Gregory Peck

At 87 years old, Gregory Peck has this physical status:

Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor.

He was one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Peck received five nominations for Academy Award for Best Actor and won once – for his performance as Atticus Finch in the 1962 drama film To Kill a Mockingbird.

Peck's other Oscar-nominated roles are in the following films: The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), The Yearling (1946), Gentleman's Agreement (1947), and Twelve O'Clock High (1949). Other notable films in which he appeared include Spellbound (1945), The Gunfighter (1950), Roman Holiday (1953), Moby Dick (1956, and its 1998 mini-series), The Big Country (1958), The Guns of Navarone (1961), Cape Fear (1962, and its 1991 remake), How the West Was Won (1962), The Omen (1976), and The Boys from Brazil (1978). U.S. President Lyndon Johnson honored Peck with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 for his lifetime humanitarian efforts.

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck among Greatest Male Stars of Classic Hollywood cinema, ranking him at No. 12.

Early life

Eldred Gregory Peck was born on April 5, 1916, in the neighborhood of La Jolla in San Diego, California, to Bernice Mae "Bunny" (née Ayres; 1894–1992), and Gregory Pearl Peck (1886–1962), a Rochester, New York–born chemist and pharmacist. His father was of English (paternal) and Irish (maternal) heritage, and his mother was of English and Scots ancestry. She converted to her husband's religion, Catholicism, and Peck was raised as a Catholic. Through his Irish-born paternal grandmother Catherine Ashe (1864–1926), Peck was related to Thomas Ashe (1885–1917), who participated in the Easter Rising less than three weeks after Peck's birth and died while being force-fed during a hunger strike in 1917.

Peck's parents divorced when he was five, and he was brought up by his maternal grandmother, who took him to the movies every week. At the age of 10, he was sent to a Catholic military school, St. John's Military Academy in Los Angeles. While he was a student there, his grandmother died. At 14, he moved back to San Diego to live with his father. He attended San Diego High School, and after graduating in 1934, enrolled for one year at San Diego State Teacher's College (now known as San Diego State University). While there, he joined the track team, took his first theatre and public-speaking courses, and pledged the Epsilon Eta fraternity. Peck had ambitions to be a doctor, and later transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, as an English major and pre-medical student. Standing 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), he rowed on the university crew. Although his tuition fee was only $26 per year, Peck still struggled to pay and took a job as a "hasher" (kitchen helper) for the Gamma Phi Beta sorority in exchange for meals.

At Berkeley, Peck's deep, well-modulated voice gained him attention, and after participating in a public speaking course, he decided to try acting. He was encouraged by an acting coach, who saw in him perfect material for university theatre, and he became more and more interested in acting. He was recruited by Edwin Duerr, director of the university's Little Theater, and appeared in five plays during his senior year, including as Starbuck in Moby Dick. Peck later said about his years at Berkeley that "it was a very special experience for me and three of the greatest years of my life. It woke me up and made me a human being." In 1996, Peck donated $25,000 to the Berkeley rowing crew in honor of his coach, the renowned Ky Ebright.

Personal life

In October 1942, Peck married Finnish-born Greta Kukkonen (1911–2008), with whom he had three sons: Jonathan (1944–1975), Stephen (b. 1946), and Carey Paul (b. 1949). They were divorced in December 1955. Peck's eldest son was found dead in his home on June 26, 1975, in what authorities believed was a suicide.

During his first marriage, Peck had a brief affair with Spellbound co-star Ingrid Bergman. He confessed the affair to Brad Darrach of People in a 1987 interview, saying: "All I can say is that I had a real love for her [Bergman], and I think that's where I ought to stop ... I was young. She was young. We were involved for weeks in close and intense work."

On New Year's Eve in 1955, the day after his divorce was final, Peck married Véronique Passani (1932–2012), a Paris news reporter who had interviewed him in 1952 before he went to Italy to film Roman Holiday. He asked her to lunch six months later, and they became inseparable. They had a son, Anthony Peck (b. 1956), and a daughter, Cecilia Peck (b. 1958). The couple remained married until Gregory Peck's death. His son Anthony is a former husband of supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. Peck had grandchildren from both marriages. One of his grandsons from his first marriage is actor Ethan Peck.

Peck was the owner of thoroughbred steeplechase race horses. In 1963, Owen's Sedge finished seventh in the Grand National. Another of his horses, Different Class, raced in the 1968 Grand National The horse was favored, but finished third.

Peck was Roman Catholic, and once considered entering the priesthood. Later in his career, a journalist asked Peck if he was a practicing Catholic. Peck answered: "I am a Roman Catholic. Not a fanatic, but I practice enough to keep the franchise. I don't always agree with the Pope ... There are issues that concern me, like abortion, contraception, the ordination of women ... and others." His second marriage was performed by a justice of the peace, not by a priest, because the Church prohibits remarriage if the first spouse is still living and the first marriage was not annulled. Peck was a significant fund-raiser for the missionary work of a priest friend of his (Father Albert O'Hara), and served as co-producer of a cassette recording of the New Testament with his son Stephen.

