. In 1947, our today’s hero received the Golden Globe for the film Fawn. Subsequently, for this film, he was also nominated for an Oscar, but he never received a gold statuette.
Despite this, in the forties and fifties, Gregory Peck was just like hot cakes. The reason for this was the fact that many other actors at that moment served in the army. Greg himself escaped the draft, as he seriously injured his spine as a student.
Surprisingly, however, it was this circumstance that largely determined the success of the actor. By the end of World War II, he was already a real Hollywood star. Therefore, his subsequent career went on knurled.
The last years and last films of Gregory Peck
During his career, our today’s hero has performed more than fifty film roles. His films such as “Cape Fear” (with Robert De Niro), “Scarlet and Black”, “McKenna’s Gold”, “Roman Holiday” (the star of the last film was Audrey Hepburn) have become real classics of cinema. The film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which the actor received his only Oscar, has become a cult work that has influenced not only world cinema, but also the political structure of the planet (mainly in the field of civil rights protection).
Gregory Peck with his second wife Véronique Passani
Until the end of his days, the great actor performed on stage, touring the United States with the one-man show Conversations with Gregory Peck. He stopped acting in films in 1998, but still remained a prominent figure in the world of American cinema.
Our today’s hero died at home in sunny Los Angeles under the singing of the waves of the Pacific Ocean. At that moment he was already 87 years old.
Personal life of Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck had two marriages in his life. His first wife was Finnish Greta Kukkonen. As a result of this union, three children were born – the sons of Jonathan, Stephen and Cary Paul. The eldest son of the actor became a reporter, but his life was tragic and ended in suicide. Medium became a civic activist who fought for the rights of Vietnam veterans for a long time. The younger became a fairly successful politician and even ran for the US Congress several times.
As for the marriage itself, it broke up in 1955. Despite this, until the end of their days, the former spouses were good friends.
The second wife of the actor was the French journalist Véronique Passani. They met during a joint interview, and six months later, Gregory invited the girl on a date. Since then, the lovers have not parted. Their marital union lasted 48 years. In this marriage, two children were born – the son of Anthony and the daughter of Cecilia, who later became a fairly well-known actress.