Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor. One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an Academy Award. 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 the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, ranking at #12. He was named to the International Best Dressed List... Hall of Fame in 1983. Eldred Gregory Peck was born in La Jolla, California, the son of Missouri-born Bernice Mae "Bunny" and Gregory Pearl Peck, who was a chemist and pharmacist. Peck's father was of Irish heritage and English heritage, and his mother was of Scots and English ancestry. Peck's father was a Catholic and his mother converted upon marrying his father.
more