Source

Career

Peck did not graduate with his classmates because he skipped one class. His college classmates were concerned about him, wondering how he'd cope without his degree. He told them, "I have all I need from the university." Peck renamed Eldred" and moved to New York City to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse with legendary acting instructor Sanford Meisner. He was often broke and occasionally slept in Central Park. He served at the 1939 World's Fair as a barker and the Rockefeller Center as a tour guide for NBC television and at Radio City Music Hall. He dabbled in modelling before serving in return for food at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, where he appeared in five productions, including Family Portrait and On Earth As It Is.

He began acting in 1941 when he appeared as the secretary in a Katharine Cornell production of George Bernard Shaw's play The Doctor's Dilemma. Just one week before the assault on Pearl Harbor, the play opened in San Francisco. In 1942, Emlyn Williams' The Morning Star led him on Broadway for the first time. Edward Pawley and his second Broadway appearance of the year were in The Willow and Irm. During World War II, Peck's acting abilities were in high demand since he had been barred from military service due to a back injury sustained while receiving dance and movement lessons from Martha Graham as part of his acting preparations. In later years, Twentieth Century Fox said he had suffered his back while rowing at university, but Peck said, "They didn't think a dance class was macho enough." "I've been trying to get the story out for years." Peck appeared in a total of 50 plays, including three short-lived Broadway productions, 4–5 road tours, and summer theater.

Peck was offered his first film role in the war-romance Days of Glory (1944), directed by Jacques Tourneur, alongside top-billed Tamara Toumanova, a Russian-born ballerina. In 1941, Peck met with Toumanova, a beautiful Russian dancer who had been sent to entertain Russian troops and shield her from harming her, allowing her to join their ranks. Peck was "untrained" from his theater education, where he was accustomed to speaking in a formal manner and projecting his voice to the entire audience during the film's making his presence known to the entire audience. Peck thought the film was amateurish and did not want to watch it after it was announced. The film lost money at the box office, vanished from theaters quickly, and was largely dismissed by critics.

Critic Bosley Crowther of The New York Times characterized it as slow-moving and verbose at the time of its release, adding that Peck's performance was stiff. "Peck's star power was evident from the get-goals," film historian Barry Monush wrote. Following the film's release, Peck attracted the attention of producers, but rather than participating in the studio environment, he decided to remain a freelancer with the ability to choose his roles, beginning with unusual dual contracts with four studios, including rare dual deals with 20th Century Fox and Gone With the Wind producer David O. Selznick.

Peck's second film, The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), portrays him as an 80-year-old Roman Catholic priest in China looking back on his activities during the past half a century as a tenacious, self-sacrificing missionary. The character develops from 20s to 80s in the film; Peck appears in virtually every scene. The film had been nominated for four Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor, which was Peck's first nomination. Despite the fact that the film finished 27th at the box office in North America for 1944, Turner Classic Movies founder Jay Carr refers to it as Peck's breakthrough appearance, while writer Patrick McGilligan claims that it "catapulted him to fame." Variety and The New York Times praised Peck's performance at the time of its unveiling, amid mixed reviews of the film itself. The Radio Times referred to it as "a long, talkative, and perhaps dramatic picture," but it also stated that "its success saved Peck's career." "He gives a commanding appearance, full of his usual quiet dignity and intelligence, as well as a surge of tenacity and an inner fire that bring the character truly alive," Craig Butler of AllMovie says.

Peck portrays the eldest son of a wealthy steel mill owner in Pittsburgh in the 1870s, portrayed by Greer Garson, in The Valley of Decision (1944), a romantic drama about intermingling social classes. Best Actress was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Peck's reviews were largely encouraging upon its introduction, with Peck's performance describing as commanding. It was North America's highest-grossing film of 1945.

Peck's latest film was the first of two films with director Alfred Hitchcock, the suspense-romance Spellbound (1945), opposite Ingrid Bergman. Peck plays a man who is rumored to be the new director of the mental institution where Bergman's character develops as a psychoanalyst, though his amnesia and troubling scenes suggest he is a murderer. Peck and Hitchcock were described as having a cordial yet cool friendship. Cary Grant was initially excited that he would play the male lead. Peck later admitted that he felt he was too young when he first worked with Hitchcock, and that the director's on-set indifference to his character's motivation, which is crucial to Peck's acting style, had shook his resolve. Peck's chemistry with his screen companion Bergman was a hit; the actors were romantically linked at the time.

