Gregory Peck - ©Theda Bara

The name I highlight in this post is that of American actor Gregory Peck, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1963 for his performance in the film “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962), based on the novel of the same name by American author Nelle Harper Lee (1926-2016), published in 1960. In the film, Peck plays the role of the extremely upright lawyer “Atticus Finch”.

In addition to the Oscar, Gregory Peck won 6 Golden Globe Awards: 5 for Best Actor in a Drama Film: 1947, 1951, 1955 (Henrietta Award), 1963, 1969 (Cecil B. DeMill Award) and 1 for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series (1999).

The actor has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6100 Hollywood Boulevard, in the Film category.

Eldred Gregory Peck was born on April 5, 1916, in La Jolla, San Diego, California, United States, and died on June 12, 2003, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The actor died of bronchopneumonia at his home, while sleeping, at the age of 87.

Gregory Peck was married twice: his first marriage was to Finnish-American real estate broker Greta Kukkonen (1911-2008), from 1942 to 1954. Together, they had three children: biographer Jonathan Peck (1944-1975), writer Stephen Peck (1946-) and actor Carey Paul Peck (1949-), all Americans; his second marriage was to Franco-American journalist and philanthropist Veronique Passani (1932-2012), in 1955, shortly after his divorce. They were married until Peck’s death in 2003. With her, Peck had two children: American actor Anthony “Tony” Peck (1956-) and American film producer Cecilia Peck (1958-).