Spellbound, which was released at the end of 1945, was a hit, ranked as the third most influential film of 1946. Critics as well as Peck's performance expressed admiration for Spellbound's appearance at the time. Peck's "restrained and refined," according to Bosley Crowther of The New York Times, "is simply the right counter to Bergman's exquisite role;" Frank Miller of Turner Classic Movies has written that the film continued the rise of Peck to become a Hollywood celebrity and even "a key sex symbol." During preview tests of the film, producer David O. Selznick said that the women in the audience had strong reactions to Peck's name during the first few scenes, noting that during his first few scenes the audience had to be encouraged to relax. Spellbound was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but it was not selected for any of the National Board of Review's top ten films of the year.

Peck's 'The Yearling (1946) portrays a loving father whose opposite on-screen mother, Jane Wyman, whose son discovers and insists on raising a three-day-old fawn in 1870s Florida. Bosley Crowther's review at the time of its release were highly encouraging, with Bosley Crowther describing it as a film that "provides a wealth of happiness that few films ever achieve." The yearling was a box office hit, earning six Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor. Peck received the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his appearance. "One of the finest-made and most beloved family films of its day" has earned critical acclaim in recent decades, as Barry Monush writes.

Peck played a cruel, amoral cowboy in the western soap opera Duel in the Sun (1946) as the provocative, temptress object of Peck's love, rage, and lust. Their chemistry is referred to by film historian David Thomson as "a regular knife fight of sensuality." Joseph Cotten, also starring Joseph Cotten as Peck's righteous half brother and rival for Jones' "steamy, sexpot" love, had been largely dismissed in some towns due to its lurid nature. The eroticism of Duel in the Sun, one of the country's biggest film advertising campaigns, used a new strategy of opening in hundreds of theaters around the country at once, saturating the theaters in cities where it opened, resulting in the film being the second highest-grossing movie since 1947 and the 1940s. The film, titled "Lust in the Dust," received mostly critical feedback on its debut, including Bosley Crowther's observation that "performances are strangely uneven," even though Jones was given a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Peck's reputation has been divided.

Peck co-founded The La Jolla Playhouse in 1947, at his birthplace, with Mel Ferrer and Dorothy McGuire. Productions in the La Jolla High School Auditorium from 1947 to 1964 were included in this summer stock company. The La Jolla Playhouse reopened in 1983 at the University of California, San Diego, where it now operates. Since its inception, Hollywood film stars have been attracted both as actors and avid supporters.

Peck's next film release was The Macomber Affair (1947), in which he portrays an African hunting trip guide assisting a visiting couple. The wife, played by Joan Bennett, becomes enamored with Peck, and the husband gets a shot. Peck was instrumental in the film's creation, including recommending director Zoltan Korda. The film received rave reviews, but it was largely ignored by the public on its release, which Peck later regretted.

Peck's next film, the historic Gentleman's Agreement, directed by Elia Kazan in November 1947, was released and immediately proclaimed as "Hollywood's first major strike on anti-Semitism." Peck's film based on a novel depicts a New York magazine writer who pretends to be Jewish so he can experience firsthand the bigots' hostility. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Peck for Best Actor in the Best Film and Best Director categories. It was the second-highest top-grossing film of 1948. In his later years, Peck would claim that this film was one of his finest creations. Many commentators praised Gentleman's Agreement upon its issuance, and many observers were impressed, both on release and in recent years. Critics have differed views on Peck's portrayal, the film's ability in combating anti-semitism, and film's effectiveness at addressing anti-semitism, with film writer Matt Bailey stating, "Gentleman's Agreement may have been a good film at one time, but it was never a good film."

Peck's next three launches were both commercial disappointments. The Paradine Case (1947) was Hitchcock's second and last film. Hitchcock was apprehensive when producer David O. Selznick insisted on casting Peck for the film, fearing that Peck would not properly portray an English lawyer. Peck did not talk about the film's making in later years. The Paradine Case, which occurred in 1947, was a British-set courtroom drama about a defense lawyer in love with his client. Charles Laughton, Ethel Barrymore, and Alida Valli were among the suspects on the film. Peck's success was lauded by critics, but the film was dismissed by the public, only recouping half of the $4.2 million production costs. Most well-known writers had sluggishly reviewed the film in recent decades, but critics lauded Peck's performance. "Peck is both fragile and believable in a role that requires considerable delicacy of touch to maintain viewership and concern," writer Paul Condon and Jim Sangster wrote.

Peck performed top billing with Anne Baxter in the western Yellow Sky (1948), the namesake setting where the bank robbers flocked to Peck's group of bank robbers fled to, discovering the spunky tomboy Baxter and her grandfather alongside their gold in the infamous tomboy, Baxter. Peck's character gradually develops an interest in Baxter, who, in turn, seems to reclaim her femininity and takes an interest in him. Peck's results were considered to be solid by critics who wrote about it. The film was only moderately profitable, which was somewhat surprising. Peck and Ava Gardner were matched together in The Great Sinner (1949), a period drama-romance in which a Russian writer, Peck, becomes addicted to gambling while helping Gardner and her father pay back their debts a year later. Peck became a great friend with Gardner, and she would later announce her as her favorite co-star. Gardner's life was devoted to her family, and Peck took in both her housekeeper and her dog upon her death in 1990. The film received unfavorable reviews, with some describing it as dull, and the general population was uninvolved, making it a commercial disappointment. The film has received mixed reviews in recent years, but TV Guide claims "this often thrilling film" has good performances, that "Peck is strong" in his portrayal. Peck initially refused the film, his last film under his MGM deal, but then agreed to do it as a favor to the studio's production chief.

Twelve O'Clock High (1949), Peck's second film in which Peck embodied the brave, helpful, but human, "fighting man." Peck portrays the current commander of a US World War II bomber squadron charged with whipping the crew into shape, but then falls apart emotionally under the strain of the job. The National Board of Review ranked it as one of the year's top ten films, Best Actor for Peck, and four Academy Award nominations. Peck's role was later recognized in the New York Film Critics Circle for his role. Twelve O'clock High was a commercial success, ranking tenth in the 1950 box office rankings. Upon its debut, the film received rave reviews. New analysts have remained optimistic. Peck's results were generally favorable, with The New York Times describing his "High and Particular praise for Gregory Peck as "extraordinary" in revealing the vulnerability and vulnerability of a general exposed to peril. Peck's performance, according to film historian Peter von Bagh, "as Brigadier General Frank Savage to be the most enduring of his life."

Peck began the 1950s with two westerns, the first being The Gunfighter (1950), directed by Henry King, who had worked with him before on Twelve O'Clock High. Peck is a veteran of "Top Gun of the West" who is both weary and eager to die with his vivacious yet pragmatic wife and his seven-year-old son, both of whom he hasn't seen for many years. Peck and King did extensive photographic research into the Wild West period, finding that most cowboys had facial hair, "bowl" haircuts, and wore beat-up clothing; Peck wore a mustache while filming. On seeing the first video due to the mustache, the studio's president ordered a reshoot, but the production manager at King and Peck's persuasion cut the budget out due to costs. The Gunfighter did well but disappointing at the box office, taking $5.6 million in receipts, the fifth most for 1951. Darryl Zanuck, the twentieth Century Fox's studio chief, blamed Peck's mustache for Peck's lukewarm response, claiming that the intended, clean-shaven Peck, not the authentic-cowboy Peck. On its release, the Gunfighter received "solid feedback," with particular admiration from some commentators, and Peck's role "bringing him some of his best notes" on the subject. "A fair comprehension of the loneliness and loneliness of a man with a lurid name is conveyed by Mr. Peck's fine appearance," the New York Times said. The film has risen in critical esteem over the years and is now considered one of the all-time classic westerns" Critics of recent decades, including David Parkinson of Radio Times, "Peck gives a performance of characteristic dignity and grit."

Peck's next western was Only the Valiant (1951), a low-budget film for which Peck feared the script and would later describe as the lowest point of his career. Peck's non-exclusive deal with David O. Selznick enabled Selznick to offer his services to other studios, and after he ran into financial difficulties, Selznick sold his services to Warner Bros for this film. The film's plot is described as "an unpopular, strict king" brings together a rag-tag group of men and leads them on an extremely difficult mission, transforming them into a well-oiled combat machine and earning respect along the way. Peck portrays a US army general, and the aim is to shield an undermanned army from the attacking Apache. Barbara Payton played Peck's romantic passion. "Great pains have been applied to create interesting characters in this cavalry yarn," Variety's review stated. Peck has the most colorful part in his role. It earned a modest $5.7 million, placing it at 35th place for the year. This little-remembered photograph, which is lauded, is getting mixed feedback today, although Peck's performance is lauded.

Peck's second book-to-film adaptation, starring Peck as the commander of a warship in the British fleet during the Napoleonic Wars, finds romance with Virginia Mayo's character. "I thought Hornblower was an interesting character," Peck said. I never believe in heroes who are uncommitted and unadulterated heroes, who have no idea what fear is about." Errol Flynn had intended to serve as the project's coordinator, but he was determined to be too old by that time. Captain Horatio Hornblower was a hit in the UK and seventh in the North America, finishing ninth in the year and seventh in the North America. Reviewers largely praised Peck's role in the film. Peck provided "the right dash and authenticity as the nineteenth-century skipper," the Associated Press wrote, later. "Peck stands out as a superb artist, portraying the tone and atmosphere of the period." Peck's reputation has received mixed reviews, according to recent reports. According to AllMovie's Richard Gilliam, it is "an excellent job from Gregory Peck" as "Peck brings his customary aura of intelligence and moral authority to the role," while the Radio Times notes that "Gregory Peck wears Hornblower as a high-principle stuff shirt, which also confounds director Raoul Walsh's attempts to inject some energy."

David and Bathsheba, Henry King's third film, was the top-grossing film of 1951. Peck was compared to a Hollywood megastar thanks to Horatio and David's two-hit-movie punch. David and Bathsheba tells the tale of David (Peck), who slew Goliath as a child, and later, as the beloved King in Bathsheba, starring Susan Hayward. On its release by The New York Times "as an authoritative figure," Peck's "stiff" appearance in David and Bathsheba has been praised, but overall, critics have praised his casting, and Leonard Maltin says the film has "only fair performances" as a result. Positive comments were posted about David and Bathsheba's ability to avoid excessive spectacle when keeping an epic with "dignified restraint."

In The World in His Arms (1952), directed by Raoul Walsh, who had also directed Captain Horatio Hornblower, Peck returned to swashbucklers in The World in His Arms (1952). In 1850 San Francisco, Peck portrays a seal-hunting ship captain who romances a Russian countess played by Ann Blyth and then finds herself embroiled in a sailing match to Alaska, involving Anthony Quinn. Both contemporary and modern critics applauded the film. Peck is "a superb actor, who has immense talent to the role, but he lacks the overt derring-do and danger that is part of the role," All Movie said. The film was moderately popular in the United Kingdom, more so in the United Kingdom than in North America.

In The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's short story, he reunited with old collaborators King, Hayward, and Gardner. Peck is portrayed in the film as a self-concerned writer examining his early life, including his first wife (Gardner), while he dies from an accidental wound while on a South hunting trip with his current wife (Hayward) caring for him. The film was praised for its cinematography and direction. Peck's success is praised by the majority of reviews, with TV Guide confirming that the tale is "enacted with a calm and conviction by Peck," although some criticize Peck's "bland" expressions. The Snows of Kilimanjaro was a box office hit and was ranked as the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1952.

Roman Holiday (1953), directed by William Wyler, was Peck's "first real foray into comedy." In her first big film role, he portrayed American journalist Joe Bradley opposite Audrey Hepburn as a European princess. Peck's participation in Roman Holidays had started to Cary Grant, but she turned it down because the part seemed to be more of a supporting role for the princess. Peck shared the same suspicion, but Wyler convinced him that on-site filming in Rome would be an amazing experience, and he accepted the role, eventually insisting that Hepburn's name appear above the film's title (just below). Peck later reported that he had told his agent "I'm smart enough to know this girl will win the Oscar in her first picture, and I'm going to look like a disgusted fool if her name isn't up there on top of mine."

In 1953, Roman Holidays debuted in the box office, finishing 22nd. Since its debut, the film continued to bring in money, with "modern sources" estimating it earned $10 million at the box office. Critics applauded Peck's performance; Bosley Crowther said, "Peck makes a stalwart and manly escort whose eyes belie his stifled exterior," while the Hollywood Reporter noted that "Peck turns in another of his outstanding performances portraying the love-smitten reporter with intelligence and admirable conviction." It was nominated for several awards, including 8 Academy Awards, including Best Actress, and Foreign Actor; Peck received a BAFTA nomination. Peck and Hepburn were named the World Film Favorite Award winners for their respective genders at the 1955 Golden Globe Awards.

Peck was given the lead role in High Noon (1952), but he turned it down because he did not want to be stereotyped as a Westerns actor. Peck had been based in the United Kingdom for about eight months between 1953 and 1955, and the tax rate on high-income earners had dramatically increased, but if the payer worked outside the country for longer stretches of time, the tax rate would have been reduced. His three subsequent films, which were shot and set in London, Germany, and Southeast Asia, respectively, after Roman Holiday's production in Italy. Peck appeared in The Million Pound Note (1954), based on a Mark Twain short story. Peck enjoyed the film's performance as "it was a good comedy chance" and "was given possibly the most sophisticated wardrobe he had ever seen in film." In 1903 London, he is given a one million pound bank note by two wealthy, eccentric brothers who want to know if he will survive for one month without spending any of it. The film received mixed reviews for its production. The Radio Times' Adrian Turner praised it as a "lovely comedy" with "a lot of charm and subtle humor," thanks to Peck's apparent delight in the role and the unobtrusive direction in which it is directed.

In Night People (1954), he portrayed a US army colonel probing the kidnapping of a young soldier. Later, Peck said that this role was one of his favorites, that his lines were "tough and crisp, full of wisdom, and more demanding than other roles" he had performed. The film received accolades for its production and direction, but at the box office, it did not do well. Peck travelled to Sri Lanka to film The Purple Plain (1954), a Canadian bomber pilot with severe emotional issues during the Second World War. The Purple Plain was banned in the United States, but in the United Kingdom, it was ranked tenth at the box office in 1954, and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film. "The breadth of Peck's agony is brilliantly conveyed... in vivid and unrelenting scenes," Crowther said of his appearance. "The film has become one of Peck's most well-known films" in recent years, with critic David Thomson lauding Peck's performance as "exemplary." "Peck is surprising," All Movie's Craig Butler says, "behavior" gives the kind of layered, intense, and nuanced appearance that deserving major accolades.

Peck was voted the third most popular non-British film actor in the United Kingdom in 1954. In 1955, Peck did not have a film released. Peck made a comeback in the United States. The Man in The Gray Flannel Suit (1956), in which he depicts a married, ex-soldier father of three who is increasingly haunted by his deeds in Italy during the Second World War, the man is now haunted by his deeds. Peck and Duel co-star Jennifer Jones appeared in the Sun co-star Jennifer Jones; Jones clawed his face with her fingernails during a scene where their characters clashed; causing Peck to yell "I don't call that acting." I love it personal." Despite contemporary and modern reviews being mixed, the film was successful, finishing eighth in box office gross for the year. "The job suits (Gregory Peck) as if it had been tailor-made for him," the Butler of AllMovie said. Peck's most notable feature is his quiet, which is so much a part of him and the way in which he uses subtle changes in the quietness to signal mammoth emotions. He has ample opportunity to do so here, and the results are enthralling — an outstanding achievement." Peck's role is described in Radio Times as "the memorable flawed hero," and Peck plays "the appealing flawed hero."

Peck next appeared in the 1956 film adaptation of Herman Melville's Moby Dick; he was uncertain about his suitability for the role, but director John Huston encouraged him to do the job. Peck nearly drowned twice during filming on the sea coasts of Ireland, and several other actors and crew members sustained injuries. The New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review for Moby Dick, John Huston, was named best director of the year by the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review, but he did not receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director. The film had the ninth best box office of the year in North America, but it cost $4.5 million to produce, more than double the original budget, and was regarded as a commercial disappointment. "There was, and continues to be, controversies surrounding his portrayal as Ahab in Moby Dick," editor Barry Monush wrote in 2003. "Peck often seems understated and much too gentlemanly for a man who is allegedly consumed by a riot of ferocious fury," Variety said at the beginning. "Peck plays it... in a brooding, smoldering vein, but no one the less intensely and dynamically," the Hollywood Reporter wrote. Peck is "most mesmerizing"; "stoic" and "more than adequate" in modern times; "lending a deranged dignity" to the position. "I wasn't crazy enough, not crazy enough, not obsessive enough, not keen enough" was Peck's remark later, "I should have done more." I didn't have more in me at the time.

Peck was allowed to choose his leading lady for romantic comedy Designing Woman (1957), although Lauren Bacall, who was content to be busy with work as her husband was ill at the time. Despite Peck's character already having a girlfriend back home, they'll find out when they return to New York that they have dramatically different lifestyles. The film was moderately successful and debuted at 35th in annual gross, but it did not break even. Variety wrote, "Bacall... is great, Peck is fine as the confused sportswriter," and Peck said that all the other actors/actresses gave top-notch performances upon its debut. The few reviews from prominent bloggers or websites in recent years have mostly praised TV Guide's claim that "they've made... the famous stoneface... Peck, somewhat amusing. Bacall gives a good show." The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay went to Designing Women. This film is not included in any movie review book or website.

Peck's next film, The Bravados (1958), reunites him with director Henry King after a six-year absence. The King is widely believed to have produced some of Peck's finest work; Peck once said, "King was like an older brother, even a father figure." We didn't talk about anything to death, so we didn't discuss anything to death. It was the direction of osmosis." Peck's character in The Bravados spends weeks fighting four outlaws who he suspects assaulted and murdered his wife while agonizing over his own morals. The film was a moderate success, despite finishing in the top 20 of the box office for 1959. The film and Peck's success has received mixed critiques in recent years; Time Out claiming that "Peck's "crisis of conscience" is worked out in perfunctory religious terms; Peck's "moment of truth" is portrayed with a definite word; and TV Guide says Peck's cowboy's "moment of truth" is present in all of its glory; but some of Peck's performance have been lackingluster."

Peck made a foray into film production in 1956, organising Melville Productions and later, Brentwood Productions. Peck, the executive producer of Pork Chop Hill, was one of these companies' five films over seven years, with most starring Peck, including Pork Chop Hill. Some people were more liberal, but Peck said he tried to avoid any "overt preachiness." Peck and a good friend William Wyler co-produced the western epic The Big Country (1958), separate from Peck's production company. The script was causing a lot of problems; Wyler and Peck were dissatisfied with it, which underwent almost daily updates, causing increasing anxiety for the actors. After each day's shooting, Peck and the screenwriters decided to rewrite the script, causing anxiety for the actors, who would arrive the next day and find their lines and even entire scenes different than what they had prepared. Jean Simmons, Carrol Baker, Charlton Heston, and Burl Ives were among the outstanding actors on the show; Ives was named Academy Award-winning Actor for his intense appearance. Peck was on the off-set when Wyler refused to re-shoot a close-up scene, causing the actor to storm Peck. Peck and Wyler's relationship remained strained three years after production. In 1974, Peck said he had tried making and performing simultaneously, but "either it can't be done or it's just that I don't do it well."

The film itself was a big success, finishing fourth at the domestic box office in 1958 and second in the United Kingdom. At the time of publication, reviews for The Big Country were split on the producers' priorities regarding characterization over filmmaking; Peck's results were also split. Critical assessment of The Big Country has increased in recent decades, although some experts and journals disagree; some praise Peck's achievement, but others criticize the film's length.

Pork Chop Hill (1959), based on true events depicted in a book, was Peck's next feature. Peck depicts a lieutenant who was shot and ordered to use his infantry company to capture Pork Chop Hill, which would elevate the US's position in the almost complete armistice talks. Peck recruited Lewis Milestone of All Quiet (1930) to direct. Many commentators regard it as an anti-war film; it has also been said that "as shooting progressed, Peck and Milestone's artistic visions were very different." The film, Peck later, showed "the futility of settling political arguments by killing young people." We did not preach; we let it talk for itself." Despite solid reviews, the film only did fair work at the box office. The majority of observers, both on Pork Chop Hill's opening and in recent years, agree that it is a gritty, grim, and realistic depiction of war action. Three commentators who comment on Peck's success have been lauded, with Variety describing Peck's appearance as "completely convincing." He comes out as a born king, but it's also clear that he has moments of doubt and mystery.

Peck's second film adaptation of 1959 cast him opposite Deborah Kerr in Beloved Infidel, which is based on the memoirs of film columnist Sheilah Graham. During the last three years of his life, Graham (Kerr) and author F. Scott Fitzgerald (Peck)'s romance was depicted, with Fitzgerald often inebriated and violent. Crowther described it as "generally flat and uninteresting" after a "postured appearance of Gregory Peck... his grim-faced monotony as a washout is averted in a couple of critical scenes by some dazzling and bawling as a drunkard. "The acting, although highly praised and persuasive in some respects, is shallow and artificial in others." Peck is the primary culprit, as his appearance and youthful appearance in Fitzgerald contrast with that of a has-been novelist. Five of the best writers of recent decades are similar, with TV Guide stating that Peck was blatantly miscast, but that there is nothing in his personality that matches Fitzgerald's.

In their third and final film together, Peck appeared next in On the Beach (1959). The film is thought to be Hollywood's first major film about nuclear war. It's directed by Stanley Kramer and based on Neville Shute's best-selling book, it depicts the last months of many people in Melbourne, Australia, as they wait for the start of radioactive fallout from nuclear bombs. Peck portrays a US submarine commander who has sent his crew to Australia from the North Pacific Ocean after nuclear bombs were detonated in the northern hemisphere, and who later romances Gardner's character. The film was featured on the top ten lists of the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle, and it was a hit at the North American box office, finishing eighth for the year, but it was lost $700,000. Critics lauded the beach on the beach. Critical review of On the Beach has mixed with some leading analysts who believe the script is weak, but some commentators, especially Peck, insist that the acting and cinematography are strong, and that overall, the film is well worth watching. "The clichéd, almost soap operatic partnership between Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner, as well as the somewhat melodramatic treatment of other portions of the film, is "very frustrating," Butler writes. The cast is incredibly helpful. Peck has seldom been more stalwart... Beach is a harrowing and tragic event four decades since its inception.

The Guns of Navarone, Peck's first publication of 1961, was released in Navarone. On Navarone Island, a J. Lee Thompson-directed World War II drama portrays Peck's six-man commando team, which includes David Niven and Anthony Quinn, on a mission to destroy two seemingly ineffective German-controlled artillery weapons. The team of specialists (Peck is the mountain climbing specialist) must destroy the guns so British ships can evacuate 2,000 British soldiers who are trapped across the Aegean Sea. During filming Peck said that his crew appears to defeat "the entire German army" which was parody, and that cast members must "play their parts with utter conviction" to make the film convincing. The film was the top-grossing film of 1961, and it became "one of the most common adventure films of its day." It received seven Academy Award nominations for Best Special Effects, as well as the BAFTA for Best British Screenplay.

In the annual survey of critics and industry journalists in 1961, critics praised The Guns of Navarone, the year's best picture of the year. "Peck may seem at times a trifle wooden, with his German accent too American," the New York Herald Tribune's Paul V. Peckly wrote, "but his not too introspective, somewhat baffled demeanor is appropriate to the role he plays.

Cape Fear (1962), directed by Melville Productions, was Peck's next film. Peck portrays a lawyer whose witness testimony cleared Robert Mitchum's character, who after being released from jail for eight years for sexual assault, threatens to return to Peck through his wife and daughter, and terrorizes the family. Peck was eager to have Mitchum in the role of Cady, but Mitchum dropped at first and then relented after Peck and Thompson delivered a case of bourbon to Mitchum's house. Many changes were made to the film to meet censorship rules in the United States and the United Kingdom. The film's grossings at $5 million at the North American box office, the 47th for the year. Cape Fear received raves from Crowther and Variety. Both expressed delight with Peck's performance, but Variety said he might have been a little more irritated by the events. Other reviews were mixed due to the film's disturbing appearance, including The New Yorker. Reviews have generally been favorable in recent years. Peck's appearance in Cape Fear was discussed by critics, with TV Guide saying, "Peck is careful not to show the fear; he's an interesting opponent for Mitchum."

Peck intended to make his directorial debut with They're a Weird Mob in Cape Fear, but they were unable to make the film.

Peck's next appearance was in Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning book To Kill a Mockingbird in 1962. Atticus Finch, a young and scrupulously honest lawyer father, appears in Peck's role. Peck was nominated for his fifth and last time. The film received seven other Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Director, and Cinematography, as well as winning Adapted Screenplay and Art Direction. Peck was named for Best Actor in a Drama at the Golden Globes, and the film was nominated for Best Film and Director by the BAFTAs; The film, which was released in December, was a commercial success as the sixth-most lucrative film of the year. The American Film Institute named Atticus Finch, as portrayed by Peck in 2003, the country's best film hero of the past 100 years. "My favorite film, without a doubt," Peck would say about To Kill A Mockingbird.

Peck decided to read the book as producer Alan J. Pakula and director Robert Mulligan approached Peck about playing Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. "I got started on it," he said, and of course I sat down all night and read straight through it. At about eight o'clock in the morning, I called them and asked, 'When does I start?'" Peck did eventually request changes so that the film deviated somewhat from the original rough cut, mainly showing more scenes of Peck in the courtroom than in the original rough cut, bringing the attention away from the children, who had been the subject of the book, and more towards Atticus Finch. Critics lauded Peck's contribution to the film. Peck's role was particularly challenging, according to Variety, but he "not only succeeds, but makes it seem effortless," etching a picture of strength, dignity, and intelligence. "Peck gives perhaps the best performance of his career, understated, casual, and direct," the Hollywood Reporter said. Time ruled that "Peck," although he is generally fine, sometimes makes it on a bit swollen at times – he seems to imagine himself as the Abe Lincoln of Alabama." "Gregory Peck's performance as an advocate has been lauded by writers in recent decades, as Film Monthly noted, "Gregory Peck's portrayal as lawyer Atticus Finch is just as beautiful, natural, and nuanced as the film itself." Both Michael Gebert and Andrew Collins of Radio Times mention Atticus Finch as the position that defined Peck's career.

In 1967, Peck was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Chairman of the American Film Institute from 1967 to 1969, Chairman of the Motion Picture and Television Relief Fund in 1971, and National Chairman of the American Cancer Society in 1966. He served in the National Council on the Arts from 1964 to 1966.

Peck's rare attempts at villainous roles were not well-received. He was the rebel son of the Western Duel in the Sun early on and, later in his career, he met The Boys from Brazil's legendary Nazi doctor Josef Mengele. Peck went to television in the 1980s, where he appeared in the mini-series The Blue and the Gray, portraying Abraham Lincoln. In the television film The Scarlet and The Black, about Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, a real-life Catholic priest in Vatican who smuggled Jews and other refugees away from the Nazis during World War II, he appeared with Christopher Plummer, John Gielgud, and Barbara Bouchet.

Peck, Mitchum, and Martin Balsam appeared in the 1991 Cape Fear remake, directed by Martin Scorsese. Peck played Max Cady's solicitor in the remake. Norman Jewison directed Other People's Money, his last notable film role in 1991, but the name was based on the stage play. Peck played a business owner trying to save his company from a hostile takeover bid by Danny DeVito, a Wall Street liquidator.

After the film, Peck resigned from active filmmaking. Peck spent the last few years of his life on tour of the world, where he would perform clips from his films and question questions from the audience. He came out of retirement for a 1998 mini-series adaptation of one of his most popular films, Moby Dick, starring Orson Welles (played by Orson Welles in the 1956 version), starring Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Ahab in the earlier film. It was his last appearance, and it earned him the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film. In the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Peck had been offered the role of Grandpa Joe, but he died before accepting it. David Kelly, an Irish actor, was then given the role.

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